Like all parrots, cockatoos take great care of their babies until they fledge. But sometimes, because of sickness or intrusion, cockatoos abandon their babies. Such babies cannot eat on their own and need to be handfed. Let’s discuss how you can feed them.
Cockatoos babies can be fed by hand using a homemade syringe feeder or a spoon. To make their food, either you can use a commercially made baby parrot hand-feeding formula or make it at home.
What to feed baby cockatoos?
Since baby cockatoos are fragile, they cannot digest grains and seeds. During the first few weeks, they need a soft diet that they can easily digest. Moreover, they need to be fed in a way similar to their parent’s feed.
How to make hand-feeding formula at home?
The easiest way to make hand-feeding formula at home is by mixing some flour and adding some baby-nutritional formula like cerelac. To make feed for almost 1 week, I recommend mixing the below proportions.
- Wheat flour (20g)
- Corn flour (20g)
- Chickpeas flour (20g)
- Nestle cerelac (40g)
If you can’t find cerelac, you can use any alternative cereal. Just make sure it nutrient-rich.
How to feed baby cockatoos?
The best way to feed them is using special baby parrot feeding equipment. But the homemade feeder also works fine. In fact, I have never used any commercially designed baby parrot feeder, but I have successfully raised many cockatoo babies using homemade feeders.
Syringe feeding
You can easily make a syringe feeder for baby cockatoos at home. All you need is a large syringe. Remove the needle from the syringe, and the feeder is ready. Now all you need to do is make the feed and pull it inside the syringe.
Now, just hold the baby, open its mouth, insert the syringe pipe in the baby’s mouth, and push the feed.
Spoon feeding
Use a tablespoon from your kitchen, and you are good to go. Make the feed, take some in the spoon, and start feeding the baby.
There are two problems with spoon-feeding:
- Cockatoo babies do not immediately start taking feeding from the spoon; they are not used to it.
- If you are inexperienced, you might frequently drop feed from the spoon while feeding the baby.
Now the solution to 1st problem is patience. Baby cockatoos take a little longer when fed with the spoon for the 1st few times. But it gets much easier afterward.
The solution to 2nd problem is slightly molding the side of the spoon like a wall. This is doable only with a thin metallic spoon easily molded. Otherwise, you can use a disposable plastic spoon. Slightly heat the spoon with a match stick and bend the sides.
How much to feed baby cockatoos?
There is no specific answer to how much food baby cockatoos should be fed because the quantity of feed they should be fed each time and the daily feeding intervals vary with their age.
As they start growing feathers, the quantity of feed should be increased, but the intervals are reduced. This is because, in the beginning, their stomach is small, and as they grow, their stomach also enlarges.
Moreover, the proportion of water in feed should also be reduced with time. Because the babies need a thin diet initially, but gradually they can digest a thick diet.
Usually, they need to be fed 5-6 times a day in the first week. During the 2nd and 3rd weeks, they need to be fed 4-5 times a day, and in the 4th-6th week, they need to be fed 3-4 times.
As they enter the 7th week, their feed should be reduced, and they should be given small pieces of fruits and grains along with the feed. During the 7th-8th week, they should be fed only 2 times a day.
If they easily intake fruits and grains by the end of the 8th week, stop feeding the formula and only feed them twice a day. Also, keep water and grains in its cage so that the baby may try to eat itself.
Generally, by 8-12 weeks, baby cockatoos start eating independently. You can feed them the same diet that adult cockatoos eat. But I recommend keeping the fruit concentration high until they are 4 months old.
Final Thoughts
Hand-feeding baby cockatoos is fun, but if you are feeding for the 1st time, you might find it a bit challenging. The easier and more comfortable you make this experience for your baby bird, the more cooperative it will be when you feed it next time.
If you are unsure about anything, you can ask me in the comments or consult an experienced professional.
