Diet: Cardinals (Northern and Brazilian)

• Basic Diet:

  • Formula Options:

    • Kaytee Exact Baby bird Formula

    • Harrisons Formula

    • Hagen Tropican Baby Bird Food

  • Supplemental Options

    • Egg Food Bird Supplement (Vitakraft or Quiko)

    • Abba Green

    • Dried crickets or mealworms (crushed)

    • Mazuri Insectivore Diet (to sprinkle or mix in with the fruit)

  • Protein Options:

    • Live crushed mealworms, crickets or grasshoppers

    • Dried crushed mealworms, superworms, crickets or grasshoppers

    • Mashed hard boiled or scrambled egg (chicken or duck)

  • Fruit Options (you can purchase the fruit in the form of organic baby food)

    • Banana

    • Mango

    • Strawberry

    • Papaya

    • Apple

    • Blueberry

• How to Feed:

  • Crop feeding:

    • Offer as much food until they stop gaping. and the crop appears full. Start to feed once the crop empties. Approximate amounts are below.

    • Mix mashed fruit and baby bird formula

      • 20% fruit, 10% supplemental options, 70% baby bird formula for crop

  • Other feeding methods

    • Mix fruit with a supplemental mix and baby bird formula (Kaytee or Exact). Add water to create a chunky but moist consistency. 30% fruit, 40% baby bird formula, 30% supplemental protein

    • Give small amounts on the end of a coffee stirrer or skewer. The baby should eat as much as it can off of it. Give time for the baby to swallow the food entirely before offering more.

      • Protein like crushed dried mealworms or crickets or mashed scrambled eggs should also be added to this mix.

• How much and how often to feed:

  • Crop Feeding

    • Hatchlings and young nestlings eat about . 5-1ml of formula every 30 minutes

    • Nestling will eat about 1 - 2ml of formula every 45 minutes to 1 hour

    • Fledglings: 1.5-2 ml of formula and pureed fruit every 1.5- 2 hours

    • Feed from sunrise until sunset. If the bird is not doing well, continue to feed 2 hours after sunset.

  • Other feeding methods

    • Hatchlings and young nestlings: feed as much as they can until they stop gaping every 30 minutes

    • Nestling: feed as much as they can until they stop gaping every 45 minutes

    • Fledglings: feed as much as they can until they stop gaping every 1-1.5 hours

    • Feed from sunrise until 1-2 hours after sunset.

• How to Ween:

  • Nestlings will start to explore and naturally peck around the cage at different things.

    1. 1. Scatter parakeet seeds around the cage

    2. 2. Put soft (papaya or mango) fruit inside the cage, change the fruit every 6 -8 hours.

       1. Fruit Options

          • Banana

          • Papaya

          • Strawberries

          • Blueberries

          • Apples

          • Mango

    3. 3. Start to put grass and other leafy dark greens around the cage

  • Continue hand feeding every 2 hours throughout the weaning process

  • Sprinkle supplemental mix (Quiko, Mazuri Insectivore Diet or dried crushed mealworms) on top of the fruit.

  • Gradually decrease the amount of formula given daily as they start to peck at the other food items around the cage.

  • It is important not to rush the weaning process. Some birds take longer than others to wean.

• Helpful Tips:

  • Fledglings can be offered pellets such as “Harrison’s brand” to add to their diet and as they wean off of formula.

  • Rotate the fruits and type of protein to provide a variety of nutrients

  • Juvenile and fledglings can be offered live mealworms, crickets or grasshoppers

  • Food should be given mostly mashed together to create a moist thick consistency until the bird eats on it’s own entirely.