For cockatiels, soaking millet in warm water for about one to two hours is usually sufficient to soften it to a suitable consistency for feeding. Typically, cockatiels can transition to eating dry millet after about a month and a half.
The ideal soaking time is one to two hours. Before soaking, ensure the millet is thoroughly rinsed. Use a small, bird-safe thermos. Pour the millet into the thermos, add hot water, and let it soak for one to two hours, or until softened. Once soft, it's ready to be fed to your cockatiel.
Millet is an excellent first food for newly hatched cockatiels due to its rich nutritional content and essential trace elements. Young chicks cannot digest hard millet directly. Prepare the millet by soaking it in a dedicated, clean thermos. Using hot water will typically soften the millet in one to two hours. Alternatively, you can soak it in warm water for about thirty hours to fully soften it. Always ensure the millet is soft before feeding.
If adult birds are feeding the chicks, the millet must be softened first. You can use plain water or a formula-milk mixture to soak the millet. Combining formula with millet during soaking ensures extra nutrition. When the chicks are around three weeks old, you can supplement their diet by adding finely chopped carrots to their softened millet to ensure a balanced diet.