New Bird Adivice..???

[racing_gurl07]

I just got a bird, a cockatail, saturday, he seems pretty relaxed, he will eat and play, he doesnt seem shy, he will copy your whistles too, but hes still kind of shy about us holding him, what do we have to do to make him used to us?

another question..how do we tell if if our cockatail is a male or female?

[crazy_caique]

males have yellow heads/faces and solid under there tails and females have stripes under there tails and females usually don't talk/whistle.So you most likely have a male
Let him get used to you,he is most likely scared,give him treats and talk to him,Go slow!He sounds friendly.It takes time.

[crazy_caique]

my teil still doesn't like to cuddle she will sit on my knee and get her head strached she LOVES that :D

[crazy_caique]

Teils can live 18 plus years if feed them a good diet with pellets,fresh veggies/fruits,and some seed.I feed mine Zupreem pellets and nutri-berries.Have some toys in the cage 4 or 5.My teil took a while to get used to toys.

[crazy_caique]

bird talk magazine is a great magazine and was my life saver cockatiels for dummies is a great book :D

[racing_gurl07]

All i have in the cage now is food water and one toy (which he loves), and also i forget what its called, it looks like a big grape, its used to keep his beak clipped, you know what im talking about....

i tried bananas with him but he doesnt seem to like it, what else should i try?

You said females dont talk? can u teach them or dont they at all? i hope this one can be tought to talk, like i said before hes pretty nosiy and cherps alot!

here is a pic of him, so you can tell me if its a him or her.

[Giselle]

Hi there, you DEFINITELY have a female tiel ;) Was your tiel handfed or parent raised? If she was handraised, she should be very willing and submissive to human hands, almost like a puppy dog. If she was parent raised (most pet store cockatiels are), then she should be a little apprehensive and unwilling to cuddle. I agree with crazy_caique. It takes a tremendous amount of time and loving patience to gain a bird's trust and loyalty. However, once you forge a relationship with the bird, it will last until the bird's last breath. These creatures are usually fiercely loyal to their owners to the point of jealousy. Because of that, it is a good idea to socialize your tiel by having multiple family members take turns training and taming her. Of course, take things slow. I usually give a few days to let the newly acquired bird time to familiarize itself with its surroundings. Some birds are more easily adaptable and can settle in within a matter of one or two days whereas others can take weeks.

In the meantime, keep your tiel's enviornment quiet and quite dark. Try to avoid harsh lights and loud noises. Always keep a fresh supply of water and seed and pellets. You don't need to introduce fresh foods at the moment because chances are she'll ignore them. When she HAS settled in, you can begin to introduce dark, leafy greens like kale and dark lettuce (NOT Iceberg lettuce) and carrot tops and bok choy and broccoli. Then, you can start to introduce fruits and other solids like carrots. Most birds ignore these items, so you MAY have to withhold the daily seed portion of her diet, but do not withhold food for more than a few hours at a time. Be consistent and your bird will soon catch on. Good Luck and please ask questions if you're confused and need clarification! :)

[Giselle]

I also forgot...That cage looks quite small, and, from my point of view, it looks like a cylandrical cage. Is that right? If so, please return the cage and buy a rectangular cage. Cylandrical cages don't give frightened birds a corner to hide in and it confuses them. Birds should also be able to stretch their wings out and not touch the edges of the cage. You can find very affordable, bird-friendly cages at large chain stores like PetCo and PetSmart. :)

[crazy_caique]

my female tiel DOES TALK :) the grape is a mineral block

[crazy_caique]

my teil talks because she learned it from my mom's quaker who talks like crazy,they don't live in the same cage and don't play together at all beacuse they don't get along and sweet p can hurt emmy easily,my tiel loves this toy called x-small mardi gras blocks you can buy them at birdieboutique.com What's her name?How many perches do you have in there?have three diff(one rope,one sandy*helps trim toe nails*and on wood)alwas have a mineral block or cuttlebone in with her

[crazy_caique]

Bells I heard tiels like but Emmy could care less even thought she has one,she likes cotton rope,safe paper,and plastic chains,perches there are soo many naturel,sandy,wood,and many more :D

[crazy_caique]

sometimes i have more perches in don't over do it there are soooo many bird toys :)

[racing_gurl07]

we named her spike, didnt know if she was a male or female, but she seems to like that name. at the pet store one lady (the manager) said she is hand fed but this other girl i asked asid she wasnt. but she seems fine, she chirps and i go over there and she just cocks her head and wants you to talk to her, the only way she is shy is if you put your hand in the cage, but when u just look at her she will come up to you, so she doesnt seem shy at all, compared to other birds i have seen. she also has 3 perches. but i will get 3 different ones like you said.

you do the "wolf call" and she will repeate it, its so cute, she just learned that in 3 days, she didnt know it at the pet store. what words does your tiel know? to teach them words you just have to repeate alot dont you?

[crazy_caique]

one peekaboo and she is learning another pretty bird :D

[crazy_caique]

emmy doesn't wolf whistle but sweet p(quaker)does and the best talking birds i heard are the grey,quaker,and budgie/parakeet :)

[crazy_caique]

how old is she

[cameron goring]

i think its because it could be needing to be used to it and it will not be shy :rolleyes:

[racing_gurl07]

i'm not sure how old she is :rolleyes:


we have been putting our hands in the cage everyday touching her "spikes" and she seems to like that, she didnt like it the first couple of days but now shes getting used to us, should we keep doing stuff like that so she gets used to use touching her?

this might sound stupid but...do females need males to lay eggs? or do they lay them and the male fertalizes them? i guess i never was told about birds and eggs.

[crazy_caique]

Keep petting spike and feeding her treats try to start teaching her the up(having her step up on your finger)maybe in a week or so go slow :) female tiels will sometimes lay eggs even when they have no mate,let them sit on the eggs for a week or so before takeing them away,they need a male to have eggs that will hatch into chicks,they can't be hatchable eggs inless she has a male to breed with which i don't think you want to do.Like i said birdtalkmagazine.com has good info and so does the magazine itself :) Cockatiels for dummies is a great book you can probable get it at a libery or pet store like petco

[racing_gurl07]

i just looked at her now and shes shaking, and its not even cold in here so i dont know whats wrong, and when i got home she was eating so she didnt want to talk to me, but when she was done i went over there and talked to her and she did say anything, ihope nothing is wrong.

what treats are the best? i got some "sesame crispies" but she doesnt seem to like them, unles they are too big for her.

[crazy_caique]

is spike by the air duct? my that is why is is shaking or it could be you scared her(my tiel freaks when i am by her with something new like a stuffed bear)my tiel likes kaytee nutri-puffs(spicy flavor)and nutri berries(she loves them i feed her them as food along with zupreem pellets but they can be used as a treat too)you could also give her bits of apple,or a seedflower seed.

[crazy_caique]

when my tiel eats she doesn't even look my way inless i am holding the food she is eating or wants,if they don't tweet at you nothing is wrong,emmy tweets usually when i get home,when she gets up,and when ever she thinks i should let her out of her cage :D

[crazy_caique]

try differnt treats tiels are like people just because mine like nutri-puffs don't mean spike will,i alwas try to get treats that say cockatiel or small hookbill on them

[racing_gurl07]

just awhile ago there was a loud sound upstairs that scared her, she flew around the cage, and now she seems scared of me, my boyfriend said that she might be scared because im wearing black, but i dont know. i just hope shes okay now from freaking out that bad.

[crazy_caique]

it is probably not because you are wearing black it was the noise i am 99.9 percent positve a loud bang on my tv scared emmy once intil she got used to the tv

[sirrahved]

All cockatiels look the same until they go through their first molt. Any reputable breeder will not even guess as to the sex of a tiel until the molt. So, if you have a baby, you can't be sure of the sex. The only way to find out is to either 1) call the place where Spike was purchased; or 2)Wait for Spike to molt.

Fruits and veggies may take dozens of exposures before your tiel will even try them. One of my birds' favorites is the tops of carrots. They love them!

A lot of nervous behavior at first is very normal. Spike is getting used to a new house with new sounds and smells, and new people, too. Give him/her time to adjust.

The only way to get a tiel to enjoy handling is by handling them. Don't be too forceful, but try to spend as much time with Spike as possible. At first you may want to spend time with Spike just near her cage, then putting your hand in, then taking Spike out.

Keep us updated with pictures and let us know how the two of you are doing!

[racing_gurl07]

spike has been quiet latley, just a little chirp now and then.

next wed we are leaving for Pheniox for 4 days, and we are having a neighbor watch spike, im sure she will be okay, ill get her another toy and treats for the nieghbor to feed her. the neighbor is comming over tomorrow to meet spike and get to know her so she is comferable around the neighbor.

here are some more pics i took of her...

[crazy_caique]

good idea to have you friend meet spike before you leave spike with her :) You don't to use this toy but i think spike will like it
it's a toy by fetch-it-pets called a ZigZag it is small and made for a cockatiel it is about $5 at petsmart :D