thinking about buying a cockatiel, help needed

[sana]

Firstly, I'd like to thank everybody who helped me when I asked about how to care for goldfish. But, as I learned, they are a little hard to keep, so I dropped the goldfish buying plan.
Well, these days my sisters and I watch a lot of talking parrots or cockatiel video clips on youtube. my sister now, totally wants a cockatiel! So, I asked my mom if we could buy one and guess what! She said yes!!! YAHOO!!!! So, today I'm gonna try and ask my dad to get me one.
So, my sister told me I should first clearly learn about them, and of course, I thought about you all. So, I was thinking, could someboy tell me about how to care for them?


Thanl You!!!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I don't know anything about them but here's a link that tells you some of the basics:http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Origina.../tielcare.html. There are many more links about them too. I hope this helps and good luck.

[Karen]

PM Popcornbird, she's been a cockatiel mom for a long time! She's not online as much now that she has a human baby, dear little M, to take care of, but I bet she'll help you!

Be prepared to have a large enough cage for he or she to be able to move about, perches, and read some of the previous Pets of the Day who have been cockatiels stories, that'd be a start!

[sana]

PM Popcornbird, she's been a cockatiel mom for a long time! She's not online as much now that she has a human baby, dear little M, to take care of, but I bet she'll help you!

Be prepared to have a large enough cage for he or she to be able to move about, perches, and read some of the previous Pets of the Day who have been cockatiels stories, that'd be a start!

I don't know anything about them but here's a link that tells you some of the basics:http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Origina.../tielcare.html. There are many more links about them too. I hope this helps and good luck.

Thank You both of you! I'll try PMing PCB, but, could somebody tell me, if I have two males and one female, would that be bad? Would the males fight with each other? Or if I kept three males, would they fight with each other? I hope not.

[Bonny]

I was owned by a female Cockatiel for 8 1/2 years. She was a chronic egg layer & eventually it did her in. They are very affectionate birds & love all the attention you can give them. My hen would whistle for me when I was out of sight & I learned to give her a flock whistle so she knew where I was. She loved scritches (you take your index finger & scratch it gentle like around their head).

I miss her dearly & she was my girl for sure. They can live up to 30 some years so it is a life commitment. I think it is rare for an egg laying hen to live past 12 years. They are very prolific birds so the need to reproduce their own kind is the cause for egg laying. There are some hens that don't get into the egg laying mode & that is rare. The eggs are infertile & they will lay eggs even without the influence of a male birds presents.

Male birds can learn to talk but I am not sure that all of them can or will talk. You would not have to worry about them laying eggs.

If you can find two birds together that get along that would be good. They are very flock oriented & they consider us their slaves & we have to obey them. This is for real. If you should get two birds that are friends they could ignore you also. That has happened to some people I have known over the years.

I fed my hen cockatiel pellets, Zupreem, & seed & she liked apples. They can eat fruit but are not much for veggies. She received fresh water & her bird food everyday.

I left her wings grow out (they were clipped when she came to live with me). She learned to fly & land around the house for exercise. Being flighted can be a problem too. If you have open doors or windows they can fly out & not come back.

Get a nice large cage with some bird toys. My hen didn't care for toys & she liked being out of her cage. I gave her the freedom of my house when I was in the house with her other wise she was in her cage for safety sake.

Just remember this is a life commitment. To many cockatiels are throw away birds, people have them for awhile & decide they don't want them anymore. They do poop a lot about every 20 minutes when they are awake. So think about cleaning up after them.

You can tell a female from a male most of the time by the barring on their tail feathers & under their wings. The females have the barring.

Happy Birding Sana & let the bird pick you out.

[sana]

Thank You soo much Bonny! I really hope I get the talking one

Well, I have another question. How many times should I feed them in a day?

Well, about being its flock, I'll be happy to do that! My summer vacations end on 8th September, so hopefully, I'll be able to spend a lot of time with the birdies.

Please pray I get them real soon!!! I've asked my dad and he says we can buy them!!

I have a small other question. Should I buy the cage from the petstore, or have it made myself?

[Bonny]

I feed my birds once a day in the morning. They get their water dish rinsed out & cleaned before I put fresh water in each day. The fruit like apples gets put in the morning & taken out the end of the day. They also will need a cuttle bone to attach to the side of the cage. That is a form of calcium. Do not feed the cockatiels sand or grit it will pack their crops. Some books may say that but they can end up with an impacted crop.

The cage came from the pet store. It is a cage made for cockatiels. The bars in the cage vary in size these are approximately a half inch. The cage measures 24x17x17 1/2 inches. The cage has a white coating on the bars.
Make sure the bars of the cage are not lead. Lead will kill the birds it is very toxic for them. The birds use their beaks to move around the bars so can end up with lead poisoning that way. They also like to use their beaks to play with toys. Make sure the toys do not have lead in them or lead paint on the toys.

There are larger cages too. It depends on how many birds you put in the cage. I had only one cockatiel in the cage for the size I just mentioned.

You just never know if these birds will talk. My hen whistled & I learned her whistle & would whistle back. I called it our flock call. She would whistle when she heard me come home & greet me. I just loved her so much & still miss her terribly. These birds are so sweet & they just tug at your heart strings.

I will warn you though. It took a year & a half before my hen trusted me. She was a rescue & had been abused. If you buy young hand fed birds it will be an easier transition. You have to win their trust with lots of patience.

They can also bite & grab your finger or hand if they become irritated in some way, where they don't want to be handled. They can learn a step up onto your index finger. I would put my index finger down by my hens feet & ask her to step up.

A well check by your veterinary would be good also. If you can find a book about cockatiels at your local library or the pet store should have one to purchase it would be a good idea.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Cockatiels are great pets!

You asked about feeding... Birds need to have food always available to them. A pelleted diet is best (I prefer non-colored pellets). If your birds have been on a seed diet prior to your purchasing them, and you decide to switch them to pellets, you'll need to take some time to wean them. Some birds wean onto pellets faster than others. I've found cockatiels to wean pretty quickly (several days/couple weeks).

Fresh fruit and vegetables are also great. My birds love leafy greens hung from the side of the cage, apples, peas, corn, jalapenos, the list goes on and on. Birds definitely have their preferences. You may have to offer things to them time and time again to see what they like. None of my birds like bananas, however my friend's bird loves them more than anything else. Unlike Bonny's cockatiel, mine prefer vegetables over fruit. It really does vary from bird to bird. Mine also like pasta (I prefer multi-grain).

Birds can also be picky as to how they get their food. One of my birds will not eat fresh fruits and vegetables from a bowl. I have a couple hanging toys that I put her fresh food in and she eats beautifully from those.

You asked if males can be housed together... Yes, they can! A pair of males is what I usually suggest people get. Females are great, but their egg laying can be problematic. As for sexing, it depends on the color morph and the age of the bird. Some cockatiels can be visually sexed very easily, others cannot be sexed visually at all. Cockatiels can be kept alone, but generally keeping 2 together is better.

Toys are also important. Bells and mirrors are favorites! Bird toys can be expensive to buy, but you can make a lot yourself. Twine and rawhide string are great places to start, then just get creative. Old keys, large beads, and old dog tag, etc. can all become great toys. Birds can also get easily board with their toys so it's great to change them often. They can play with cardboard toilet paper tubes and things like that too.

They also love to be misted with water. (If you mist them in their cage, be sure to take their food out so it doesn't get wet.)

[sana]

Thank YOU!! We have looots of toys, my nephew have a whole carton of them, Thank God so, I don't think I'll need to buy many birdie toys

We have sprays, that I can use to mist the birdies.I wonder what my birdies would like, veggies or fruits? Hope its both!

Did you get their cage from a Petstore?

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Yes, I've mostly gotten my cages from pet stores. I've ordered a couple online too (they come disassembled).