Originally posted by sirrahved
1. What do you feed your little ones? I've heard several suggestions/diets, but would like to hear what YOU think is best.
2. Is there any good way to sex very young birds?
3. How vocal are your birds? (Don't want to make neighbors too angry!)
4. Is $90 US dollars a good price for a very tame baby like this? It sounded about right to me, and I asked them about their diet history, etc. Just wanted to check!

Last but not least (and maybe even most importantly), if any of you have dogs, how have you trained them to stay away? We've been working with Muffin on an EMPTY cage that has had birds in the past, and that was fairly easy. I'm thinking that a live bird will pose a bigger problem!
1. With birdies, variety is key! Check and make sure the pet store has them eating at least some pellets, 'cause it can be tough to get them eating pellets later if they're used to just seeds. I would feed a base diet of pellets mixed with seeds (I like Zupreem and Prettybird pellets best) and then add in lots of fresh fruits and veggies, a bit of tofu, maybe a bit of whole grain bread/cooked pasta sometimes. Peanuts hit the nail on the head with the "forbidden" foods, that's the same list I was going to post. I'd like to add to that that dairy products should be avoided...they can be used as a treat but in general they're not a great idea.

2. You CAN DNA sex young birds. (My vet doesn't recommend doing it until a few weeks after they're weaned at least) In my area it runs around $30, and what they do is clip one of the birds' nails a little bit too far, put a drop of blood on a slide, and check it that way.

3. In my experience, while 'Tiels can be quite adament about letting you know what they want, the volume isn't enough to frustrate neighbors. Not to say that they can't get loud, but it's nothing compared to a conure or other larger parrots.

4. Absolutely!! That's a pretty darn good price for a HF baby!

I wish I had some good advice about the dog question, but alas, for my "problem" dog (Wilbur) the solution has always been just to have one room be off-limits. (He has a very strong prey drive. )

Congratulations BTW, 'Tiels are absolutely AWESOME and your little featherbuddy will be with you for a long time!