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Cockatiel

5K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  fran.bath89 
#1 ·
I'm interested in getting a cockatiel and it would be my first bird. What are your experiences with these birds? Can they be kept alone and how long can they be alone in a day? What are some characteristics of males and females and which one do you recommend? Thanks in advance! :)
 
#2 ·
Hi, welcomed to Talk Parrots!

Cockatiels are great birds and can be friendly affectionate and entertaining when they start mimicking your speech and or whistles. They do enjoy a diet of fresh veggies daily along with a good quality of seeds. The one thing I made sure to do when I owned tiels was to pick out most of their sunflower seeds from their daily seeds and limit them to a small amount. Sunflower seeds can causing them to have too much fat in their diet which can be very unhealthy for them.

They do love to bath and I usually got my birds to bath at the kitchen sink while they perched on my hand/s. My tiels enjoyed the hair dryer blowing warm air around them after a bath, I didn't point the hair dryer directly at them but just above them to allow the air to float down on them. Bathing helped keep the dust at bay as cockatiels are a dusty bird!

I found most of my tiels loved to hang out on the floor running around and checking thing out so you have to make sure there is nothing down on the floor they can get into that can cause any danger to them. Make sure you watch where they are and don't forget they might be on the floor as well, a few times I've booted a tiel by accident! They were not amused!

Tiels also need a tall wide and large cage, make sure to get a grate that covers over the base or bottom of the cage where you would line it with news paper. All the tiels I've cared for or owned loved to go to the bottom of their cage and eat their own droppings, a grate will prevent this from happening.

I tend to enjoy owning a male bird as I dislike dealing with a broody hen who will lay eggs even if there is no male around. Eggs can get stuck in a hens vent and cause you worry and an expensive trip to an avian vets to get the egg removed. This is a terrible stress on the bird.

The only thing I ever found difficult about owning a cockatiel is that they can be prone to "night frights" I've had a hen die on me one night when she had a fright and it was a horrible thing to witness. I learned to cover the top and sides of their cage at night but leave the front section of the cage uncovered, I would leave a small lamp on next to the cage just in case the bird had a night fright and fell off its perch. The light is enough to help them adjust and get back up on a perch to calm down.

If you can find a breeder near where you live contact them and see if you can meet them find out if they have new chicks hatched as a young chick will bond with you much faster. If you buy a bird in a pet store you may not know how old it is and you it may take some time for it to bond with you and be friendly.
 
#4 ·
I love my cockatiel Linda she is so sweet ! She can talk and sing . She is so smart I can call her and tell her to come and she will walk and find me. She loves my dogs and they love her . She is dusty so I put her perch in the shower with me and she sings and bathed herself like once a week. I recommend a cockatiel any day . They are loving and friendly birds. When I go out of town I take her to my moms and she is just as friendly there as she is with me . Also she is funny she rolls on her back for belly rubs. I also taught her to fetch a cat toy, from watching a YouTube video
 

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#6 ·
Cockatiels are great for a first time bird! I breed cockatiels and would advise trying to get a hand reared baby if you can but aviary bred can be tamed it just takes a bit longer! Depending on what you would like the bird to be like will help you choose which sex to have. Boys learn songs (whistle tunes) bounce around doing heart wings and some learn to talk but can still get hormonal during breeding season. Girls don’t learn to mimic anything you get rare occasions where girls can but it’s genrally unheard of, girls sometimes get broody and lay eggs but not always. Both sexes can do well with hormone control. If you want further advice and information I would suggest joining talk cockatiels. There are many breeders on there and maybe even someone local for you. Good luck with your birdy search! Also Tayorannnn did you know that Linda is a boy?
 
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