Cockatiel Owners

Gedrime

Hi

I have my first cocatiel for a week, his name is Kiwi, he should be about 1 year old. I have so many questions to ask, and I hope there are people with a lot of experience in keeping cockatiels to advice me. I think I read all posible websites about cocatiels and still didnt get all the answers. I would be greatful if anybody would help us out (me and my new baby) :-)

1. My cockatiel is not hand tamed. Should I let him out of the cage for a fly? I did it today (he came out of his cage himself, was siting on his cage for about 10 min, then flew around for a while) and at the end I had to towel him gently back in to his cage after two hours beeing out (I know it is not the best thing to do)

2. He is quit well in his new home. He alows me to sit next to him when he is eating in the cage, but doesnt play with his toys or doesnt shows much interest in me. I am worried that he would not become cage bond or bored and depresed as he is on his own and he looks quit sad most of the time. He almost doesnt make any noise us well. I do talk to him gently and sit next to the cage 4-5 times a day for about 10min each time.

3. He only eats millet. When and how should I encorage to eat other food. He is not even interested in any other seeds like sunflowers.

4. How much is a visit to a vet (should I find an avian vet?) in Dublin (I live in Dublin 7) for a check up and to trim his wings.

I know it is still very early days for us but I just want to do all the best I can to make him happy and healthy.

Thanks

Sigma Force

Have pmd you, letting him out of the cage after a week is fine as long as it's in the same room his cage is in at first so he gets an idea of the lay out of the room and becomes familiar and more comfortable with it.

At first he won't like being picked up and put back in and also he will at first feel uncomfortable in his surroundings but this will change.

There is no harm in picking him up in a towel it's a gentle way to handle him and saves your fingers if he is a bit pecky. Eventually you won't need to use the towel and you will be able hopefully just to use your hands although a towel will help you keep a better grip on him. Handle him once a day very briefly eg to put him back in the cage just so he starts getting used to it and will eventually realise no one is going to harm him when handled.

He might be quiet for some time he's still possible traumitised from the move, if he's a year old he may of even been in a different home I don't think a pet shop would normally have a tiel for sale for a year but I could be wrong.

Toy wise tiels can take ages to start playing with toys, in the pet shop were there toys with the birds or just other birds? If there were no toys then it's all new to him.

Even a bird that's used to toys might not touch a new toy for a long time.
I put two new toys into my tiels cage well over 6 months ago and it's only in the last while he's started to play with them. Well, he attacks them more than plays with them.

Food wise it's important to get him eating more than millet, this can be very difficult my tiel is very fussy and it's a nightmare he won't eat any veg which isn't good for his health but we keep trying.

If he sees you eating something he might try it, so if you pretend to eat his food he might start eating it too, also remove the millet and when he's hungry he will try his food, if he doesn't though by a few hours put the millet back in don't want him going too hungry.

Don't give up with the food keep trying new things, mine is so fussy but has never turned down a rice krispie. He has his own little mini box of them but I don't give him too many.

Your bird might benifit from a multivitamin/mineral suppliment for a while until he starts eating different foods.

Two of the most common problems with birds are health issues to do with malnutrition (from eating just one type of seed or whatever) and lack of sleep which is very important for tiels.

Just keep spending time with him he'll eventually come around.

Check out the Northern Parrots websitehttp://www.24parrot.com/ for dvds for birds, it will cheer him up to see other birds (although if you think it's upsetting him turn it off and try another time). I got the birdy show one for my tiel and at first he wasn't bothered but now he loves it, it's not the best bird dvd out there but it's a start. If he sees me going near the dvd player (he has his own portable one lol) he starts making a funny noise like he's excited.

He's had a lot to get used to in one week, new cage, new surroundings, new person he will come around in time. One morning you'll hear him start to sing away. Cockatiels naturally seem to know how to wolf whistle so if you wolf whistle at him when you enter the room he should respond after a bit.

Keep his cage, for now, as it is as in don't add any more toys or change things and perches around keep a really good routine for now to make him feel secure.

I just bought myself the book 'Cockatiels for Dummies' it's full of really helpful info. stuff I'd never of thought of it's really worth getting.

Any photos of him?

Magenta

Hi,

My advice would be not to clip his wings. My cockatiel was the same when I got him and clipping his wings made him so much worse. He'd panic because he knew he couldn't fly away if he wanted to.
Better to let him get used to you at his own pace

Also, my cockatiel had a similar problem with food. He would only eat sunflower seeds and nothing else. The vet told me that it is common for cockatiels, when they are chicks, once they start eating seeds they tend to just stick with the first one they like and that's that! He referred to them as "seed junkies" . He told me to stop giving mine any sunflower seeds, he won't starve, once he gets hungry he'll try something else. This worked and now my little fella eats all types of seeds.

Gedrime

Thanks a lot for your advice

I got my tiel from the pet shop in Cabra,Dublin. The shop owner said that the cockatiels he had where between 4 month and a year old (I think there were five of them in a cage). I picted out one because he looked strongest and healthiest (I dont meen that athoer birds looked sick, just this one looked nice). But he was the bigest one in a cage us well. I just went for my instinct.
Here is a picture of my tiel Kiwi

Gedrime

Hallo

I am after finding out another problem with my tiel: As he started to allow me to get closer to him when he is eating I noticed that he has a hole in his bottom beak. And it is peeling a bit. His eating habits or behaviour is not obstructed by that, I only noticed it now because I was watching him closely.
Has anyone had that problem? Could it be an old injury and his beak would grow back normal or should I go to a vet straight away?

Does anybody know any vet who would treat birds close to Dublin 7 area? I found some vets on golden pages but it is not specified if they treat pet birds. Also I am wondering how much could that cost to me?

Here is him close up


Thanks

P.s. On his leg there is a green bangle with a number 9, so I think he is younger then I thought - 6 month or less (well I hope it is not No 6 :rolleyes:)