First time parent of a cockateal Need Advice?

Question

what are the do's and donts of these beautiful birds? about what to feed them and when to give treats.

Answer 1

First off, it is cockatiel....not to be rude. They love to eat various seeds of course (Kaytee brand Cockatiel Feed is the best) they also love Cilantro, parsley, broccoli and mixed greens....they are not too keen on fruit so don't bother. They love attention and love to be on your shoulder or to use you as a multi level perch. They also love to explore, just keep your eyes on them or they could disappear behind a pillow or couch cushion and you wouldn't know it. Also, try giving it a sock to play with, my girlfriends cockatiel loves socks very much.

Answer 2

They also love shiny things (you may have noticed this if you wear rings), so sometimes putting a mirror in their cage will entertain them.

One thing you should be certain to do--keep their wings clipped. It doesn't hurt them, you don't cut down far enough to reach nerves or a blood supply. However, if for some reason they got away from you and a window was open, this will prevent them from flying away. They are just as happy to hop around and not fly.

Also consider getting a perch to put in your living room or den. They can be perch trained, and this will allow them to be more of the family and not have to stay in their cage all the time (most cages are too small).

A variety of diet is best, but it looks like the other posters have advised you well on that front.

Good luck--they're lots of fun!

Answer 3

Congrats Dana on the new bird!
I read thru the other postings and found something not touched upon, they usually like to be bathed. I put about 2 to 3 inches of warm water in the sink and let them in to play. The other thing I wanted to share with all seed eating bird parents,,,,, when you purchase a new container of bird seed, place it in the freezer for a few days to kill off any moth larvae and other insects. And one last tip,, change out your birds toys every few weeks or so,, they really do get bored with them , but they wont remember having them when you bring it back out again. This way they are constantly being entertained with new toys.

Answer 4

Firstly, the absolute best website for bird information is http://www.tailfeathers.net - you can learn SO much there!

The best thing to feed them is cockatiel pellet. A birdseed diet is like giving them McDonald's for every meal, it is terrible for their liver and cuts their lifespan by about half.

My tiels favorite snack is fresh parsley. I put a bunch of it in a clip in the cage every couple of days, leave it for a few hours, then take it out (make sure you take it out so that bacteria doesn't grow in it, that can hurt your birds). They also like fresh corn kernels. Take those out too, after a couple of hours.

Definitely check out the tailfeathers website, there's a ton of great advice there and interactive forums and lots of experts. You'll love it.

Answer 5

NO salt and don't let him/her eat any kind of plants your bird will die! Mine did. He was so freaking cute, it was around x-mas and he loved the presents under the tree, unfortunately he pecked at the tree and it killed him within a few days. Oh yeah, he'll learn to talk faster if you always leave the radio or t.v. on. Talk to him lots and let him ( when he's ready) have as much freedom as possible, that will help with his people skills. HAVE FUN!!!!

Answer 6

I have one and he need lots of attention it took awhile after getting him but now he loves to be cuddled and pet and I have a little cockatiel leash that I got him and trained him to go outside with me (he likes going to pets mart =])

*always change there water every day more if nessicary

*they love millet sprays (keep in the freezrer to avoid moths)

* mine with eat puraed fruits and veggies like apples and lettus

* never leave them out alone because they will chew up just about anything (learned that the hard way)

* give them smaller portions of food because they like fresh food each day and will waste it if you just fill up the dish

Answer 7

treat once a day
change water every day
if girl when it lays eggs cuz it will take them away imiedietly cuz it will nurse them and then will be sad they didnt hatch

Answer 8

make sure their cage is big enough for its long tail and to spread its wings open. Its very imortant and often neglected. Good Luck.

Answer 9

check this site out...it has all your answers, if not, then write to the lady and she'll answer it....

Answer 10

There are several things already listed that I won't repeat on. I will however list a few things that haven't been touched upon.

I disagree with parsley, there are much better food choices to give them and there are mixed thoughts on parsley for birds. Best just to avoid in my opinion.

Cockatiels NEED attention. You said you only got one bird? It really would be wise to get a 2nd bird to give them a mate. Doesn't have to be a male/female combo, just a friend for them to play with. Think of when you are at work and your cockatiel is all alone. Cockatiels need a lot of sleep. They need 12 - 14 hours of sleep for health purposes. To force them into believing it is night even when not is make sure to cover them with a blanket. I actually on my cage have a bed sheet covering the back half of my birds. It's a comfort level that they can go in the corner of there cage. Isn't best to have it open all around if that makes sense. They can feel unsafe and this has nothing to do with you.

If they are covered and you are awake and here your bird suddenly flapping around immediately go over to there cage lift off there blanket turn on a light and softly talk to them. These are what are called "Night Frights" which is the same as well a nightmare.

Your cockatiel (hopefully soon cockatiels) will need to be let out daily! This is extremely important. These birds aren't meant to JUST stay in a cage and say "aww look at the pretty birdie". That is neglecting your bird.

You should get a liquid vitamin to put in there water daily. The one I have is yellow in color (so it does look weird) but it is just one extra step to keep them healthy. Make sure they have a cuttle bone in there cage. This is for them to trim there beak on.

One of the most important things is to know how to help them if they start to bleed. If your cockatiel fly’s and you go to pick them up. It is a good idea to get in the habit to lift them to see under there wings a bit. You do not need to pull there wings out for this. That is why it is so important to keep there wings trimmed. They will also be less aggressive and it's for there own good. Otherwise they can fly around the room smashing into things that can hurt them badly.

Ok about the bleeding feathers. A blood feather is when there is blood in the quill to grow a baby feather. Once it is matured then it will just be clear in the quill. IF your bird is bleeding it is very important you know how to pull a feather out. This is something you should maybe have a professional show you how to do so you make sure you are doing it right. You use say a needle nose pliers and you MUST hold the bird’s wing steady. You can't just pull it out without stabilizing the wing otherwise you can break there wing or dislocate it. NOT A GOOD THING AT ALL!

Make sure to go out and buy kwik stop, safe stop or styptic powder. It just can have a few names to it. This is powder you apply after the feather is pulled to get the bleeding to stop. This powder stings so be careful not to get it anywhere near your bird’s eyes and you only should use what you need to. If you need to improvise because you find yourself without this powder you can use flour as a replacement, but immediately go stock up on the styptic powder right away. Don't just use flour all the time.

It is good to make sure you put very safe toys in the cage. There are some toys that yes are even sold in pet stores that aren't safe. So be cautious on this. You can go on EBay and find a gym that can sit right on top of there cage to play on during the day when you let them out. If you are interested I can tell you who the person was that I bought my 2 from because they are completely safe. You have to be careful what you get with the woods. Colored wood is NOT always better, even if you think it is prettier.

Someone said put a mirror in there cage. DO NOT DO THIS. They don't like this at all. It can scare them actually because they will think it is another bird.

Be careful on spraying household products, burning certain candles, never burn incense around them and using certain cooking products depending on where your cage is located. This can and will kill them.

Make sure the cage is in a "busy" area. Don't stick them in your room where it is quiet most of the time. I mean yes they need quiet when sleeping, but not ALL day long.

If your house temps change a lot this to can kill them or make them ill. Just don't do drastic temp drops or increases is all. This means don't put there cage to close to a window by any means. This location will give the bird drastic temp changes.

Be careful not to open doors, patios, open windows (without screens of course) when your birds are out of there cage. They are VERY fast and if they fly out you will not ever see them again most likely.

Even if your birds wings are clipped never take them outside all a bird needs to do is catch a gust of wind and they can fly!

Keep young children away from them. Young kids don't know how to behave with them and they can ultimately make your bird mean or scared of people in general.

This should be a common sense one. But if you have a fireplace and you have one lit, keep your birds in. Even if you have screens covering it. Just better to be safe.

You should feed your birds other foods except just seed. Even if it is just toast, cheerios, egg whites (NOT the yolk part of the egg), fruits, veggies. Lettuce and celery don't have any nutritional value but sometimes they like just picking at it. Take it out after a few hours; do not leave it in over night.

Keep there cage clean! Change the paper AT LEAST once a week if not more often. Otherwise bugs/moths can grow in the bottom.

You can bathe them in the sink but don't get them TO wet because birds have natural oils that you don't want to wash them all away. There are sprays to you can get to spray on them to help with feather picking and well to just keep there feathers nice in general. Be careful not to get in there eyes. Therefore you can't just "spray this at them".

You can also tell your birds mood from there crest on top of there head. You can message me anytime if you want to know more on this and there moods. Oh and they don't like it to be TO loud, this can hurt there ears. You will notice them shaking there heads a lot of if something is too loud.

Again most importantly, love your bird(s), talk to them daily (they like sitting on your shoulder to be higher up they will feel safer), hold them, feed them right, keep them safe, let them out and they will live longer healthy lives for it.