I found this yellow Cockatial last fall as it just about froze too death... we couldn't get close too it for the first year... wild.. wild... so it stayed in its cage... lately I have been putting feed on my hand and it has been walking out of the cage and walk up on my hand too eat... which is nice.... and it goes crazy chirping when I come home from work so I sit next too the cage, open the door and visit for 15 minutes and feed her, we kind of have this bond going on... wife is getting Jealous.
sooo... it loves me... I love it... I try too feed it other things but what would be good for her... and possibly she would like? Except for her morning "Hissssss" that I got from her for the first year she has really come out of her shell to be on my hand... Now Tricks?
her wings havn't been clipped or nails trimmed but she seems fine and house is closed up when I let her out and she doesn't fly.. I walk around with her and have put her on my shoulder... she seems to be relaxing.
2006-12-11 15:24:03 · 12 answers · asked by Maken trax 4 in Pets ➔ Birds
don't rely purely on sunflower seeds. give greens - like a piece of spinach (not lettuce!!) or green pepper or green chilli to munch on. green chilli is actually one of the highest conditioners for skin, feathers, and yes, all my feathered friends learnt to eat this and loved it. you can buy kd bird biscuits from a decent pet supplier too. great source of vitamins and nutrients. check under the wings and tali feathers - if you see very light yellow stripes banded over the white, you have a female. cockatiels are very smart and can equal just about any other variety of talking bird. i have found that male cockatiels talk easier than females for some reason. enjoy him / her. get the wife to participate.
2006-12-12 03:45:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are many brands of food pellets that are nutritionally more sound. There is no agreement on the required daily amounts of nutrients. I went with the extruded Zupreem. The designer of it also did Science Diet. Supplement with fruits and veggies except for avocado, grape seed and chocolate. Limit bird seed to more than 20% of the diet and things should be fine. No supplemental vitamins needed. Go to any pet shop that sells birds. Convert slowly. The bird may reject the change initially.Eat or pretend to eat the new food. This really helps. They are flock birds and are social eaters.Good luck. PS Your wife isn't jealous. Also most breeders don not recommend birds on shoulders because of their possible superiority feelings that may enable aggressive behavior towards you or your wife. That's just what I have read. Good luck and invest in a book. It will be worth it.
2006-12-11 15:40:59 · answer #2 · answered by firestarter 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would get her wings clipped as well as her beak and nails if you want to train her a bit. It just makes the process easier and less painful on you. The first trick is to "step up" on your finger and then go from hand to hand. Never point your finger at her she will bite it, flat hands are best. Pieces of fruit are good treats, sometimes small nuts. I found a parrot much the way you found your bird and he has only certain seeds he will eat, no dry pellet food, but he likes fruits and peanuts and for some reason, noodles rice and potatoes and pudding. I DID not teach him to eat that. He dang near attacked me to get it out of my mouth one day.
2006-12-11 15:37:57 · answer #3 · answered by fancyname 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, you should really clip her wings, otherwise she might get out and risk freezing to death after all. No matter what anyone says, it is NOT cruel, they can't even feel it, it is much safer for them. A vet or pet store can do it for you in about 2 minutes, it's very simple.
You can feed her any type of bird treat your pet store sells, there's a very large selection out there. Also, cockatiels LOVE millet spray! All petstores should sell it, you can put a sprig in every other day and he will devour it.
You can also feed birds most people food, here's a list of popular items:
-Cheerios
-Bread
-Pasta- plain cooked, no butter, tomato sauce is OK
-Nuts (natural, unsalted only)
-Fruit- apples, bananas, peaches, oranges, grapes, etc.
-Vegetables- avoid lettuce & celery, anything else is OK
-Cooked meat- chicken, steak, turkey, no lunch meats they are too salty
-Pizza! For some reason birds love this stuff, but feed any fast food sparingly. (Most birds love french fries too, but again, VERY sparingly- like, once every 3 months.)
-Spicy food- birds love hot stuff for some reason, and it's okay for them to have it.
Avoid milk, but a little bit of ice cream or yogurt is fine. Actually, avoid any liquid that's not water, it's not very good for them. And nothing that contains chocolate or caffeine, both are toxic to birds, as is alcohol.
2006-12-11 15:34:56 · answer #4 · answered by Dreamer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hurray! I'm so glad the bird found you. You are such a good owner for this bird, I can't say enough.
Your bird needs fresh spinach, lettuce, nuts and seeds. Some like dried fruits. You will have to go to your local pet store or get nutrition from the Internet as what to feed this bird. They love sunflower seeds mostly. Also, they need a bowl large enough for a bath as all means.
And, to you wife, my husband got very jealous over our cat, but he finally got over it, took years and by that time she died. He wept for days.
To your wife: thank god he loves a bird and not going out with other women. Learn to love the bird, it's part of your relationship.
2006-12-11 15:46:48 · answer #5 · answered by Hedicat 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cockatiels are supposed to eat fruits and vegetables as well as bird seed. Bread (not butter) is fine too. Some cockatiels have been known to like a little meat.
I had one who liked to share my coffee or tea. I know you are not supposed to give them coffee, but a little is okay, just like with humans. Try not to feed her too much fat.
Mine also got so she did not fly, when she was older.
2006-12-11 17:06:48 · answer #6 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I remember a recipe called Cray's Diet from when I had a Lovebird... I think it was 1 part cooked rice, 1 part pelleted bird diet, 1 part frozen corn, and 1 part frozen mixed veggies. Mix them all together and put in ice cube trays, when frozen pop out of the trays and store frozen in plastic bags. Instant portion control. My lovebird really liked it! Double check the ingredients with a websearch though... there's cobwebs in my brain's bird section :-)
2006-12-11 15:32:55 · answer #7 · answered by dogandcatluvr 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well you could give her some apples ,oranges or anytime of fruit just a little bit and you actually have to spend a bout an hour with them and the more she will get use to you ...
2006-12-11 15:35:21 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They love their fresh fruit, like cut up apples, pears, and seedless grapes. They also like their veggies, mine liked a little bit of broccoli, and cauliflower, and fresh crsip lettuce.
2006-12-11 15:33:11 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
mine love fresh fruits.: apple, oranges grapes... vegatables: carrots( shredded),lettuce( but not too much or loose stools will be the result).beans, chip peas, regular peas
meal worms are good in vitamins if you don't mine crawly things
--even my hand fed babies like mush veggie treats, and fruit sauces no added sugars please.. keep it natural
--nuts , shelled or not sunflower seed.. for good bird treats
2006-12-11 18:01:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋