All about Cockatiels.

[Pikarya]

So with our dog recently passing away. We decided to get an animal we've never had before because its way too early to get another dog. So we decided to get a Cockatiel after a little bit of research.

http://i42.tinypic.com/72ubm9.jpg

So I think we've gotten everything needed for the current care of the bird.

Few ladders for him to climb
Water and food bowels on the top and bottom areas of the cage.
A hanging/mirror perch.
Some hanging Millet covered in Kiwi as a small snack.
A little hanging toy.
Mineral/Vita blocks (Not salt based)
Hanging anti-mite block (supposedly prevents it with some aroma which is safe for birds). From what I was told, as long as the cage is cleaned weekly this should never arise a problem.
And then some other random things like a swinging perch.
Giant cage (We're in the process of getting a giant/steel frame parrot cage so he can be downstairs when we are down there).

Spoiler: show

http://www.birdscomfort.com/Image/pl...ird_cage_l.jpg

My questions are;

His wings were clipped yesterday by the pet store (I think its required in our state for pet birds). I've noticed he's been doing more climbing and he has a hard time moving about the cage doing jumps. With time will he learn to balance himself better or is this something to worry about (I've heard clipping feathers improperly can set their balance off).

Secondly when he got home we transferred him to his new cage by leaving the door open so he would go in the bigger cage. He started to get on the lower perch of the cage and he started to thrash in the cage causing his wing to get caught in the vertical slants of the cage. I carefully held him and unbuckled his wing from the cage wall at an angle softly to pull it out. After that he sat in that same place I left him for 5-10 minutes, then started to move to higher ground in the cage.

I'm not sure if that is similar to rabbit, kind of like when they go into shock in a scared event.

He seems to be doing fine now, as he's sitting at the top of his new cage. But he's been there all day since yesterday. We went out and bought additional water and food bowls to put on the top floor so he would have easy access but he hasn't attempted to do either from my knowledge.

Now I've read quite extensively on blood feathers. During his dilemma in the cage I noticed 2 feathers came out of his wingspan. Here are pictures of both.

Pics spoilered for size.

Spoiler: show

http://i43.tinypic.com/35ib192.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/5aopau.jpg

I applied a bird styptic gel to the bleeding area, it didn't look like anything severe in terms of bleeding so I'm guessing we got lucky on this one. Also the blood seems to only be on the tip.

Our closest avian vet is 3 hours away and its a weekend so Its going to be a few till we can take him for a full checkup.

Lastly, do "clipped" feathers ever come back. I'm confused as I've heard some people say they will grow back during molting. I personally would rather have the wings un clipped to give the bird as much freedom as possible, especially in a big cage.

I know BG has a quite a few registered vets that frequent, along with a ton of animal lovers so I figured I would look here for opinions, along with other forums.

[vagus]

Did not expect to see birds. I thought this thread was about alcoholic drinks.

[Qalbert]

http://skev.bloggsida.se/files/2012/...e-retarded.jpg

[Nevex]

In before this:


and this:

[Pikarya]

http://skev.bloggsida.se/files/2012/...e-retarded.jpg

For? >.>

[Brill Weave]

Think he was talking to Vagus.

[Mortilox]

Lastly, do "clipped" feathers ever come back.

yeah they do, eventually. How old is your bird?

As for the feathers, Blood feathers are feathers which are still developing and have a blood supply. If you hit one of those you would know it. As you said it shouldn't be servere but you should keep an eye on him for a while to definitely make sure it doesn't continue.

A little hanging toy.

Moar toys! Birds enjoy them, and it keeps them occupied and active.

Wing clipping

Oh boy, this one has been argued for centuries. To wing clip or not to wing clip. Brass tacs: clipping will reduce the chances of your bird escaping, and in some cases increase the bond between the owner and the bird if he's hand tame. But on the "moral" hand, you are somewhat nerfing your bird. I hope the person who wing clipped your bird was trained to do so. There's a thin line between the bird having enough feathers left to land safely and not having enough feathers left and hitting the floor at a potentially damaging speed.

Also you should offer your cockatiel some fresh veggies/fruits after he's settled in.

I'm not a vet btw, but have owned budgies and a cockatiel for a few years now.

[Pikarya]

yeah they do, eventually. How old is your bird?

As for the feathers, Blood feathers are feathers which are still developing and have a blood supply. If you hit one of those you would know it. As you said it shouldn't be servere but you should keep an eye on him for a while to definitely make sure it doesn't continue.

Moar toys! Birds enjoy them, and it keeps them occupied and active.


Oh boy, this one has been argued for centuries. To wing clip or not to wing clip. Brass tacs: clipping will reduce the chances of your bird escaping, and in some cases increase the bond between the owner and the bird if he's hand tame. But on the "moral" hand, you are somewhat nerfing your bird. I hope the person who wing clipped your bird was trained to do so. There's a thin line between the bird having enough feathers left to land safely and not having enough feathers left and hitting the floor at a potentially damaging speed.

Also you should offer your cockatiel some fresh veggies/fruits after he's settled in.

I'm not a vet btw, but have owned budgies and a cockatiel for a few years now.

Thanks for the information. The pet store owner like you said, the bird will depend more on you if clipped. I'm paranoid now the store owner clipped the wings improperly and its messing with his balance. I might be completely wrong though. Also the store owner said they usually only carry tiels that are 9 months to 1 year old. So I'm guessing that's his/her age since he looks very small vs. other ones I've seen.

[Qalbert]

Think he was talking to Vagus.

bingo

[Rabidelly]

Grats on the new bird! They're alot of fun. My stepmother owns a cockatiel named Caesar and had it since before my father and I moved in when I was in seventh grade. He's probably 15 or so, maybe a little older.

Personally, I would say you should keep the wings clipped. At some point the bird's gonna jump and try to fly (maybe because they want to or maybe they're scared of something) and my worst fear is that he'll get into a ceiling fan >.>;; and that would be very bad. Caesar does jump from his cage sometimes but he has enough wing/feather-age that he just manages to slow his fall. He' pretty damn mobile still and climbs stairs, couches, whatever he can. You will find feathers like that from time to time, as they just bang their wings into things sometimes. Having a stypic gel or something like it on hand like you did is a good idea. Make sure you talk to the vet about clipping the wings/trimming the nails so you know how you should do it safely.

I'm sure you've found in your research that they are a needy pet, relative to cats/dogs. Caesar will jump from his cage in the morning (they usually leave it open) and climb the stairs and hang out by the bedroom door whistling until my folks get up. As soon as you get home he's chirping and wants you to come and love him and give him lots of attention. At dinner he fully expects to be near you (usually on the counter with a bowl of food for him) and gets pissed if you don't bring him. If at night he gets antsy and wants to sleep but you're still up, just put a blanket over the cage and they'll go to sleep. This also helps on mornings you want to sleep in if they're noisy around then.

As for toys, I'm sure he'll play with some of his toys but don't be surprised if half of them he/she ignores. Caesar's FAVORITE thing in the entire world are cardboard boxes and paper bags. He loves to hide in them and chew them all to pieces.

Also be aware that they're sensitive to stress. When my father and I moved in, Caesar began to pick at his back to the point that he had an open sore there. It took him a very long time to adjust to having us live there, and he at different points had a tiny bird cone on his neck and then had wrapped cloth around his neck to prevent him from picking at it. It was adorably sad to see. He is used to us now and hasn't picked at his back for many years.

Remember to keep chocolate and avocado away from the bird at all costs. And be prepared for a cute tantrum struggle whenever you need to trim their nails. Try leaving a shallow bowl of warm water for them and watch them splash around in it. If he poops on you, don't worry it cleans up really easily and doesn't smell. In fact, any time you pick him up from his cage, just wait a moment and you'll learn what the signs are of an impending poop. A few foods that Caesar did favor (and you're gonna raise your eyebrows at a few): various fruits, pasta, shrimp, and chicken.

Hope you enjoy your little bundle of fluff and feathers and poop!

[Lucavi]

All you need to know about them is this:

They're fucking loud.

Cook the damned bird and get something quieter. I hate doing interviews at people's houses with those loud as birds. Putting the cover over them does nothing. The only cure is a frying pan.

[Pikarya]

I've heard differently. From breeders I've talked to out of state they say solo tiels usually are quiet unless trained to speak. We had in mind to go big (African Macaw) loud, too intelligent, etc. lol but decided to start with a small breed bird first.

[Rabidelly]

The males are more vocal than the females. I wouldn't say they're obnoxiously loud (ours wasn't at least) but he would have a soft background chatter and learned quite a few phrases/songs/sounds. And at least a cockatiel can't bite your finger off like the big birds o.O;

[Pikarya]

make sure you buy a water bottle

We're using cups at the moment, do bottles peak their interest more?

[Pirian]

We're using cups at the moment, do bottles peak their interest more?

http://i.qkme.me/3h19.jpg

[WrenDraco]

Birds are loud if they're bored and feeling ignored. A well-socialized bird that gets proper family time will only 'talk' in a reasonably quiet voice, because they want to talk to you. If you're in a house with a screaming bird, the owners aren't spending enough time on it (or possibly if it's used to being free-range and only gets caged when strangers come in, that might just be pissing it off! Just like a dog that gets put in the backyard when company comes and spends the whole time barking at the door.).

[Vandole]

hit it with a water bottle until it can sing justin bieber.

[TacoTaru]

We're using cups at the moment, do bottles peak their interest more?

He was implying the "hit it with a water bottle" etc etc. I didn't see you mention it and it's been awhile since we had our bird, but back when we had her we were told to always have something called Quick Stop. It was in case the bird ever started to bleed, you would it on there to stop it immediately since they can bleed out quickly. Our cockatiel was very sweet, but she didn't like me very much.

As for wing clippings: if you let their wings grow out to the point they can fly and they realize it, they'll do the balance thing for a bit and the "I CAN FLY" > thump to the ground. If you keep them clipped regularly they shouldn't have much balance problems (at least ours didn't).

Good luck and I hope you enjoy yours as much as we enjoyed ours!

[Xerlic]

Keep in mind that they can be a bigger commitment than owning a dog. For one, they live a long time if you take good care of them. My parents got their first cockatiel almost 20 years ago when I was in the fifth grade, and she just passed away a few weeks ago.

They can also be pretty needy when it comes to attention, especially if they're bonded to you. If you get him used to coming out and sitting on your shoulder and then just stop taking him out, he'll probably start plucking out his feathers like someone already said.

I'm not sure if you mentioned where you live, but cockatiels are tropical birds and are very sensitive to the cold. Be wary of drafts.

Cockatiels can eat a wide variety of stuff, but chocolate and avocado are poisonous to them. My dad's birds especially love millet. He got them used to getting a few sticks of millet at 3PM every day, and they will start to get antsy around 2:45. They're usually pretty quiet but once my dad walks into view of their cage, they will usually start chirping their heads off until he puts the millet into their cage.

[Salodin]

Don't know what possessed you to get a bird, but like others have said they're a lot of work. They are in every sense of the idea small children, and require the same amount of attention and work. If that's cool with you, then more power to ya, but you have been warned...