Cockatiel!

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cfhtlhii

Boxer Booster
We have added another addition to our family. All of my life as long as I can remember I have wanted a cockatiel. It always seemed to be stuck at the bottom of the list. Well last week a friend of mine tells me she has a couple of babies she is selling. So I jumped on the chance and am now the proud mommy of a grey cockatiel. Not sure if it is male or female yet, have been told both. So for now the name will be Pretty Bird!
Anyone with any tips on cockatiels please, I am all ears!

Connie
 
I love them!

I had Cockatiels for years before I ever had my first Boxer. In fact, I had a mated pair of Cockatiels when I started bringing Boxers into my life. I think they are great birds. They can be very personable if you start working with them from the beginning. They hand tame easily and can even whistle.

I have had several over the years and in different colors. By 8 weeks you can tell a male from a female by their coloring.

Enjoy!
 

Scorpio

Boxer Insane
I had a cockatiel, drove me crazy wouldn't leave me alone and talked all the time, his fav words were what are you going to do? He would follow my rabbit around all the time, I think he thought he was a rabbit, he would hop behind the rabbit everywhere he went, sleep in the cage with the rabbit, eat rabbit food! They are nice birds and easy to train. When my rabbit died after ten years the bird flew out of the window and never came back, so sad.
 

Bosco'sMom

Super Boxer
We just got a cockatiel recently too. His name is Ozzy.
I believe he is what they call a lutino. We're not sure if he is male or female but we named him Ozzy anyway. Does anyone know how to tell the difference between males and females on lutinos? He is about 8 weeks old and very friendly.
 

Bosco'sMom

Super Boxer
Calling people knowledgeable about birds

I think I'm having a problem with Ozzy. He was being hand fed at about 6 weeks when I got him and I have continued this.
He is now about 9 weeks old. I give him seed, pellets, millet spray and some fruit and he really doesn't seem too interested.
And just in the past week he has started crying all the time for food. When I approach the cage, when I pick him up, when he sees me walk in the room and even after he's just been fed.
I mean all the time. Is this normal?

I had been trying to cut down to just feeding him once per day, but in the past couple of days I'm back to feeding him twice per day. Any suggestions on this weaning process? I never knew it would be so hard. During the day it looks like he hasn't even touched his food while I've been gone. But when I put him on top of his cage with his food he will sometimes pick at it, but I'm not sure if he's really eating it.

Are there any baby bird experts out there?
 
I have to say that 6 weeks was way too young to have gotten him. Even for a Cockatiel, that is too much. They are a bird that needs their birdy family around. They learn to eat on their own, just like a growing puppy.

I can't offer advice except to say be patient. This poor baby does not have the benefit of watching other birds eat to understand the process. Nature will have to kick in. Until then, continue to offer food as you have. Did you buy him from a private breeder? If so, then perhaps take over for a visit with his birdy friends to learn what he is supposed to do.

I am not sure of the proper age to bring one home, but the earliest I ever brought home a Cockatiel was 13 weeks. That was my Ashley and I had her for I believe 8 wonderful years. It might have been even 9 years. Even at 13 weeks old she was young and only just starting to get the plume feathers on her head.
 

Bosco'sMom

Super Boxer
Well actually a friend gave him to me. (She has 2 adult cockatiels). I did kind of want to leave him longer, but the male bird started plucking all of the baby birds feathers off their backs. At the time she did not have an extra cage, so I just went ahead and took Ozzy home. I had no idea at what age they were supposed to leave, but she told me they had all begun eating on their own so I assumed it would be fine. I even bought a book on cockatiels and it doesn't tell me at what age they can leave.

She kept one of the babies though so I may try to take Ozzy for a visit so he can watch him. The other baby that she gave to her mother at the same time is doing just fine though. That was why I was so worried about Ozzy. Thanks for the advice.
 
That sounds like a good idea. Why not let him visit with his sibling and mother. They can put daddy away for a few hours while he is over. Then he can pick up what skills his brother has always learned from the mom.

The only bird breed I ever actually bred were finches. Once the finch babies would start getting kicked out of the nest by their parents, I would put them in their own cage right next door to the parents. I would do this one a day so as not to shock the parents. Usually only had 3-4 babies at a time. They would not leave my home until they were eating and drinking well on their own, and definitely showing signs of being their own little birdies. And I only sent them off as pairs.

Cockatiels can easily be an only bird. They bond well to their humans. My first Cockatiel was an only bird in my home. I was given her at 2 years old by a private breeder because she would not allow any males to fertilize her eggs. She was a white Cockatiel and quite striking. It took me 6 months to hand tame that she-devil. But once we had an understanding, she was my best friend for years and years. Did you know there is a Cockatiel rescue? One of my later Cocktiels came came Rescue. And as I have said before, I also had a Cockatiel as a baby from a private aviary. I have had at least 7 Cockatiels in the past years. My cat and Boxers used to love to watch them have their birdy disputes in their cage :)
 
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