New cockatiel owner

[cheski]

I recently bought a cockatiel. I questioned the owner of the shop extensively but he may have just been trying to make a sale, so if y'all could answer a few questions for me.

First of all some details (Of course this is from the owner...) It's around 3 months old. Hand raised but has not been handled for some time. Not sure of the sex as apparently it is hard to tell at that age. I'm not handling it much (Have had it for 3 days) because it is quite aggressive. Instead just talking to it and trying to get it used to me. My first question is on this subject.

Will it quieten down? If it is possible, what is the best way to go about it? It seems quite social as when I'm near its cage talking to it it will come up to the side of the cage near me and make noise.

Is there a particular noise they make that can tell you their mood? I read on wikipedia that their crest can tell you their mood. How accurate is that? (I don't have a great deal of trust in the wiki. lol But from what it said. The crest seems to work in a similar way to a horses ears when it comes to emotion. Horses I can read like a book just by looking at their ears so if this also works for cockatiels it would be a great help. )

I asked if it would be alright as a lone bird. He said it was fine but I also read that they are social birds. There is usually someone around to spend time with it. Is human interaction enough or would it need another feathered friend? We have a few wild birds in our back yard and I usually take it outside during the day. Does this make a difference?

What would be the best toys -if any- for it?

It has a seed bowl and a seed stick. It doesn't seem too interested in the bowl but the stick is being gnawed like crazy. Is this just a preference? Like, if it didn't have the stick would it eat from the bowl? (The bowl is the same style as those at the shop.) I know my budgies always preferred the stick.

Are there any particular foods I should really avoid giving to it? Any that it would really enjoy?

Lastly; how -as an amateur- can I tell its sex? Is temperament gender specific?

Thank you muchly in advance.

[avinet]

Hi and welcome to the Forum, and congratulations at owning a cockatiel. They are lovely little birds, and in many ways are the ideal pet bird. I have 6 pet ones in the house, ranging from 15 to 20 years in ages, and we really enjoy their companionship. I've also bred and hand raised hundreds of them, and still have around 12 retired breeders in the aviary.

Now to your question!

It is hard to tell the sex of a young cockatiel - usually it is around 6 months before appearance can give an indication - young males look like females initially. However behaviour can usually give an idea from around 3 months onwards. Basically at the 3 to 4 month age (sometimes earlier) the males start to develop a whistle call - 2 or 3 quite clear notes, while the females just continue to shout. Males will continue to develop their whistles and love to copy our whistles - I'm sure wild cockatiels must be able to wolf-whistle - it seems to come so easily to them

Females very rarely develop any sort of whistle, just their shout, and while males can (but don't always) learn to talk a bit, females never do - out of the many thousands of cockatiels I've seen (I used to own a bird specialising pet shop for 20 years), only one or two had a definite whistle or recognisable word. To compensate, most hand raised females are much more affectionate, with many adult males tending to love you and then quickly leave, with a nip on the way out!

A hand raised bird that has been left alone for a few weeks can get a bit aggressive but will usually quieten down once it is getting human company again. When you say it is aggressive, is it just hissing, beak sparing a bit maybe and then backing away, or is it attacking and drawing blood? It will take a bit of time - keep spending time talking to it, see if it will step up onto your finger from the perch, don't push things too quickly though. Often if you try to approach and handle it in its cage it will show some aggression. With a bird like this I like to leave the cage door open and let it climb by itself out of the cage as often it is more approachable once it is out. I assume it is clipped? If not you may find it easier if it is clipped - a flying bird can be hard to deal with out of the cage. Once it is back to being sociable you can either keep it clipped or let it fly when it moults in new wing feathers between 6 and 12 months old.

The crest is a mood indicator to some extent - if it is flat to the head it can mean it is frightened and aggressive as a result - if they are feeling good, and relaxed, then it tends to be up.

I like to keep my birds with other birds, and we have 25 birds in our house - many are in pairs. However cockatiels do very well on their own as long as they get plenty of human companionship. Always have the cage in a family room type of location = where the people are mostly. Cockatiels are flock birds, but are quite happy to accept that humans form their flock - especially when hand raised. That means though that they want to be with their flock, even if they happen to be in a cage at times. A single cockatiel's idea of purgatory would be to be kept elsewhere from where it's humans spend most of their time - to hear but not be with it's flock! If a cockatiel is to be kept apart, then it definitely needs a mate.

Toys are essential - a couple of toys at least. One they can chew and one to play with, and they usually like a bell on the toy.

Diet is important - many cockatiels that get a poor diet don't even make it to 10 years, and you should expect, given good diet, to have your cockatiel for at least 15 years. Ideally that means pellets and lots of fresh veggies and fruit but a good seed mix (in the supermarkets the best brand is Bird Munchies - their Cockatiel mix) as well as veggies is good. I use sticks as an occasional treat - best to only have seed in the bowl most of the time. Cockatiels tend not to be fruit eaters - if it will nibble on a bit of apple (Granny Smiths are best) or a grape that is a bonus. Usually they eat greens such as Chinese Greens (bok choy, choy sum etc) endive, celery leaves, silver beet, as well as corn, carrot, broccoli, peas and round beans - all chopped up into bite sized pieces. Pumpkin and sweet potato are also excellent but while most veggies are given raw, these should be cooked. DON'T give avocado or onion! Have a look at the feeding section of the forum for more on diets.

That means you will have three bowls in your cage - seed, water and fresh food bowls - and I put the fresh food in the cage in the morning and take it out in the evening.

A long answer but then there were lots of questions If you have more then ask away - and we always like to see photos!

cheers,

Mike

[cheski]

Thank you heaps for the thorough reply and welcome.

I must try and get a picture. Haven't had much time lately. I fear it's spending more time with my mother, but I have the next 5 days off so I will be spending quite some time with it.

He/she (I'm thinking she. Someone likes their shouting an awful lot.) has finally been christened; Steggles. (Don't worry I once had a pet sheep called Lamb Chops no one even thought of barbequing that sheep for fear of losing something they were attached to. Yeah, I may be a little over-protective...)

Aggression wise it's mostly just sparing and backing away. Unless handled and then there is blood drawn. I asked to have it clipped for that reason exactly. I didn't want to have a little escapee sitting on the ceiling fan laughing at me while I tried to figure out how to get it down.

[m0usju1c3]

Hi, thought i would post in a relative topic instead of creating another. We have just bought a 1.5 year old female cockatiel. It is handraised and was with the previous owner since 3 months old. It was bonded with the previois owner which leads me to believe that she is currently despressed. She is aggressive and will bite 70% of the time i approach to scratch or hand feed. She is hardly active, will sit on the food bowl and eat and sleep most of the time. I am seeking the best advice on how to approach the situation so that she fits in ASAP. All help is greatly appreciated.

[m0usju1c3]

Hey guys, just a bump in regards to my post above cheers.

[avinet]

Aug 8, 2011 20:31:22 GMT 10 m0usju1c3 said:

We have just bought a 1.5 year old female cockatiel. It is handraised and was with the previous owner since 3 months old. It was bonded with the previois owner which leads me to believe that she is currently despressed. She is aggressive and will bite 70% of the time i approach to scratch or hand feed. She is hardly active, will sit on the food bowl and eat and sleep most of the time. I am seeking the best advice on how to approach the situation so that she fits in ASAP. All help is greatly appreciated.

Sorry for not replying to this - I missed it somehow when you initially posted it.

Basically it is more likely scared than depressed - biting in a Cockatiel is usually an indication of being scared and so they will hiss and bite as a response. It is going to take time for her to feel settled in her new environment,, so above all it will need patience on your part. Don't rush the handling part, have the cage in a family room type situation where she can see what is happening, get used to everyone, get used to the noises etc and start to feel settled in the new house.

Give her a variety of different foods, and see what she seems to enjoy most - maybe check with the previous owner to see what she liked there. Once she is seeming to be getting more settled then start trying to give her that food through the bars of the cage, or present it on the palm of your hand - always come form below towards her and not from above - and hopefully she will start to trust you and soon step on your hand to take the food.

I generally found it didn't take too long for them to accept a new owner - a week or two normally is sufficient, although if she was attached to a woman then she may well not respond very well to a male initially so you may have a hurdle to overcome there. Still time and patience should see her come around - neck scratches are a great way to win a girl tiel over

cheers,

Mike

[m0usju1c3]

Wow great response and thank you so much!