Our Cheeky Bird

[KathS]

Here are some photos of our darling Cheeky Bird





My first attempt at wing clipping. I do have a better idea of what I am doing now.

We will post his story on HeavensArk shortly. (And we know that he is really a she)

[lovemytiels]

Hi Kath, what a lovely looking tiel. Hopefully Bill will be able to put it on the forum direct for you. Once you know how to wing clip it is quite easy. May I ask why you have only clipped one wing though? Cheers Anna

[Mystical]

awww what great pics lol very cute, and Anna id like to know also about wing clipping, ive spent many a night arguing which to do, one vet does one wing, another vet (same premise) does both, my sister does both i thought u did both but my partner says one *sigh* he should learn never to argue a point with a woman no matter what it is ;D

Rach

[pollyparrot]

shes just beautifull hope you dont mind that i put her pics on the forum for you she deserves to be shown off

[lovemytiels]

Hi Rach, well different people do different things, but me personally I like to clip both wings for equal balance. I usually clipped the first 4 to 5 primary wing feathers about halfway across, much neater this way & see how the bird goes flying wise. I like mine still to be able to fly but just not get up too high if that makes sense. They can loose way too much muscalture if they can't even fly at all. Last year was the first time I have ever clipped my babies wings & I really don't like it as I prefer free flight, but unfortunately all my customers were young kids & the parents insisted. I did tell them though by the time the wings grow back in that the baby should be very well adapted to their new owner, but if they needed to have it done again to have it done by someone who knows what they are doing or even bring them back to me. Hope this helps. Cheers Anna

[Mystical]

Hey Anna,

Yup makes perfect sence to me ;D i havent clipped my lorikeet, she panics at the thought of being away from u so i have no problems there.....my ringneck on the other hand *sigh* i cant keep him still, ive tried clipping one wing and both and neither have worked for me he just keeps flying the lil bugga so ive pretty much given up, plus also with kids personally i feel they need there wings for those lil moments they forget they r so small lol gotta give them a chance to go and hide i reckon lmao only thing ive found is with the ringneck over time hes gotten worse, now im the onyone that can handle him (most of the time) without being bitten which saddens me a lil, when we got him he was so friendly it was only a couple of days after that that my son decided to try and cut is thumb off in the garage door and ended up in hospital for 3 days and having plastic surgery to rejoin his tendon etc ever since then hes always bitten . The past month has been great tho, hes starting to talk and has gain enough confidence that when i say 'kisses' through his cage he will come over and give then to me ;D .....as for the bitting, i have no idea what to do now :/

Rach

[lovemytiels]

Hey Rach, so sorry to hear of your probs with your ringneck . Unfortunately if they are young birds & you don't take them out everyday, they can get a bit bitey. He/she just has to learn to trust you again as he/she probably thinks you abandoned it. You could try food treats as you are trying to take it out of the cage. Another thing I tried & it works is also wrapping a towel on my hand & putting it in the cage. They don't seem to be able to bite through this lol. When you have them on your hand & they are calm, take away the towel & then offer the bird some foot toys as this will distract them from biting or more food & then praise the bird for being good. Positive reinforcing does work it just takes time. Hope this helps. Cheers Anna

[KathS]

Hi all - thanks for sorting out the pictures PollyParrot (one day I will be able to remember everyone's real name )

with regards to wingclipping - I have a real dilemma with it. I had Cheeky clipped when we first got him on advice from the pet shop. I bought a few books about cockatiels and they recommended one wing so that if it escapes it flies in circles (this actually saved Cheeky on one occasion - on the third circuit above the house, he landed in a tree and I climbed a ladder to retrieve him!)

Now I notice more recent publications, especially on the net, recommend both wings so they can control their flight.

I have always felt uncomfortable about clipping and didn't clip my second bird only to have him fly away - my fault entirely - but now I lay awake wondering where he is and how he is and I wish I had clipped if only until he was really comfortable at our place.

With my present bird, I have already clipped one wing only, which was a bit of a struggle and I'm a bit hesitant to do the other as he seems angry enough at me. Oh, I'm easily swayed on this one.

This recent clipping hasn't seemed to make much difference to his flight - he just stumbled (if you can stumble when you fly) in the first five feet and then adjusted and flew normally. I will try to get a photo of the nameless one soon.
Cheers
Kath

[hillcresttiels]

Hey Kath it's always sad to lose a pet but hopefully Cheeky will do a good job being a pet,i'm no specialist in hand reared birds but maybe tapeing her wings might be easier for you,maybe someone will tell us if this a good or bad idea? Also i am interested how you came to the conclusion that Cheeky is a Hen do you know the genetics of the parents! cheers ;D
Frank

[KathS]

Rach - sorry to hear about your son. Hope your son's thumb is on the mend and working okay now.

A good friend of ours passed away the night we got Cheeky and we needed to go away a few days for the funeral. The decision to leave him with others at such an early stage or risk travelling with him was difficult, but we took him with us and he travelled well and continued to bond. Would have been difficult to take a ringneck to hospital for a few days though

Cheeks always gave us the cold shoulder if we stayed away overnight though he never bit

[KathS]

Hi Frank

Cheeky used to do this little vibration thing - I figured that it was a mating ritual - but could be wrong - Cheeky was my only cockatiel until my last two disasters He/she would lean forward with bum in the air, vibrating and making a pipping sound - usually just with me.

I had tried to teach him to talk for many, many hours with no result but when I got the replacement bird, he was whistling all the time and could imitate within days - Cheeky only ever made a squawking sound. Also Cheeky never lost the pearling after the first moult - which I know doesn't necessarily mean he was female but the other factors seem to indicate he probably was. Sorry for the confusing gender stuff, but we always thought he was a male till we got the other bird.

Does that make any sense?

[hillcresttiels]

Yes Kath that makes sense and you have confirmed that she is a she the bob down whilst twittering is a hens way of allowing the male to jump on but in this case you were the mate lol. ;D

Frank

[KathS]

Thanks for confirming that Frank. How indicative is it if the bird whistles a lot? I read somewhere that females are unlikely to have a range of whistles or calls - but then again, I probably read too much ;D