# I need a crash course on cockatiels!!!!



## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

Got an out of the blue call this morning from a lady I've never met. Said she found an ad I had placed back a few years ago when I first started becoming a hobbyist. I've only ever had parakeets by the way. Anyways, she proceded to tell me that she was having problems health wise and with her manager of her apartment and the local animal control had been called. She was told by animal control that she needed to downsize her birds or risk losing them all. As soon as she said the words "confiscate" & "animal control" my heart dropped. She said that she had decided to rehome her cockatiels 3 to be exact. And that what she had read in my ad she wanted me to take them. I couldn't say no. So now I have 2 males and 1 female. And to be honest I don't know dittley squat about them except, they're easier to hand tame then budgies, can sometimes be placed in the same cage with budgies and that they need a high fat content food. Anybody who has a great deal of knowledge about those gorgeous birds, PLEASE HELP ME!?!?!? They are all about 5-6 years old. First male is a normal grey, second male is a pied and female is a cinnamon pearl. The males are in 1 cage and the female in another.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Jan 12, 2011)

*You should definitely quarantine them from your current birds for at least a month, I'm glad the males are separated from the female at least for now, less issues you have to worry about. Be patient, you don't really know how much they were handled or how often they were let out of the cage. also, tiels can get spooked easily so try not to be to loud of fast around them. They are awesome birds (can be very loud at times with their flock calling) If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me *


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## CaptainHowdy (Feb 9, 2010)

Guera-dakota89 said:


> Got an out of the blue call this morning from a lady I've never met. Said she found an ad I had placed back a few years ago when I first started becoming a hobbyist. I've only ever had parakeets by the way. Anyways, she proceded to tell me that she was having problems health wise and with her manager of her apartment and the local animal control had been called. She was told by animal control that she needed to downsize her birds or risk losing them all. As soon as she said the words "confiscate" & "animal control" my heart dropped. She said that she had decided to rehome her cockatiels 3 to be exact. And that what she had read in my ad she wanted me to take them. I couldn't say no. So now I have 2 males and 1 female. And to be honest I don't know dittley squat about them except, they're easier to hand tame then budgies, can sometimes be placed in the same cage with budgies and that they need a high fat content food. Anybody who has a great deal of knowledge about those gorgeous birds, PLEASE HELP ME!?!?!? They are all about 5-6 years old. First male is a normal grey, second male is a pied and female is a cinnamon pearl. The males are in 1 cage and the female in another.


As well as quarantine please take them to an avian vet for some basic blood work and a good check over, you don't know how they've been living or what they may be carrying.

Also please do not place them in a cage with your budgies.

Food wise you can buy a good quality cockatiel mix and then fruit and veg as normal


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

They're in another room for the time being for my budgie heath and safety. They have a appt with the vet in 2 weeks. They're very docile but boy do the males screech! They all seem to be in great health, active, eating, drinking and did I mention loud! The fame I think might be getting ready for my molt. She only has her down feathers on her oil gland @ base of her tail on top. It's not irritated or red so i don't think it's from plucking. But the lady said she's had the bald spot since she got her 4 years ago. So I font know what to think. Maybe parents did it. Maybe stress. But they do have an appt soon so we will find out then. I don't really plan to put them in the cage with my budgies after quarantine. I've just heard a lot of people tend to house them with budgies. The normal grey male has started to take a like g to my husband. The female hisses when get by her cage and the other male just kinda hangs out in the back of the cage.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Jan 12, 2011)

*I would just give them time, offer them fresh veggies and foods if you choose, who knows what they might like  some take a lot longer to come around than others. Sounds like they are in a better situation with you!*


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## eduardo (Jul 24, 2011)

*Cockatiels are great pet birds! Sweet, cuddly, and adorable looking Be careful what seed mix you pick, some of them have way too many sunflower seeds. Mine love cooked veggies like peas, broccoli, beans. They do produce quite a bit of dust, so make sure you give them regular warm water misting, it might help.*


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

The normal grey male (Suki) Is coming around. I've been working with a couple of hours today with clicker training. So I've gotten him to come to the bottom of the cage and he gets a click and a good boy when he does it. What I find weird is, when he does get down on the bottom comes close to the bars that if I click my tongue @ him and put my fingers close to the bars he kinda hunkers down and puts his wings away from his body and clicks too. Is that a submissive posture?? 


The other male (silky) still doesn't know what to think of me. And is slowly working his way to the front of the cage. 

The female (Pecos) is still very stand offish. She will hiss and bob up and down @ me if I get too close to the cage.


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## Mazz (Jul 17, 2013)

Oh babies they sound so scared. I'm sure they'll warm up quick, thanks for taking them in, I'm wondering how many more birds she had if they're threatening confiscation. 
If you have her # call her and give her information for local parrot rescues in your area in case she has more that she needs to place.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Jan 12, 2011)

*


Guera-dakota89 said:



The normal grey male (Suki) Is coming around. I've been working with a couple of hours today with clicker training. So I've gotten him to come to the bottom of the cage and he gets a click and a good boy when he does it. What I find weird is, when he does get down on the bottom comes close to the bars that if I click my tongue @ him and put my fingers close to the bars he kinda hunkers down and puts his wings away from his body and clicks too. Is that a submissive posture??

The other male (silky) still doesn't know what to think of me. And is slowly working his way to the front of the cage.

The female (Pecos) is still very stand offish. She will hiss and bob up and down @ me if I get too close to the cage.

Click to expand...

Those are called heart wings, he is flirting with you *


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

They are pretty scared still. The male suki is coming around nicely but it's silky and pesos that I'm worried about. You can definitely tell that she favored suki. Pesos and silky are so terrified to even get close to the front bars. How can I get them to trust me and to understand that they are safe now? I'm not gonna lie I'm still very leery of them because I know they have a very hard bite. And honestly I'd like to keep my fingers as well as the skin on them. I've tried spray millet, fruit and veggies and nothing. hThe fruit and veggies they were actually scared of it. The spray millet they loved it as long as I wasn't holding it. I know the lady had more birds because you could hear them from outside. I told her to keep my number and to call me if she needed anything else. And that if she decided to rehome any more then that I could help her find homes for them or @ least a foster.


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

Awesome!!! Thanx Jill. So that means he's coming around a lot more then what I thought. Because I honestly thought it was a submissive "please don't hurt" kind of stance. That makes me happy.


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## budgiebabie (May 8, 2014)

Sorry I'm chiming in so late. Just saw your post. I have tiels and budgies as well. If you need any more advice I'll be happy to help. They love shredder toy and little tennis shoes you find in the bird store and Drs foster and smith. Try mixing zupreem natural with zupreem fruit pellets. All of mine converted really easily to those. They love peas! Whatever I make them I add peas. Yes! The bites hurt! I've bled more than once with my rescues.


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

UPDATE:

They had their vet visit and they got a full bill of health.

Suki has turned into a lover and a car alarm (our car alarm went off and he picked it up so now I'm woken up by a car alarm every morning @ 7:30am). He has definetly become my husbands bird. Me and the kids can be home all day making noise and he won't even chirp. But the moment my husband walks in the door and he hears his voice he will squack like crazy until my husband goes to say hi. And he will give me kisses if I put my fingers to the bars. 


Silky is slowly coming around. He let's me touch him through the bars on the cage but still isn't comfortable with my hand in the cage. But he loves his attention.

Pecos on the other hand still isnt coming around. She still puffs up and hisses @ me if i get close to the cage. I put the 2 cages next to eachother hoping that maybe her being close to the boys helps her acclimate better. Kind of like a monkey see monkey do track of thinking. The feathers on her oil gland grew back so my vet thinks its malnutrition. Vet said by her reactions to attention he wouldn't be surprised to find out if she had an abusive owner @ some point. 

Now I do have 1 question, aside from obvious reasons why does everybody say its good that Pecos is separated from the boys and in her own cage? And are they like parakeets, where they'll only breed if given a box. Not planing on breeding but Pecos and silky adore each other through the bars. And if 1 goes outside the other will squak and flap their wings frantically until the other is brought in again.


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## exile (Jul 18, 2014)

Have fun with your tiels. The cage thing, they are very territorial. I'm sure by now you have found http://talkcockatiels.com/forum.php ....Tom


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## dianapalmer (Oct 23, 2013)

Hi.
I have two tiels, and belong to Talkcockatiels.
Quite a few tiel owners report their tiels mating and producing eggs even if there is no nest box. However, not providing a nest box makes it less likely.

One of my tiels (Emma) I have had for about eight months. She is shy and kind of hands-off. She will come to my arm if I have sunflower seeds on offer. However, it took a long time for he to get to that point, even though I tried very hard She will not perch on my hand for anything whatsoever. She and my budgie (Piper) are very fond of each other and sometimes try to mate.

My Silver I got about four months ago. He is very tame and has a wonderful disposition.

Neither of my birds particularly like scritches (stroking on the head and face with a finger). However, many have tiels who love that.


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## eduardo (Jul 24, 2011)

*My Candy did not allow me to scratch her head for almost the first year I had her. She slowly learned to like it.
Time is the key. The more time you spend with them, the more they get used to you and, consequently, bond to you.*


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

LOOK WHO FINALLY TRUSTS ME!!!!!!! SUKI, MY NORMAL GREY MALE!!


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

Pecos, my cinnamon pearl female.


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

Silky, my shy pied male.


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## budgiebabie (May 8, 2014)

They are gorgeous! In my opinion they are fine housed together. Mine have never mated as I do not put a breeder box in there. Some tiels that go through what yours have may not ever be as hand tame as you would like but will have a great life in the company of other tiels.


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

Ok another question.....

Since I put the 2 cages side by side it seems that Silky (pied male) & Pecos (cinnamon pearl female) have become a bonded pair through the bars. If I take 1 out of their cage the other goes nuts and starts screeching and (what I call) screaming. And won't stop till I put it back in its cage. I've been contemplating putting them in the same cage since they've became bonded. What are the warning signs, what do I look out for? I don't plan to breed them but I feel so bad seeing them feed eachother through the bars and not be able to get close to 1 another. GOOD IDEA? BAD IDEA? WORTH A SHOT?


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## BirdCrazyJill (Jan 12, 2011)

*If you put then together they are most likely going to breed if they are already feeding and preening through the bars. It's not 100% guaranteed, but very probable. Also, you will probably lose all chances of trying to bond with them because they will only care about each other. That's not a bad thing necessarily, but also true. However, if they are really that obsessed with each other I would probably just put them together *


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

I've been trying to handtame them since I got them and they're just not having it. They would rather be next to each other then to ride on a shoulder. I'll be putting them in the same cage today. But what should I look for like aggression wise. I don't think there will be any but rather be safe then sorry.


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

UPDATE:

I did put silky and pecos in the same cage. And they haven't stopped preening eachother since. Is it normal for them to like to sit together on the floor of the cage?? Even though they have plenty of perches and swings. They don't seem sick, they still chatter away and eating and drinking right. But they just insist on sitting on the floor of the cage. If 1 is on the floor the other will be too and the same with the perches.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Jan 12, 2011)

*that's weird lol did the old owner not have a lot of perches? maybe it's just a behavior thing. I wouldn't worry about it too much, cockatiels are naturally desert birds and enjoy foraging on the ground  glad to hear they love each other already!*


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## Guera-dakota89 (Apr 9, 2013)

When I got them they had plenty of peaches in the cages. They've only been doing it since I started putting them outside since the weather has been so nice. If I bring them in they'll go up on the perches but outside they're on the floor of the cage. I've noticed that pecos has been snipping @ silky lately when he gets close to her. Not hard enough to draw blood or pluck feathers. But I'll notice that if he gets in her "bubble" and she does like she'll kinda gnaw on him. They're still preening and feeding eachother though.


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