C0ckatiel Questions

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:03 am

My boyfriend just bought me a ****atiel for an early birthday present, and I don't know very much about them. His mother breeds parrots, but I'd feel safer if I had a book or website to constantly refer to instead of always asking her questions. (It's always good to get a second opinion anyways.) Does anyone know of any good ****atiel websites? Or does anyone have any advice about owning a ****atiel? Thanks!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:12 am

hello!Tielies can be a blast and they can have some attitude as well. I had at one point 8 breeding pairs and hand raised the chicks. I unfortuneately dont have any suggestions for a web site but I am willing to help with questions. First thing first is to have access to a qualified and GOOD avian vet, both regular and emergency, for lifes little mishaps. You already have a good resource with advice from a breeder, most pisticenc care is very similar. Enjoy and get to know your new friend, each one is an individual. but a minor warning...they can entwine their way into your heart so tightly that it can still hurt years after he/she passes away.

Aviate · Post by **Aviate** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:27 am

I think the site I use is http://www.birdhobbyist.com****atiels are the best small birds, hands down.Remember to keep him/her away from cats, drafts, chocolate, avocado, cooking pots and pans, nonstick fumes, open windows, plants, and open toilets.. thats half the battle, theyre sneaky and fast! Pay a lot of attention to him and he will socialize very quickly, but dont over indulge him just to cut back on the amount of attention later. Be consistant about it. Best of luck!

moire_eel · Post by **moire_eel** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 4:34 pm

I have a eleven year old ****atiel. They are wonderful little birds with big personalities. My bird was a hand-fed baby and sees me as his mother and his mate all in one. He learned to say a few phrases, and whistles broken bits of "Bridge over the river Kwai". I second the suggestion that you look up a good avian vet. Birds are challenging to treat, and on top of that tend to hide sickness as long as they possibly can. So by the time you can tell something is wrong, there is really no time to waste!A book I wish I had read when I first got my bird is _Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot_ by Mattie Sue Athan. There are lots of good training tips in there. Given my tendency to be overly permissive, I am not sure that I would have had the discipline to instill good habits in my bird. But having met birds that people did bother to train, believe me it is well worth it. Having my bird sit on a T-stand is only a dream for me (he prefers my shoulder or my head) and for the first few years of his life it could take up to 45 minutes to get him back in his cage when we had to leave the house. Spend some time on training and establishing routines and you won't have to deal with this. Congrats on your new pet!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:57 am

Thank you all very much for the advice. I am looking into avian vets today. I hope I can find one in this area; I have never actually seen a vet's office that advertises a bird specialist. I'm definitely also going to look into the bird book. My boyfriend actually bought another ****atiel to keep the first company while I'm out during the day at work or school. The second guy is a little older than the first (the first is 10 weeks old, they are both from the same breeder and hand fed). I hope that they're still young enough to train. Thanks again!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:51 am

hello!ask your tiel breeder where they go for a vet. its a good start. from my experiance, dont be surprised if the tiels bond a little strong to each other, its natural and shouldnt be too much of a worry if you give them the same amount of attention every day. again each one is an individual. i have the last two single babies from my grey 'Wacko' and they are eight weeks apart. i couldnt sell them after their mother unexpectedly died. they are such clowns thought yet completely different attitudes. 'Friday' is a momma's boy and sticks to me like velcro while 'Lazer' tries to act that hes better than that but will crumble like a cookie when i get a hold of him and skritch his cheek patches. Both of them have picked up the plasma laser sounds from the Halo game that i have been playing and will 'fire' at the screen or if thay are in their cage do the same thing to get attention. silly birds! they are basically a 2 year old stuck in a bird body.and then i do treat them like i'm just a big bird too, let them eat from my plate, take them on short car trips to the garden center (wings are clipped so they dont go anywhere) or whereever, 'preen' them with my lips or i will really preen them with my fingertips to the the sheathed feathers that come in that they cant reach on top of their heads and backs of their necks, sing and dance like a bird with/at them, let them snuggle down on my shoulder or chest if i am snoozing on the couch (and that is much better than my conure who dives under my shirt for her naps with me!), along with playing a 'spider' game with them. to me they are a feathered dog or cat and just as much fun!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:00 am

Here is where I am member of and they are very helpful for all my Fid's. I have 2 Tiels 1 female Pretty Baby (P.B. for short) and 1 male that my Mother-in-law found in her yard his name is Chilly Willy. Plus we have a Derbyan Parrot M.J.and my 11 year old Baby Tango he's a Quaker Parrot. Let me know if you join http://www.quakerparrots.com/forum/inde ... =idxSandra

Froggz37 · Post by **Froggz37** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:33 am

Unless you have a dog or a cat that the birds might have to get away from, I honestly would recommend clipping wings. I used to raise cocatiels and parakeets and it simplifies things SO much when the wings are clipped from an early age. Your avian vet can show you how and once you get the hang of it you can do it yourself. Always watch out for bloodfeathers though and have a product usually called STOP for bleeding on hand when you do it just incase you do nick a blood feather. A blood feather is an immature feather that is still growing by having a flowing blood supply to it.Birds are definitly a great pet to have around, they are most usually sweet and entertaining but as the other people have said you'll start noticing their individual personalities. A great magazine about parrots is called Bird Talk. Another good tip that has been said is be very careful of what is in your air. Just about every chemical cleaner that is out there can be harmful to your birds including aresol air fresheners, some hair sprays, cigarette smoke, and insense. Oven cleaner is very toxic to them. My mom uses oxyclean and orange and banana oil cleaners now, and only those because she has so many birds.

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:49 pm

Clipping wings may make things easier, but I think just because it's easy we don't have the right to do this to birds. They are supposed to fly and they know this. Clipping their wings takes away so much from them. To me, it's like getting a dog who loves to run and then keeping it on a very short leash except for a few five minute walks every day when it's convinient to you to walk the dog. Of course birds with clipped wings get tame much faster because they must depend on you to get arund, but I feel that it highly egoistic.Just my opinion.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 2:23 am

ROFL at burrdeep's birds making Halo 2 sounds. I saw a tape at the pet store that supposedly teaches your bird to do impressions, like "Here's lookin' at you, kid". It amazes me how birds can replicate human speech and sounds! My boyfriend's mother's parrots mimic the phone and his father perfectly. Almost everytime I hear AlfieBoo (the African Grey) calling, "Jared, Jared", it think it's his father. Love4HermitCrabs- I looked at the board, it is just for Quakers or do they talk about ****atiels too? Or is it pretty much the same information for the two species? Right now we're keeping the guys in our garage because it is cool and there are windows that they can easily see out of. I bring them inside during the day. I was worried about any kind of smell in there that might bother them (you know that "garage smell"), but I put my air purifier down there and it seems fine. They come upstairs during the day so they can get used to us and socialize. When it gets cooler we'll put them on the second floor in a nice sunny room. I bought some all natural "nature's miracle" cage cleaner, it says that the smell doesn't bother the birds. Has anyone used this stuff?Everyone who I have talked to around here has said to clip their wings, but I can see how it's cruel. I'll have to read more about the pros and cons and make a decision. Does it hurt them to have their wings clipped? I'm thinking it's like declawing a house cat, and I know that's really painful for them.

Froggz37 · Post by **Froggz37** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 2:53 am

I can understand your point Jedediah, but the reason I go for clipped wings is when I raised parakeets and tiels I actually had two different people that I had sold birds to come up to me and say, "Hi, my bird flew out the door when I wasnt paying attention and my child was holding it open, can I get another please?" It took all I had not to chew them out and of course I told them no. I also had a gentleman bring a pair of tiels back to me because he was outraged that they destroyed the wood door molding in his home and had also made a huge hole in the drywall behind his couch. They had also chewed on his curtains, plants, and other assorted no-no's around his house. If you provide a good safe play area, lots of time out of the cage interacting with a bird, and lots to do (which they need anyways) then they do just fine with clipped wings, they stay a bit safer unless you have a dog or cat around, and your home also doesnt get destroyed.And btw, no it doesn't hurt a bird to clip their wings. Its like us cutting our fingernails shorter. I've had birds so used to it that I dont have to towel them anymore and they even stretch their wing out for me.But, not clipping wings does give your bird the freedom to fly, but it also gives them the opportunity to fly higher than you can reach, and fly out of doors and window's, chew things they shouldn't, and become injured by attempting to fly out of a window that is not open. I've even heard stories of spoiled birds attempting to land in either a hot plate of food or the pan itself and getting burned. In my eyes clipping wings not only keeps your home safe, but your friend safe.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:43 am

Here is why I clip all my birds wings. A while back a friend of mine had 2 Tiels and he always let them fly around his house until one day one of his little darlings flew right into the window and sadly he broke his neck, it was so sad. At the place that I take all my Fid's to get clipped she has this spot on her window that is in the shape of a bird that one of her costomers birds flew into and sadly died also. I'm not saying every one should clip their Fid's wings and if you have a huge open space in your house for them to safely fly around then by all means let them. I take Tango (my Quaker Parrot<---see my avatar) almost every where with me so he needs his wings clipped. My Hubby has a huge Derbyan Parrot that he didn't want clipped so I didn't take her in, then one day she opens her wings and takes off towards the window and smacks into thank Goodness she didn't hurt herself. Now my Hubby lets me get her clipped.Sandra

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:50 am

Clipping wings are like cutting your hair or fingernails. the only time you need to worry is if there is a blood feather involved and that is a new feather growing that has the blood supply flowing through it. if that occurs from being cut or breaking duing a night fright (when the birds go nuts and thrash the cage at night for some reason) then it can be an issue. i think clipping is a necessity for a happy and safe bird in a home environment. you may think it is cruel but how cruel is it if the bird gets out into the 'wild' of your community? freaked out, lost and confused, terrorized by crows, they have no learned experiances to survive in our temperate climes or what is acceptable to eat or find sources of water. and of course all of the usual dangers out there. A loose bird in the house is no picnic either and i can say that from experiance. you could have headlong collisions into windows, mirrors, hot pots of stuff, ovens, fireplaces, ect. Toto, a bird of mine, i let fly one day and she spooked on me. She went right through the fireplace screen and into a vigorous fire that was going at the time. without thinking i leaped over the couch and reached into the fire and pulled her out. we both came through with minor burns. its a miracle she survived, mind you she has no toenails because of this and she still seems to think that i am an angel in the fact that she plasters herself to me when i take her out. i will always be for clipping wings!

Willow · Post by **Willow** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 5:01 pm

Clipping a bird's wings isn't painful...not like de-clawing a cat, which is horribly painful and causes physical and behavioral problems. And the cat's claws won't grow back. I do think that a birds wings should be clipped at first, so they can get used to you and not panic in a new home. After all is well, you can decide if you can handle a flighted bird or if you want to clip his wings again. At least a bird's feathers can grow back. If you decide to let the feathers come back, you'd have to be especially careful not to let the bird out when you're cooking or have a fire going or whatever....keep in mind, though, that clipping doesn't guarantee the bird can't fly at all. My brother's Quaker, Louie, has clipped wings and he still flies well enough to fly into windows and walls and, well, just about everything. He's still a baby and very clumsy. My brother plans to let Louie's flight feathers come back. His last Quaker, Emi, was also very clumsy with clipped wings, when her feathers came back, she didn't fly into stuff anymore. So, if your clipped bird still tries so hard to fly, it might actually be safer to let him be flighted.

SeaShellE · Post by **SeaShellE** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 11:32 pm

I love my fid. She has been a blessing to me in the last year. Its funny that my hubby is jealous of her. I keep her wings trimmed, not as often as I should though. She can still fly high enough to get on my counter tops. Watch out for ceiling fans too. I reference this site for my fid (feathered or furry kid) ****atiel cottage. I like mine being a single bird because I would rather her bond with me than another bird. Enjoy your bird. They have such personalities.It looks as if the censors wouldn't let the url go as a link but you get the picture.