Cockatiels

Cockatiels are the world’s second most popular pet bird, known for their gentle nature and friendly demeanor. They are great for beginners with their easy care, and are also good family birds. Like their smaller relatives the budgie, cockatiels originate in Australia, and are infamous for their feathered crest.      Cockatiels range from about 11 to 14 inches in length from head to tail. With proper care, they can reach ages into their twenties! These very sweet birds can easily bond with human companions and love riding on a shoulder. With repetition, these smart birds can also be taught to mimic sounds. Feeding Your Cockatiel      Cockatiels need a very rounded diet to stay happy and healthy. Unfortunately, many tiels are not started on a diet of this kind, they are typically started on an all seed diet, which is very dangerous to your bird's health. An all-seed diet can cause problems in the liver, kidney and pancreas and ultimately cause problems such as diabetes, obesity, and fatty liver disease.      Cockatiels Need A Rounded, Varied Diet, Including: Pellets as the main food in the diet(about 70% of the diet), with a small amount of seeds(for more information about pellets & seeds in the diet, click here) Fresh Foods, fed at least once a day. The type of fruits and veggies should be varied from day to day, as each kind provides your bird with different vitamins and minerals. (see our fresh food list) Good, clean, non-chlorinated drinking water! And this needs to be clean!!! Water should be changed no less than once a day, even if you use a water drinker. Note that most tap water isn’t good for your bird, and that it is best to use human drinking water or filtered water instead. Calcium supplements, such as a mineral block and/or crushed egg shells (peel shells from a boiled egg, crush, and serve.) Cuttlebones are common, but the calcium within them is hard for your bird to absorb. Other than a wonderful chew toy, cuttlebones really have no purpose in nutrition. Make sure a mineral block does not contain added carbon or iodine. Housing Your Cockatiel      Cockatiel need a cage that is at least 18in x18in x18in, this is only the MINIMUM for a single cockatiel. The rule of thumb is always the biggest cage you can afford, and it should always be large enough for your bird to stretch its wings and turn in a circle without hitting the cage sides (or any other bird that might be housed in there as well). As long as the bar spacing is less than 1/2 an inch, you are safe! Don't buy a round cage or a cage with a domed roof. They are appealing to eye, but provides no safe corners for a bird to hide in. A round or domed cage is the equivalent of living in a totally circular room.       A cockatiel needs a variety of toys, and make sure to change them around often. Make sure that if a toy has bells that they are the open-bottomed ones opposed to what I like to call “Christmas bells” with the “x” cut in the bottom; toenails can easily get caught in them. Avoid mirrors because birds will often become so entranced by their reflection that they will spend hour after hour staring at themselves.       Perches are also an area that does not commonly get that much attention. Birds need a variety of different perches in different sizes to exercise their feet and keep their joints healthy. When you are picking out perches for cockatiels, look for the medium size. For wooden perches, make sure the toes wrap around the perch without touching each other. Wooden perches should all be a different width. Your cockatiel should also have two or all of the following: rope perch, natural perch, cement perch. Natural perches are great for cockatiels to chew on and rub their beaks on, check this poisonous plants list to see if you have a tree from which you can get some branches. Make sure the branch has not been sprayed with pesticide or chemicals, and scrub it with hot water and some non-toxic cleaner before putting in the cage. Rope perches are also great because they vary in width like a natural perch, just make sure to check a rope perch frequently for wear and to cut any loose strands. If a rope perch gets really chewed, it should definitely get replaced. Cement perches are also nice, but make sure it is in a place where your bird is not constantly perching as it may cause sores if constantly used. Make sure the cement perch is for medium birds. Taming and Interacting With Your Cockatiel       A tame cockatiel can be a very sweet and loving pet to the entire family, especially with their gentle nature. When taming your cockatiel, remember that all birds are different. If your cockatiel hasn’t been handfed, you may need to go very slow at first to adjust your pet to humans. After you bring your bird home, let him adjust to his surrounding for a few days. Make sure he is comfortable, eating and drinking before you start the taming process.      Take taming slow at first, just 15 minutes during the day laying your hand inside the cage. Once your bird is comfortable with this, you can try touching him. Start with his toes or his tummy, and pet very slowly. If he tries to bite, just ignore it and wiggle your finger so he cannot take grip. Once you can touch your bird, you can begin to take him out for taming. Sometimes taking your bird out of their cage will make them less territorial and make them friendlier.      When your bird is out, take him in an enclosed room such as a bathroom. Cover mirrors and windows and close the doors. Hide the cage out of view so your bird is not tempted to fly back to it (getting your birds wings clipped by an experienced bird person will help in this process). Then let your cockatiel out, letting him explore on his own for a bit. Try encouraging him to step up (use a command like UP or STEP UP and press gently on your birds belly). If your bird wants to bite you and it is making you feel hesitant, you may want to do this with a wooden dowel to teach him before asking him to perch on your finger. Remember, birds such as cockatiels are small enough where it is difficult for them to inflict actual damage to your skin, unlike their larger relatives.      Be consistent and patient with your taming methods. Once you have him perching, you can try a laddering exercise where you have him travel from one finger to the next. Always use to UP command consistently so your bird understands. When you want him to step off your finger, use the DOWN command. Surprisingly, birds learn these commands easily.       One thing people sometimes want to do with their new birds is to grab and hold them. I must say, there is hardly anything that will make a bird more scared than a big scary hand coming behind them and grabbing them around the middle! If you ever need to catch or pick up your bird and cannot get him to perch, use a clean towel to scoop him up, not your hand. Once your bird is tame and used to you, you can start thinking about picking him up and holding him in your hands.