Cockatiels-The perfect pet parrot

One of the most common pet birds, Cockatiels are often overlooked by people looking for a pet parrot. Because of their small size and affordability they are often found in the homes of people who may not even consider themselves "bird people". But don't let their low price tag and commonness fool you into passing up on this marvelous pet! Dollar for Dollar you may just get a better companion pet from a cockatiel than just about any other kind of animal!

Cockatiels are big birds in a little bird's body! They have fun upbeat personalities. They can learn to mimic quiet well, the males are generally better at this than the females. Most cockatiels can learn to whistle a complete song after just a week or so of hearing it repeated. But both males and females can make equally sweet little pet birds.

Cockatiels are native to Australia. They come in a variety of colors. The normal grey (this is the color of wild 'tiels), lutino, pied, pearl, cinnamon, and whiteface. Many cockatiels are a combination of the above varieties. Such as a pearl whiteface. Or a cinnamon pied. The varieties are nearly endless! But most are some variation of grey, white, yellow, and orange.

A handfed cockatiel will usually make the very best pet as they have never developed any fear of people. Most handfed cockatiels thrive on spending time outside of their cages and being held and petted by their owners. 'Tiels love to have their heads scratched and will learn to walk up to your hand and bow, this is their way of asking for a good scratch behind the crest. They love to cuddle on shoulders, chew up the newspaper you are reading and sample your popcorn while you watch a movie. They are just generally so happy to be with their people that they will gladly follow you throughout the house. Unlike many larger birds, cockatiels will often remain friendly with everyone in the family throughout life, as opposed to becoming a one person bird. They also tend to be very steady, personality wise, even after the hormones of sexual maturity have set in.

Cockatiels in captivity enjoy a varied diet, consisting of seed mix, pellets, fruits and veggies, whole grain bread, pasta, and nuts. They also need to have access to a cuttle bone and a mineral block in order to get both the necessary calcium for healthy bones and to keep the growth of their beak in check. It helps keep their beaks in tip top shape! (Most birds beaks grow throughout their lives, just like our fingernails, hard things to chew help keep their beaks filed down just right!

These birds have long tails and need a nice roomy cage in order to keep their feathers beautiful. Besides the fact that since they do spend a large part of their day in their cages they should be big enough for the bird to get some much needed exercise! At a bare minimum cockatiels should be able to stretch out their wings in any direction and not touch the cage bars. A cage 24" x 24" x 24" is just about right. But as with any bird, always try to get the biggest cage you can afford and can fit in your space! They will love having all of that room to climb around in and play with all of their toys!

Speaking of toys... 'tiels love to have lots of toys to play with. They are very curious birds, and love to check out and manipulate new things! Make sure when you are shopping for toys that you buy several that are made of paper, straw, or light-weight wood that can be torn apart and destroyed by your bird! Trust me, they will thank you for it! (Well, they would thank you for it if they knew how!) They also enjoy swings and bells and little toys that they can pick up in their feet and chew on! Just make sure that you buy toys that don't have any sharp edges, or crevices that toes or beaks can get caught in, or with lead weights inside.

Another thing many cockatiel owners decide to invest in is a play gym. These come in many sizes from small table-top models that you can carry with you around the house to larger free standing floor models. This can provide a safe place for your bird to spend time outside of his cage, were he can play without getting into trouble.

Cockatiels make great companions, they are fairly long lived. With an average life span of 15-20 years, with a few reaching 30! They are usually much quieter than large parrots, making them good pets even for people living in apartments. And most people even if they are allergic to other animals never have a problem being around cockatiels. I hope that if you are considering adding a bird to your life you will give the cockatiel some thought. They are

beautiful, friendly, and cheerful.

The seven top dangers to pet parrots.

The top 7 killers of pet parrots according to avian veterinarians include the following:

1. Other animals. Parrots can sustain fatal injuries by being bitten, clawed, pounced on, shaken, or chased by your faithful pooch, or cuddly kitten. Dogs and cats and other animals can kill your bird either by the bacteria in their saliva, or by causing severe injuries that result in toxic shock. Avian vets recommend that if your bird has been attacked or teased by another animal, always assume that your pet has been bitten and seek veterinary assistance immediately!

2. Unclipped wings. If you don't have your birds wings properly clipped, it can end up flying out of an open door or window and be lost forever. Or it can fly into glass windows, ceiling fans, into the fireplace, onto hot stove-tops, into the toilet, or aquarium and drown. Be extra cautious with small streamlined birds, like cockatiels and budgies. It often only takes one or two long flight feathers for them to be able to gain altitude.

3. Toxic fumes. Non-stick cookware is one of the biggest culprits here. The PTFE or polytetraflouroethylene in Teflon or non-stick cookware can be released as a gas while cooking, causing death. (By the way, does anyone remember the use of canaries in mine shafts to detect deadly gases? If this stuff can kill our birds just like that do we really want to be using it in our home around our precious families?) Many household aerosol products, such as hairspray, deodorant, and perfume can also cause respiratory problems.

4. Secondhand smoke. By inhaling smoke from a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, your bird (and/or dog and cat) just like people, can develop eye problems, skin irritation and respiratory disease.

5. Trauma. If your parrot is out of his cage unsupervised, he is in grave danger of being stepped on, sat on, crushed in a closing door, or rolled over on. He even runs the risk of being sucked up into the vacuum! For some reason conures and caiques seem especially prone to being stepped on, maybe because of their natural curiosity, and love of exploring new places (like under the sofa or reclining chair).

6. Toxic food or plants. There are several foods that are known toxins for birds, chocolate, caffeine, avocado, and onions are all things that should be avoided at all costs! There are also many toxic houseplants that you should keep out of your house or at least away from your birds. I will include a list of known plants to avoid and those that are safe in my next post.

7. Water. Your parrot can die of water deprivation due to a malfunctioning water bottle. For this reason, water cup that is tip proof is a better choice for birds. Even though it will need to be cleaned much more frequently. Be sure that if he is able to bathe in his bowl, that all the water isn't splashed out in the process. Budgies (parakeets) and lovebirds are particularly enthusiastic bathers!

Clipping Cockatiel Wings, Nails and Beaks

I was looking for something the other day and I came across this article on the National Cockatiel Society's website. I had just recieved a question about this very topic so instead of re-inventing the wheel I just got permission to post it here! By the way NCS is a great place for finding information on all things Cockatiel! Here is the link:



http://www.cockatiels.org/index.htm



Clipping Cockatiel Wings, Nails and Beaks
Written by Nancy Kizuka for the NCS Magazine and © 1997 by NCS


Clipping Wings
Nothing is more beautiful than watching your cockatiel fly. Nothing is more heartbreaking than watching it fly outside.

I hope that most of us clip wings. I know that some do not. It doesn't hurt, nor is it cruel. I feel it is more cruel for a predator to end up with a 'tiel snack.

I do however, let my babies (of all species) learn to fly and land safely. Once they have mastered that, their wings are clipped. Now, before you show members start getting the feathers raised, remember, we are talking about pet cockatiels.

I prefer to clip evenly on both sides; that way the bird can control its descent. Try clipping the first 5 flight feathers. You don't want the bird to drop - just glide gently to the floor. Continue one feather at a time, until the bird cannot gain altitude.

Your bird will need to be clipped again after the next molt. Be careful, sometimes those feathers can sneak up on you. All it takes is 1 feather on each wing for a cockatiel to be able to fly.

(Permission to use photos from Kaytee, September 27, 2006.)

When clipping these flight feathers, be careful not to clip any growing feathers. You will recognizethese blood feathers from the others since you can see the dark blood area in the shaft.

If you are not quite sure you can be your bird's barber, contact your avian veterinarian or local pet shop. Most will do this grooming for you for a nominal charge. Many will give you hands-on experience.

Clipping Nails
Nails need to be clipped when they are becoming snagged on toys, cage covers or clothes. I use a human nail clipper or baby nail scissors, and take off just the tippy-tips.

All nails have a blood supply. If you nick into this blood supply or quick, have some Quik-Stop or Stay on hand. If you do not have these commercial products on hand, flour or corn starch will work. Apply this with gentle pressure until the bleeding stops. Occasionally the nail gets cut too short and these products don't work. I like to use silver nitrate sticks to stop any bleeding. They are available from your avian veterinarian.

The proper size perch can help keep nails at the correct length. The tips of the nails should touch the perch. You can also use concrete perches, pedi-perches, sandy perches, hard wood perches or any of the other conditioning perches available today. Using a variety of perches also helps the bird stay comfortable since they are on their feet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It also helps to prevent early onset arthritis.

Keeping Beaks Trimmed
Beaks do not need to be trimmed under normal circumstances. Birds that are have a chronic illness, a previously injury to the beak or a nutritional deficiency may occasionally need their beak trimmed by an avian veterinarian.

I had only one cockatiel that ever needed her beak trimmed on a regular basis. She was an older bird with liver disease. Her upper beak was trimmed every other week or so.

Keeping a cuttlebone, a mineral block or small bird lava stone in the cage will assist in keeping the cockatiel's beak at the proper size and shape. Toys and other bird-safe objects to chew on also help with this condition as well as prevents boredom.

If you think your bird's beak may need to be trimmed, please check with your avian veterinarian. I'm sure they will be happy to do this for you and teach you how to keep your bird's beak in shape.

Editor's Note: A bird's beak contains a blood supply as well as a sensory organ at the tip. This tells the bird whether what he has in his beak is hot or cold, and basically whether it is food or not. To damage this sensory organ would mean that the beak will not regrow normally and could pose a threat to the bird's ability to eat normally. Please do not ever try trimming your bird's beak yourself. Take it to your trusted avian vet first for an evaluation.

Now What? My bird just laid an egg!

This is a question I hear via email and through the forums all the time! Most owners are surprised to learn that their sweet little "Sunshine" (often believed to be a male!) can lay an egg often without the benefit of a mate in the same cage! But single parrots, large and small, can indeed lay an egg or two (or 6!)

This is more common in some species of birds than others. For example, cockatiels and lovebirds seem particularly prone to chronic egg laying. Smaller birds tend to do this more often than the larger parrot species, maybe because they have grown more accustomed to breeding in captivity.

As the owner of a single bird that just laid an egg you have every reason to be a bit worried. For one thing, continual egg laying can sometimes lead to calcium deficiency and/or egg binding (that is when the hen can't lay the egg because the shell is malformed or too soft from lack of calcium.) . Either one can be really dangerous for the her and can even lead to her death in some cases. That is why bird breeders always supplement their birds with calcium during the breeding season.

The other thing that happens during egg laying is that hens will often become aggressive when the hormones that trigger breeding kick in, and they become overly protective of their eggs. ( Think feathered piranha!) Fortunately, Your sweet "Sunshine" usually reappears once her egg laying cycle is over.

In order to try and stop your bird from laying eggs, it helps to understand what can trigger it! There are certain things that help bring a bird into "breeding condition" so that she begins producing eggs. In the wild these things include the lengthening of days, the rainy season, and the availability of certain foods with which to feed their young. Breeders often work very hard to get these conditions just right to help their birds begin producing eggs. When a bird goes into breeding condition, hormones are released that start the cycle of producing and laying eggs.

So when breeders want their birds to start laying, they gradually increase the number of hours that the birds have light, increase the availability of fresh foods and increase the amount of rainfall (or baths). I've found that if a pet owner does just the opposite, it usually stops the egg laying cycle or prevents it from starting altogether.

For owners who want to be try and stop it before it starts, or at least decrease the chances of their single bird ever laying eggs, I recommend no more than 10-12 hours of light each day. In all but the most stubborn birds, this will be sufficient to prevent the onset of egg laying.

To try and stop egg production that has already begun, I would suggest immediately making her days shorter by turning out the lights after a 8 to 10 hour day. Also, I would stop giving daily baths (try to use a drinking fountain instead of a water bowl as most small parrots will happily bath in their water bowls) and cut back on fresh foods. I would also immediately begin adding a calcium supplement to the bird's diet. Once the egg laying has stopped, regular bathing and fresh foods can resume, and you can slowly increase the amount of light to 10-12 hours a day. But keep a close eye on things and switch back to shorter days and fewer baths if needed.

Special note about lovebirds: Lovebirds actually line their nests with bark and leaves in the wild. In captivity they happily make do with their paper cage liners. Try switching to some sort of particulate bedding on the cage bottom to prevent her wanting to tear strips of paper and tuck them under her wings to carry back to her nest. Aspen shavings, or corn cob bedding work nicely. What ever you do don't let her near the phone book!!!

Also try to totally change up the layout of your bird's home. Redecorate by moving the perches around, or even better replace them with new different styles of perches. It helps to have a couple of different sets of perches in a case like this. Then you can switch things out every week or so, to keep her guessing! Try the calcium perches, rope perches, manzanita perches, regular dowel perches of different diameters, check out your local bird store or even places online that carry a good supply of bird products (like drsfosterandsmith.com) Try to have a variety to switch in between. Also keep her toys on a constant rotation, and always in a different place within the cage. The idea is to keep her so busy exploring all of the new fun stuff that she doesn't have time to concentrate on wanting to breed!
Every once in a while, a hen will continue to lay egg after egg even when the above steps are taken. If this happens with your bird, you should discuss the situation with a good avian vet. It's possible that the vet will suggest a hormone shot to get the egg laying stopped.

Finally I am always asked "but what about the eggs?". Everybody has their own ideas about this, but I would probably throw the eggs away, and try the things I suggested above. However if you choose to leave them and allow your hen to incubate, after a few weeks to a months she'll usually loose interest in them and go one with her life as normal. But be sure to change things up some or she'll just assume that batch was full of "duds" and start laying all over again! One more thing to consider, if you do remove her eggs and leave everything else the same, often instinct kicks in to replace her lost egg, which can only make the problem worse. Some people recommend taking the eggs as soon as they are laid and then following the advice given above to try to stop the egg laying cycle. Some feel that removing the eggs upsets the bird, but I have never noticed that to be the case when I've removed eggs in the past. However, you should listen to both sides and do what you feel makes the most sense for your parrot, just like anything else the choice is yours to make.

I hope that helps some of you! I'd love to hear your comments with your experiences in this matter.