Cockatiel info!

[Abhi]

Hi! I am Abhi and Im new to this forum. I want to buy a cockatiel in about a few weeks and ive done a research for about 5 months about them. Tho my parents are not buying me! My ambition is to open an aviary. So just for my knowledge can I know some cockatiel pros and cons? My parents say they have NO interest in pets so yeah..
Im just 12 yrs old so please excuse me if i am childish.
Just a few pros and cons


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Abhi
(Lover of cockatiels)

 

[MikeyTN]

Welcome to the forum!!!

Cockatiels are wonderful birds to have!!!! They're usually not picky about their people but they sometimes will choose their favorite person to be with. The only con I can think of is they are quite dusty, so if anyone in the household have an allergy/asthma issue, it could make them quite sick. They also tend to get night frights easily, a night light is preferred. Other then that, I don't see any issues with them at all what so ever.

 

[Abhi]

Thanks so much sir!! Yeah I have read about Night Frights, but not much. I have to collect more information about it now! Its so interesting in knowing things about cockatiels especially if you have interest in birds. Woah! Are they really one person birds? I never knew that! Thanks for saying

:30:

Welcome to the forum!!!

Cockatiels are wonderful birds to have!!!! They're usually not picky about their people but they sometimes will choose their favorite person to be with. The only con I can think of is they are quite dusty, so if anyone in the household have an allergy/asthma issue, it could make them quite sick. They also tend to get night frights easily, a night light is preferred. Other then that, I don't see any issues with them at all what so ever.

 

[MikeyTN]

They can be, but usually in acceptance of other people better then most birds.

 

[Abhi]

Oh! Thank you for your information

 

[Dusty]

They are great starter birds. I've had pet ones for years. The two i have now cant talk but they mimic the phone, wolf whistle and mimic bits of certain songs
My untamed one...

Hand reared female...

 

[Abhi]

OH MY GOSH! They look so cute!!! I hope i live in your area haha! Anyways, thanks for the info!

 

[lisascannell]

Cockatiels are delightful pets! They are affectionate and relatively easy to tame. They all have their own personalities. If you get a boy they will whistle and talk and generally be more vocal but the females are just so sweet and loving! I can't think of any cons with owning a cockatiel. I don't think they are a starter bird. They are just as affectionate and fun as a bigger parrot!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Cockatiels tend to be very docile birds. They are very easygoing and quite non-agressive compared to other birds.

I have a 19 y/o cockatiel who I can reach in her cage, pick her up and toss her around like a football. Not that I do that, but just saying that is how laid back she is.

They do tend to be noisy though not as noisy as parakeets. They're vocals are also much more bearable in tone and level compared to other birds (such as conures).

Cockatiels are known for being passive birds and easy to care for. They are VERY soft and capable of learning many tricks. Some talk, some don't. Some whistle, some don't. Some cuddle, some don't.

I do agree about the nightlight. Peaches, my cockatiel, used to get them quite often, once she even punctured her wing which made for a late night ER visit and a pretty steep vet bill. After that I do night lights.

I find cockatiels get along quite well with other birds. Tiels and budgies tend to get along well (though I don't personally recommend keeping different species in the same cage - however an aviary is much different)

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Cockatiels are delightful pets! They are affectionate and relatively easy to tame. They all have their own personalities. If you get a boy they will whistle and talk and generally be more vocal but the females are just so sweet and loving! I can't think of any cons with owning a cockatiel. I don't think they are a starter bird. They are just as affectionate and fun as a bigger parrot!

So true - I also find that the smaller birds don't get enough credit for their capabilities. Many non-bird owners have a lot of misconceptions about parrots. That only the big ones do tricks and that ALL parrots talk.

The best thing to do when getting a bird is educate yourself and don't have high expectations. Accept the individual personality of your bird. Any parrot may or may not do what you want them too (ie talk,tricks,cuddle) so my advice is don't 'expect' them too.

 

[MikeyTN]

That's the unfortunate part with the misconception. For me I know better and I love the smaller birds as much as the big birds. To me a home isn't a home without cockatiels.

 

[crimson]

cockatiels are great birds. my daughter is 11 and handles are sort of birds, so you can to with experience

I have many cockatiels here-- 8 in total, 5 of them are really really tame.
they love hanging together but love when I come and pay attention to them.
one of the things I really love about a cockatiel is they LOVE sitting on your shoulder and just hanging out with you, they are very peaceful birds.

It really depends on how much time you have to devote to a bird. If you don't have much time, then maybe you should consider two, but I would get one for now, so you can learn from it.
that way you can prove to your parents you can take proper care of it.

here is some of my gang

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

That's the unfortunate part with the misconception. For me I know better and I love the smaller birds as much as the big birds. To me a home isn't a home without cockatiels.

I have the same view with parakeets. I got my first 'keet in 1987 for my 11th Bday and I was hooked. I have ALWAYS had at least one parakeet, until last year (2013). My 9 year old parakeet Kiwi passed early in that year and I didnt get another one. Not that I dont want another one, its just Skittles (my sun conure) is such a handful that it wouldn't be fair to bring any more birds into the house if I can't make time for them. Thought 'technically' sun conures are also called sun parakeets - so I guess I could say I still have them, lol.

Peaches and Skittles couldn't be more different. She is very laid back and easy going. NEVER gotten in trouble. Skittles is very opinionated, can be aggressive if he doesn't get his way and he always is looking for trouble. Their varied differences makes me appreciate them even more for their individuality.

 

[MikeyTN]

I still have the two Parakeets that I rescued about 4-5 years ago. I was at Sam's club getting stuffs for work. It was early March and the weather was rather warm that week and as I was coming out of Sam's I heart chirps, I thought to myself that sounded like Parakeets, I looked down there they are walking on the pavement together. So I proceed to go after them as they can fly pretty good. I caught one with one hand while I proceed to go after the other one, he wasn't going away because I had his mate in my hand. So I was able to capture him as well. Brought them into the work van and they flew around inside the van and I drove to the pet shop and bought them a cage and parakeet seeds. They were getting cold as it started to get dark out and cold. They flew to me and sat as close to me as possible to keep warm. I got up and went out the back door of the van so they won't fly out. They sat there and slept while I went into the pet shop to gather the stuffs. I looked into the van and they huddled together on the seat still. I opened the door slowly and got in through the back and I picked them up and put them inside the cage along with some food in the dishes. I drove back to work and went in and got some water. They started eating none stop, they were skin and bones. They were just babies cause they still had all their bars on their head. I called my partner up who just got out of work and drove down to outside of my work and took them home. My partner works north of Nashville while I work south of Nashville so we're an hour apart. When I got off work to check on them, they were very scared and huddle together. That very night that we took them in, it got freezing cold outside throughout the whole week, they would of froze to death that night. They ate none stop for days and never made a peep. Until about a week later they started chirping away, I knew they were gonna be fine after that. They don't want me to hold them now days so I let them be in the aviary as they're happy in there. But I do catch them to check on them every so often as they never bite me hard. So this is how I got back into Parakeets again....

 

[Maria_Metropolis]

Welcome to the forum.

Cons:
Dusty
Can be demanding of attention.
Need a large cage despite the fact that they're small.
Need lots of toys to avoid boredom, like any parrot.
Can be very messy like all birds.
Picky eaters (it can be difficult to get them to eat fresh fruit and veggies, and other healthy foods).
Females tend to lay infertile eggs, and can have health issues due to this like egg binding and calcium deficiencies.
Can get easily injured as babies, especially if wings are clipped, so be careful.
Not the best talkers if that's something important to you. Only males talk I think.


Pros:
Very small beak which cannot do much damage to you or your house.
They're the smallest and easiest to care for in the Cockatoo family (yes, they are considered Cockatoos).
Beautiful, especially the various mutations. They have a gorgeous crest too, which can help you figure out their various moods, like big Cockatoos.
Love to whistle and tweet instead of screach and scream like other parrots.
Trainable.
Can be very cuddly, especially if you get a hand raised baby.
They are flock birds, so it's easy IMO, to get them to love your whole family, unlike some "one person" parrots.
Very sociable.
Live 20 to 30 years instead of 70+ so you can have them for a life time without worrying what will happen to them if they outlive you.

They're awesome birds and honestly, I paid $130 for mine, but he is priceless to me. He is also very beautiful, even if he's doing absolutely nothing in his cage, and napping, I could just sit and stare at him. The gorgeous feathers, long tail, adorable looks. I could go on and on.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I see the cockatiels in stores now - they are well over $100. When I got Peaches back in 1995, she was only $35. My first parakeet only cost $12.

Cockatiels certainly can live into their 20's, but you have to take REALLY good care of them. Many cockatiels don't live to that age cause of poor diet and lack of exercise. If you do right by those two things - you are in good shape.