Could this be it in terms of noise?

[Karlys]

I don't want to jinx things but our baby cockatiel is really rather quiet. She makes cute squeaks if you talk to her in a high pitched voice, especially to "Hi sweetie." Then, maybe once or twice a day, she goes into what I call pathetic baby mode where she crawls as close as she can to your face and cuddles up, making a bunch of sad-sounding squeaks. We haven't quite figured out what she's trying to tell us when she does this or what triggers it but it only lasts a few mins. Finally, she will cry for us if we leave her in the other room for too long but it isn't terribly loud. It's just very desperate and panicky. If you leave music on for her or if we're watching a movie, she'll keep quiet though.

Could this really be it? Did we luck out? I was just expecting and peppered for so much more noise when we went into this.

 

[LordTriggs]

she'll probably change up her noises as she gets older, maybe a bit more singing and squeaking maybe even some good Tiel honking here and there. Best bet is to establish your contact call with her now so she doesn't resort to loud screams when older

as for the cuddly sad squeaks sounds a little like possible baby begging? Perhaps try offering her a soft bit of food when she does this?

 

[wrench13]

Right, get that contact call established now. Most likely she will have a different one for each member of the family, or at least one for her "person" and another for everyone else in the family. Contact calls should be answered immediately so the parrot knows she has been heard and that you are nearby. And respond only once, so she does not make a game of it. It doesn't hurt to initiate it once in awhile yourself. So for instance, my contact call with Salty is "I'm here - where are you?" and I will occasionally call to him with that if I am in the bathroom and Salty has not called me.

 

[itzjbean]

Female cockatiels are generally quieter than males and even compared to other birds. My male is much more vocal!

 

[Mdjandt]

Hi there! How old is she? If she's very young, she may be asking you to feed her when she cuddles up next to you. Birds will change as they grow, some will be noisy and some not. Cockatiels are generally quieter than a lot of other birds, at least in my experience. Her "voice" will get stronger though. Lol. She won't be a baby forever.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Hi there! How old is she? If she's very young, she may be asking you to feed her when she cuddles up next to you. Birds will change as they grow, some will be noisy and some not. Cockatiels are generally quieter than a lot of other birds, at least in my experience. Her "voice" will get stronger though. Lol. She won't be a baby forever.

It took a month or so for BB to find his voice. He was 4.5 months old when he came home with me. He did a couple chirps and a short whistle or two. Then at about six months he really started whistling ( His first whistling was from me teaching him the wolf whistle and the andy Griffith and Addams family themes)

He is now about 2.5 years old and says a couple words/phrases and is an expert at whistling! Others have called it "screaming" when they call for you.
As soon as I leave the room where he is,he'll do that to me and I just tell him "I'm right here,I'll be right back" His calls are loud but I don't call it screaming.
When I get up in the morning and he knows I'm up,he REALLY lets loose with his whistling and goes on for ten or fifteen minutes lol.
He is a wonderful little fluff ball. So happy and full of life and I love him dearly!


Jim

 

[Karlys]

Hi everyone!

Thank you for your replies. Sorry for not responding sooner-- it's been a busy week!

She is about 4 months old and she's been home with us for a month. We've tried offering her food when she cuddles up but she's not interested. She's eating normally on her own and gaining weight though, so I'm not worried.

I have implemented calling to her when she starts crying from the other room. I'm not sure if it's helping yet because she just keeps making noise back at you but I'll keep it up.

I look forward to seeing how her voice changes! It'd be nice to hear her sing a little more.

 

[GaleriaGila]

The sweetest bird in the world might be a female cockatiel. Might be yours. Beautiful girl!

 

[reeb]

Berry's a little girl too and when I brought her home at 4 months old (last October) she was very quiet. But as she got older she started to experiment more with her voice. While she isn't as noisy as a male would be (i.e. no whistling etc.), she makes the classic cockatiel "weep" sound, as well as a "screetch", a "scritch" and a "weeoo". What she lacks in vocabulary she certainly makes up for in enthusiasm! She can be VERY loud when she wants to be... especially when she is trying to get my attention!

 

[Amadeo]

She sounds like a wonderful little bird! ^^
I have a male Cockateil who is very loud when he wants to be. Generally females tend to be quiter, though it really depends on the individual.
You may have a little sweetheart on your hands by the sounds it, but she still has plenty of growing to do so it could change.

 

[Karlys]

Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything! She's grown exponentially louder over the past few weeks. And today she started whistling???

I'm pretty convinced she's still a SHE because she's molting and none of the new feathers around her face are coming in white. But the whistling caught me off guard. We have been whistling The Imperial March at her a lot and she was chirping/singing bits of it before but now she's figured out how to whistle the beginning. She must just be a good mimicker?

I think I'll send off one of her feathers for DNA testing just to set the record straight.

 

[reeb]

Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything! She's grown exponentially louder over the past few weeks. And today she started whistling???

I'm pretty convinced she's still a SHE because she's molting and none of the new feathers around her face are coming in white. But the whistling caught me off guard. We have been whistling The Imperial March at her a lot and she was chirping/singing bits of it before but now she's figured out how to whistle the beginning. She must just be a good mimicker?

I think I'll send off one of her feathers for DNA testing just to set the record straight.

Haha, though she would get a bit noisier! Interesting that she whistles (if she is female). Berry can literally only make 4 different sounds lol. It isn't unheard of for females to whistle, but only a DNA test will tell!