Fell in love - welcoming a ‘tiel!

[reeisconfused]

Someone is surrendering their cockatiel to me as they can no longer take care of him, since they are moving away. Prev Owners say that the cockatiel is between 3 - 4 months old and they bought him recently. They say he’s a male but there’s no way to be sure so early (I don’t think he’s DNA sexed).

I am so excited but so nervous at the same time! I originally was going to get another IRN in March, but when the previous owners asked me and I saw the baby, I couldn’t resist.

He’s on a seedmix diet (yikes!) and I will try to get him off of it as soon as I can. I hope Max is not too mad haha.

Will be keeping the tiel in quarantine but I just have to ask, any tips on introducing two different species birds to each other? I sincerely hope that they get along! Any other tips regarding tiels are appreciated.

The prev owners are going to drop him off later today and I’ll try to post some pictures after that.

Wish me luck!

 

[YUMgrinder]

Congrats! Tiels are AMAZING little creatures!

Keep in quarantine for 30 days, then I'd let them see each other but not be able to get to each other. Perhaps different cages in the same room, then after awhile move them closer together. I'm sure you could read their language and see if they would get along. supervised playtime for awhile then see where it goes! good luck!

 

[ChristaNL]

Wow, another bird found its way to you!


Yup, get the quarantine going, a huge all-over vetcheck and live happily ever after

 

[Laurasea]

Congratulations!!! Can't wait to see the cutie!

 

[reeisconfused]

Update: The baby is here!!!
The prev owners dropped him and he is SO little. I think he’s very young as he does not yet completely have feathers on his head.

He’s nervous but also chirpy. Every time I talk to him, he chirps back but he’s still afraid of me. I can get him to step up on my finger (he does it very unwillingly) but once he’s on me, he’s completely chill. No sudden movements or he flies away immediately. Wings are partially clipped.

The only concern I have is that he doesn’t have a good control over flying yet. Got spooked (Max was doing his birdie talk in the other room) and fell down today while flying.

Other things are looking good. His poop is normal and he’s eating well. He’s on a millet - seed mix currently. (So going to change this). The prev owners told me he’s too young to be fed fruits and veggies. Can this be true?

His current food list (with prev owners) includes only sweet corns and sprouts, with his seeds. They told me to keep him on “wet foods” mostly. I’m thinking of putting him on pellets. Would it be too early?

Also, any tips on bonding as well to keep him from getting spooked easily [spooked = flying = falling again]

in case, the images don’t show up,
http://imgur.com/WQdYcNl
http://imgur.com/0UZhA3F

 

[ChristaNL]

I am a bad person, but he looks like a wise old man with the bald pate.

(horrible seedmix indeed, it is mostly fat)

I do not know any baby-tiels, but to me this one looks more like he lost feathers by repeatedly scaping/ bumping his head against a cage-ceiling.
(Saw this with very nervous birds at birdshows sometimes)
Or being plucked by parents/mates, but the other feathers are waay to great looking for that.

Are all babytiels bald long after they leave the nest?
(just curious)

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Your little guy is adorable! His head feathers should grow back in time, it looks like they were plucked either by the parents or a cage mate. He is fully feathered and those would be grown in by now.

As far as fruits, veggies, and pellets go, he is old enough for you to introduce all of those! Plus the sooner the better, since the younger your bird is when you introduce new foods, usually the more willing they are to try new things. Especially if you try them too!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[EllenD]

Congrats on the new baby Tiel...Although I'm a bit concerned if he's "really small" and has no feathers on his head yet? But he's eating solid food? But he can't fly well? It sounds to me like he was weaned onto millet far too soon...I've seen that before, as when you're hand-feeding a baby bird, they will start to eat millet sprays while they're still being fed multiple feedings of formula a day...And then people go "Oh, they're eating the millet seed, so we can stop the formula"...That's not good, so I'm glad you've got him now...Make sure you let his wings grow-in fully and don't clip them again, he needs to be fully-fledged and be able to fly with total control first.

As far as his diet goes, YES he can eat fresh veggies and fruit, that's ridiculous. Most breeders/hand-feeders start giving their babies fresh veggies and fruits while they're weaning, as that's the only way they'll ever learn to eat them!!! Bad information. Please, go ahead and start feeding him plenty of fresh veggies, dark leafy greens, and a little fresh fruit each day...

As far as the "millet" diet, what I would do immediately is go and buy a healthy, low-fat seed-mix with no sunflower seeds, no nuts/peanuts, and no dried corn, one such as Tropimix or Higgins California Blend, or even Higgins Safflower Gold...He should start eating those right away, and combined with lots of fresh veggies, greens, and fruit, then his diet is actually pretty good, and you can do it immediately...Then worry later about transitioning him onto a pellet staple diet if that's what you're going to do...But I think it's much more important to eliminate all that fat from his diet right away so his liver isn't effected at such a young age...And seed-mixes such as Tropimix (which also contains Tropican pellets in it too), Higgins California Blend, etc. are very healthy and varied seed-mixes with tons of healthier, low-fat seeds, fresh grains, legumes, herbs, veggies, fruit, etc. and none of the bad stuff or the multiple different kinds of millet and that's it. Get him off on the right start, because I think he's had a rough beginning with his wings clipped already and them weaning him a bit too early and onto crappy millet seed and no veggies or greens...

As far as introducing him to your IRN, as someone who has 5 different parrot species living together plus a Ringneck Dove, you just have to gradually let them spend supervised time together, making sure that your IRN can't get a hold of him with his beak (Cockatiels don't tend to be very aggressive, and the beak-size difference is massive)...It's all up to them whether they will get along, not you. It might happen, it might not, and you cannot force it.

After the quarantine I would simply put their cages into the same room with each other, but not right next to each other, so that they can see each other and talk to each other, but not so close that either will feel anxious about it...Then after a couple of weeks of having them out at different times you can move their cages next to each other and let them be close for a while, and again, when you decide to actually let them out together for the first time you must have total control over your IRN...And just see how they do...There is no way to know whether they'll get along or not...Sometimes they'll just tolerate each other, sometimes they'll really like each other, sometimes they'll hate each other, sometimes they'll want to kill each other and won't be able to be together at all...It just depends on them...but introducing them slowly and putting their cages together in the same room for a while to let them get to know each other is the best way to start after the quarantine.

 

[Laurasea]

Looks like somebody plucked his head, or he got scalped or....he has all his other feathers and full grown flight feathers....so something is up. But even if he is "special" he is super cute! So glad he found his way to you!! May you have many Happy years together!!

 

[Flboy]

So very exciting! Cute little one! Once past the quarantine, a great tip I just came across, cover the top of each cage! As they explore, they will definitely fly to the top of each other’s cage! Quick way to loose a toe!

 

[reeisconfused]

Congrats! Tiels are AMAZING little creatures!

Keep in quarantine for 30 days, then I'd let them see each other but not be able to get to each other. Perhaps different cages in the same room, then after awhile move them closer together. I'm sure you could read their language and see if they would get along. supervised playtime for awhile then see where it goes! good luck!

Thank you for your response!
The ‘tiel is already very curious about Max, listening in on him from the other room. At first he was spooked but now he just chirps every time Max makes a sound haha.

 

[reeisconfused]

Wow, another bird found its way to you!


Yup, get the quarantine going, a huge all-over vetcheck and live happily ever after

Haha yes, quite the surprise! I had no idea until yesterday that I would be getting another bird this soon. Its true: the birdies choose you!

 

[reeisconfused]

I am a bad person, but he looks like a wise old man with the bald pate.

(horrible seedmix indeed, it is mostly fat)

I do not know any baby-tiels, but to me this one looks more like he lost feathers by repeatedly scaping/ bumping his head against a cage-ceiling.
(Saw this with very nervous birds at birdshows sometimes)
Or being plucked by parents/mates, but the other feathers are waay to great looking for that.

Are all babytiels bald long after they leave the nest?
(just curious)

You’re not the only one! He looks like such a cute little dork - I LOVE it!!!

 

[reeisconfused]

Your little guy is adorable! His head feathers should grow back in time, it looks like they were plucked either by the parents or a cage mate. He is fully feathered and those would be grown in by now.

As far as fruits, veggies, and pellets go, he is old enough for you to introduce all of those! Plus the sooner the better, since the younger your bird is when you introduce new foods, usually the more willing they are to try new things. Especially if you try them too!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Thank you for your response! I thought so too but I wanted to make sure.
I’ll definately be giving him fruits and veggies soon.

 

[reeisconfused]

It sounds to me like he was weaned onto millet far too soon...I've seen that before, as when you're hand-feeding a baby bird, they will start to eat millet sprays while they're still being fed multiple feedings of formula a day...And then people go "Oh, they're eating the millet seed, so we can stop the formula"...That's not good, so I'm glad you've got him now...Make sure you let his wings grow-in fully and don't clip them again, he needs to be fully-fledged and be able to fly with total control first.

Thank you so much for your response, EllenD! Oh yes, he’s SO tiny. I suspected that he might have been weaned early the moment I saw him. I was hoping that the wings wouldn’t be clipped but alas . They will grow back in though!

As far as his diet goes, YES he can eat fresh veggies and fruit, that's ridiculous. Most breeders/hand-feeders start giving their babies fresh veggies and fruits while they're weaning, as that's the only way they'll ever learn to eat them!!! Bad information. Please, go ahead and start feeding him plenty of fresh veggies, dark leafy greens, and a little fresh fruit each day...

Honestly, this is the first time I heard someone say this. And I immediately went, Whaaaat really? I wanted to double check so I asked!

It just depends on them...but introducing them slowly and putting their cages together in the same room for a while to let them get to know each other is the best way to start after the quarantine.

Absolutely! Here’s hoping for the best!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Very cute indeed! It looks to me also that someone plucked the "hat" off his noggin to me! With all the clothes he has on his body his head should also be full. They should grow back.
BB was 4.5 months old when he came home with me. He was already eating Zupreem fruity pellets and fresh veggies according to the breeder..kale and pieces of peppers and picking at banana and grape. But he is very finiky and picky now. His vet said NOT to give millet..it is like us eating French fries..only in moderation and very little seed. He gets about a table spoon of cockatiel seed that the breeder said he developed specifically for tiels.
Your little guy is a cutie!


Jim

 

[smbrds]

So good that he made his way to you!! What a cutie he is. The feathers on his head should grow back.

With fruits and veggies the earlier the better. I wish I introduced veggies early on with my tiel but he eats a little that I offer him. So many wish they introduced fruits and veggies early on. So definitely the earlier the better. Fruits and veggies, a good quality seed mix that at least has more safflower in it and pellets will offer better nutrition and be good for him. Making a birdie chop will especially be good and helpful, a variety of grains and veggies together that he can eat.

I found this thread which should offer more great info and guidance on nutrition and a variety of foods - http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

If you have a gram scale or can get access to one it would be really helpful as he begins to eat more/put on weight and get older to track his weight.

 

[reeisconfused]

Update: We’re officially in the “I bite everything” phase! The only time my ‘tiel is not biting me is when I’m getting him out of the cage. He’ll sit on my hand and randomly bite me. I’ve tried putting him down with a firm “No bites” but he doesn’t really seem to care. I’ve tried the earthquake method but it only makes him bite me again and again. What can I do about this?
Also, he’s a shoulder guy. Once he’s on my hand, he climbs up to sit on my shoulder and refuses to leave.
He pecks at everything like a chicken lol. I gave him pellets earlier today and he was pecking at it but he’s not able to “chew” on it? I’m thinking of soaking the pellets in water and giving it to him.
His activity outside the cage is restricted to him only sitting on my shoulder. If I set him down, he pecks down a bit and starts screaming for me to pick him up again. How can I get him more involved?

 

[smbrds]

Your little guy just needs some time! You mentioned before that once he's on you then he's fine. When they're on the shoulder and fight to get off they're defending their territory and kingdom because they are the bird king and comfortable! He seems somewhat tamed so practice Stepping Up and associate it with a word that means to step up. Try to distract him when he bites, give him food, a toy. The ''earthquake'' method can break trust. Right now you need his trust more than anything. Offer him his food or favorite food on your hand or hold it for him to eat. As for getting him involved...put on some music and bob your head...really. Eventually he might and it'll be an interaction between you two. Right now getting him involved is limited because of the quarantine phase but in the room he is can be explored.

 

[WilliamKenyon]

Awwww what a cute little guy, glad to hear he has found his way to you!