I found a cockatiel!

[lisascannell]

Hi everyone, I'm from Australia. Someone in my community found a cockatiel on their doorstep and I am fostering it while looking for its owner. I have an ad in the paper and Internet classifieds. It is a grey female. Appears to look quite old. It looks wild but it can't be because I can get it to step up and also it tilts its head for tickles. It does hiss and carry on though so I'm thinking maybe it was tame once and was neglected or has been living in the wild for some time. I have no clue! Anway, I would like some advice from experienced Cockatiel owners (Mikey are you listening??) he has very sleepy looking eyes. Like he's squinting. Is that common in older cockatiels? He has been eating. Not at lot. But he's definitely eating and chewing on cuttle bone.
Thanks

 

[MikeyTN]

IF it was a tame Cockatiel and living indoors, being outside will scare the living crap out of them where they barely get any rest or food making them look extremely tired. Sure they are from Australia but if they never been outside, it can take them awhile to get used to it and it would help them to be with other tiels. BUT it is not wise to release her if she was raised in captivity due to all the different mutations now days, should not mix them up with the wild ones. It can take her several weeks to a month to recover. I've seen some old tiels and had some in the past, they start to look a bit rough but not really that bad. Please do keep her far far far away from your birds!!!! Have her tested!!!

 

[cassiepengo]

i think she's escaped from his previous owner some time ago, and maybe thats why shes not really scared and stuff. maybe she's gotten used to living out?? yeah, i too think you should get her tested. i wonder where she came from... i hope you find her owner soon, they'll be SO happy to see her!

 

[lisascannell]

Yeah she looks really tired and old..the poor thing. Oh dear, it's too late I"ve already had her with my other tiels

 

[lisascannell]

Right now she's geting sleepy and grinding her little beak...such a cutie

 

[MikeyTN]

Still do have her tested and checked out by a avian vet, you can never be too careful. That way you have a peace of mind.

 

[cassiepengo]

sounds sweet!! well get her apart as soon as you can. she might not be all that healthy. i seriously wonder where she came from. sounds so confusing!! is she friendly?? or was she scared at first?

 

[lisascannell]

She will step up on my finger and bow for head scratches...but at the same time she hisses and nips so not too sure...

 

[cassiepengo]

whoops, thats confusing. do you think she is ill or something?? any signs?

 

[MikeyTN]

She's still rather new to you so it will just take some time for her to get adjusted to you. She will get it eventually once you've worked with her enough times. Good luck!

 

[lisascannell]

No don't think she's ill....she's settling in a lot better now

 

[cassiepengo]

thats just great!! any clues about her owner?? or are you gonna keep her? she sounds really sweet. and if you dont find her, keep her,cuz if shes old it might not be nice to put her in a shelter with other younger birds.

 

[lisascannell]

The owner hasn't claimed her even though I put an ad in the paper and on Gumtree. Definitely going to keep her. No idea on her age though...she actually looks a bit less haggard now that she's had a bit of time to settle down. Last night I was giving her scratches and she was making the softest little chirping noises, like a baby! Maybe that's a mating call LOL it was cute though...

 

[cassiepengo]

aww? keep her, then!! what ru gonna call her? and yeah, did you take her to the vet??

 

[lisascannell]

Yes she's had a clean bill of health from the vet. I've named her Lucy!

 

[cassiepengo]

hey, thats cute!! put up some pics, i wanna see her!

 

[lisascannell]

I will post a video for you

 

[cassiepengo]

whoo hoo!! i love cockatiels!! but the pet stores here wont sell them single

 

[lisascannell]

My video is taking a while to load, sorry! Are you in the US? I live in Australia...why won't they sell them in singles? In Australia we have Gumtree, which is kind of like Ebay but you can buy local...there are cockatiels a plenty. They are lovely birds. So cute and so cuddly. Sometime I love them so much I can't handle it!! And at night when they are cosy and relaxed they grind their beaks and it's so cute...