So, I've come into posession of a cockatiel

[socrates]

For at least the near future at least...

Yes that's right, I'm still alive and didn't drop off the face of the earth! I was thinking of getting another galah about 6 months ago, but due to a change in jobs and an imminent change in housing arrangements I thought it best to leave it for the time being.

Onto my tiel related issues. Quick bit of background info on the bird; female, was once owned by a woman who was told to try a pet for her autistic son, who my mum helped care for. Son got progressively more ill with other illness and they both moved interstate for treatment and mum inhereted the bird (she has always loved parots so was easy for her). Mum is now quite ill herself with numerous medical issues requiring many overnight stays in hospital and soon surgery that will leave her unable to lift the cage for at least 3-4 months. Hence the tiel is now living with me.

So now that all of that is out of the way I can finally get to my questions

Personally, I think the cage is a bit small for her and I am thinking of buying a new one. Would this be to much of a shock for her for this all to happen so soon?

She doesn't have much in the way of in-cage entertainment at present. Wasn't much of an issue when she was with mum as mum was home most of the day to talk to her and play with her. Both myself and my fiance work around 40ish hours a week, add travel time to that and we are away from the house for about 9-10hrs a day. I have already gone to the local pet store and bought her two new toys. Nothing to fancy, just some hoops and dangly pieces of wood with a bell on the end. I was thinking of getter her some puzzle type toys to keep her occupied? The local shop didn't have any of these so I will have try somewhere else if you guys think that I should get some?

I'm 99% sure that all her diet has consisted of the past however long has been a basic parrot seed mix. What should I look at feeding her to improve her diet?

She seems to have a reasonably good personality. She chirps a bit and does a few little dances from time to time. She also isn't scared of attention, putting her head up to the bars for just about anyone to give her a scratch. I've taken a pic for you to see her, excuse the quality as 1 it was taken on my phone and 2 she didn't stay still for very long while I was trying to take the pic!

Any advice you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated


Cheers,
Ben

 

[BanalityBob]

Congrats on the new bird! From the pic, I'd hazard a guess that the cage is indeed a bit small. Really, I suggest going for the biggest cage you can afford and fit in your house. Here are a few that I suggest:

I've had my Quaker in this one, and it currently is with my neighbor housing a pair of rescued cockatiels. It's a nice cage for the price.

This is the cage I have for Penelope right now. It's the same price as the other one, better constructed, has a nifty little shelf halfway up for the birdie to run around on, but is slightly smaller.

A friend of mine has this for his Quaker. It's a decent cage too, and is cheaper than the other two. Plus, the shelves are cool.

I also suggest getting a metric crapton of toys. Get too many for the cage and rotate them. I guess I just don't want there to be a chance of my fid getting bored. That being said, I'm pretty sure Penelope has more toys than most pet stores...I may be spoiling her rotten.

 

[Ratzy]

Congrats!
Cage definitely looks too small, get a bigger one as soon as possible!

I have two cockatiels, Jasper and Buzza. Buzza is fairly tame ( gotten a bit behind because she's in the aviary ) but Jasper is pure devil lol. He latches onto your finger and doesn't let go ( even when I shake my hand ). Ow!
As far a training goes, clipping her wings would be a good start ( once she's settle into a bigger cage ). I put Buzza into a box ( my budgies don't mind this but she definitely does lol ) to bring her inside, then let her sit and watch me go onto the forum lol. After a few weeks, she was letting me pet her head ( despite having to force her into a box every day ).

Good luck ( sorry if she's already tamed lol )!