Would it be crazy to buy a Sun?

[Mekaisto]

.
I would not switch the bird if I were you.

You can still teach female cockatiels to whistle, and to be honest, it's not a huge deal if it doesn't learn anything. Your relationship with your bird should be built on its charm and personality, not its tricks. After all, would you love your daughter less if she had no talents?

Your daughter will get over it, if it should happen that the cockatiel learns nothing.

 

[cateyes221981]

if they scream while sitting on your ear your ear will just plug

that happened to mew a few times

has it happened to anyone else? LOL

 

[alcmene]

.
I would not switch the bird if I were you.

You can still teach female cockatiels to whistle, and to be honest, it's not a huge deal if it doesn't learn anything. Your relationship with your bird should be built on its charm and personality, not its tricks. After all, would you love your daughter less if she had no talents?

Your daughter will get over it, if it should happen that the cockatiel learns nothing.

I agree. The cockatiel learning nothing is... meh. Of course we'd prefer if she did. But, as you said, if she doesn't, no biggie.

We are very very concerned about the egg laying though. I know so many people (and have read countless horror stories online) about their female tiels dying from egg laying complications. My daughter is a very sensitive child. If Mr Peabody died a horrible death, it would completely traumatize her.

 

[riddick07]

Lots of food rich in calcium will help prevent the excessive egg laying from killing them. Veggies, cuttlebone, and herbs such as raspberry leaf. Birds without a mate don't always lay either. Neither of my girls have laid so far and my first cockatiel didn't lay until she had a male companion in her cage.

 

[featherfluff]

What an amazing story. I just had to join this forum to comment. My Cockatiel picked me. I went to an exotic bird fair and when I picked him up he crawled up my arm and sat on my head. He then nibbled on my hair. I put him back on his cage to look at more birds. A little while later I went back to look at him again. I picked him up and he did the same thing. Keiko is the best bird I could ever asked for. I originally wasn't interested in a Cockatiel, but he won me over forever.

Best of luck with your two new pets. They sound wonderful!

 

[everdusk]

There are a lot of horror stories related to female cockatiels for sure, but it happens to every species. I have a female cockatiel, and while she was on her own she did not lay one single egg (for about 6 years), however, she now has a male friend and does from time to time lay an egg. She hasn't for several months now that I am monitoring her daylight hours.

I agree that you should keep the cockatiel. Females can be so friendly and I'm sure a new guy just wouldn't be the same to your conure or your daughter. There is a lot you can do to prevent egg-laying, and I think you can handle it.

Good luck!

 

[Nakiska]

I'm going to jump out there and say.......you know what's going to happen dont'cha?

That male bird WILL come into your life...things just have a way of working out that way.

When the urge hit me to have a pet bird once again, (5 years after a tragic loss) I ran to the petstore and bought the first bird I seen...While driving to the pet store, I decided that I knew what I wanted...a Male Lutino Cockatiel....and much to my surprise the first pet store I went to had "Hector" (the terrible name THEY gave him) for sale, Male Lutino Cockatiel.

Less then 24 hours later, I knew Hector...was most definitely NOT a male.

Chiquita is the most sweetest, gorgeous, even tempered...bless her heart little cockatiel ever! She is the one that absolutely anyone can handle, to this day, she's never bitten anyone.

Super long story short, we ended up with 4 cockatiels 2 males, 2 females...last April I lost my dear Chicken Little... I don't talk about it because it hurts too much...we also have a green cheek and a pigeon.

Soooooo.....Who says you have to stop at 2??

As far as the egg laying...I was concerned about that too...but not enough to deter me from having hen tiels if that's what should come about. I rescued 2 tiels (a brother and sister) the female...Sweet Pea...started laying eggs about a year after we rescued her....and she kept laying...and layed some more...before it was over she had layed over 50 eggs!!! I was beginning to get concerned, but she was soo healthy, vibrant and happy...none the less I ended up on here asking for help to get her to stop because some of the eggs were starting to get soft spots. I think she layed an egg nearly every other day for almost 5 or 6 months.

I fed her a well balanced diet, free choice to calcium rich veggies plus her cuttlebone, which she used...always fresh water and I let her out daily for exercise, just like everyone else.

Just when I was getting a separate room ready for her to live in complete isolation...as was suggested here...she quit. I'm not gonna lie...I was relieved.

She's never layed like that since...every once in a while I'll find an egg on the bottom of her cage...she might lay 2 or 3 then stops. We've had her 3 years in August.

It's true, the male cockatiels are louder, learn to talk and whistle, every male tiel I've owned has developed an extensive vocabulary, BUT they didn't seem to have as stable of a personality as our females...as far as biting and in general testy behavior.

Your female cockatiel may not chirp, whistle and talk...but they CAN learn tricks, just watch youtube for tons of ideas of things you can try to teach her. And really...there is just "something" about a female tiel that melts my heart and wins me over...the look in her eye...the way she sets her head when I talk to her, her general "sweetness" ....It's not something I can explain, just a special sort of bond I know we have.

Good Luck with your beautiful babies...you truly have chosen the right birds for you, they are quite content with you as I saw in some previous pictures. Just keep letting the relationships flow and when that male comes long...you'll know, and nothing will stop you at adding a 3rd...just trust me on this.

Toni