First time Cockatiel owner here

[Morrison's Mom]

Hello all. I've had my Morrison for 3 months and I just love him and enjoy him so much. My cat Stinky doesn't seem to mind him at all, as a matter of fact they get along great. I bought him from a man at a small pet store in a little town that hand raises all his birds. I brought him home at the age 13 1/2 weeks. I named him after my favorite singer, Jim Morrison.
Well that's it, just wanted to say hello and if you have any tips for this first time owner please tell.

[The Outlaw]

Welcome to Birdboard! Congratulations on your new friend. I have 10 bigger parrots myself and know the thrill of your first bird.

THE OUTLAW

[Monica]

Congrats on the new baby! Make sure to handle him daily, feed him plenty of fruits and veggies, let it out of the cage to explore or be with you, otherwise, sounds great!

[Morrison's Mom]

Originally Posted by The Outlaw

Welcome to Birdboard! Congratulations on your new friend. I have 10 bigger parrots myself and know the thrill of your first bird.

THE OUTLAW

10 parrots WOW that's alot of birds. I use to see a dude that had a Blue and Green Macaw and he was a friendly bird and so very pretty I liked him alot, the Macaw that is lol

[Morrison's Mom]

If I'm home his cage is open and he is either on the top of it or with me, matter of fact as I type this he is pecking at my fingers. Morri has this thing about pciking something up and carrying it to the edge of the desk and dropping it, kinda like a kid lol. As for fruits and veggies do you mean fresh ones? I need any and all suggestions. And can you imform me on the molting process and how I am to know when he is molting. He has a broken tail feather, but I don't dare bother it, I've been told when he molts if will fall out. Thank you again for the warm welcome

[Monica]

LOL I know how that is with dropping things over the edge! When Casey, my female tiel, use to live in a cage, if I put a cup of seeds ontop to snack on, she'd push it over the edge just to watch it fall!!! I always had to laugh at her!

You should try feeding all types of veggies, especially dark green ones, and orange and yellow veggies as well, and feed fruits to, but more so on the veggies. Stay away from avocado, and the seeds of apples, grapes, cherries, or anything with a pit. The meat of the fruit is usually fine though. You can feed these fresh, frozen (thawed of course), or even cooked. Also feed cooked eggs occasionally, even with the shell. For the most part, what is healthy for you is healthy for him, this even includes meat or chicken bones (so of course some foods should be fed in moderation, meaning maybe something that has quite a bit of salt, sugar, or is a bit fatty to feed in small moderations only occasionally). If it doesn't bother you, you should have him join you for dinner!

As far as molting, you'll notice him loosing a few feathers here and there, and is usually a slow process. Some people notice the small down feathers fall out first, then some of the larger ones later. You'll also be wanting to give him plenty of baths, daily, or a few times a week. He may not like it at first as for me it took me 2 years to discover that Casey liked to be sprayed with water whereas she first hated it! Bathing, you can mist your tiel with a clean spray bottle (meaning it never had any chemicals in it), taking him into the shower with you, or taking him out in a cage (if he is flighted) out into the warm rains (if you have any). You can also give him a small pie tin or other small dish for him to bathe in.

[sweetie&meli]

Welcome aboard u'll love it here any questions we'll try and answer them :) as for a tip just a whole lot of TLC for the lil guy :)