Hello Everyone

[wst0209a]

Hi, I'm a new guy of course. I just recently got two cockatiels. These are my first birds I have ever had. My sister-in-law has a pair of cockatiels and I fell in love with them and just had to have my own. I have had them for about a week now. Lets start off with the female. The female is 4 years old, I believe she is a lutino because she is all white and yellow and has those really orange cheek patches. She was a little aggressive the first day but now I am able to get her to step up on my hand without biting at me. Sometimes she still will get cranky with me, but I think it is because I get her to step up and then I keep on doing to practice it and get her used to stepping up. I think she gets bored of practicing. She is pretty good though in my opinion, I think she is starting to like me. Today I was reading my book about cockatiels right in front of their cage and she climbed down to the opening of her door and flew to me and sat right on my shoulder. Now for the mean guy. The male is 1.5 years old and is very mean. I have not yet been able to get him to step up onto my hand. He is very aggressive. When I try to get him to step up and bites at me and hisses and goes into a corner and just stays really mad at me. The closes I have came to holding him was this morning when he didn't have anywhere to go but to hop onto my hand and then back down onto the top of the cage. I have spent a lot of time with them everyday and I have not made any progress with him. I also can't walk around with the female in my hand without him screaming and flying all around the place. I plan on clipping his wings this weekend so he can't fly away from me all the time.

Right now they are eating strictly kaytee's forti-diet but I plan on converting to pellets soon. I also would like to offer fresh food but I need to do more research before I make up a diet plan for them.

They are in a cubed cage together that is 20x21x24" high. The top of the cage opens and I put a perch in between the opening and they come out to play on top of the cage a good bit of the day. I open it up as long as I am home.

I think that is about it, sorry for rambling on I just wanting to make sure I got everything out. Any advice or help with the male would be great.

[Charliesmum]

Hiya and welcome. I don't have a cockateil, somebody who has will probably advise soon. I think your male just needs time and patience, he is getting to know his new place and you so I would just chat with him without getting him on your hand just until he trusts you. Have these 2 birds been together long or did you buy them seperately?

[wst0209a]

I bought them together. They have been together now for almost 1 year. They love each other in my opinion. They preen each other and sleep together on the same perch, and they also rub like the top of their heads together facing downwards (Not sure what this behavior is but it looks like they are showing affection). The only time they really have a disagreement is when they are eating. They will bicker a little at each other and then one of them goes away and the other starts eating.

[my-africangrey-echo]

Hello and welcome to BB Looks like you are doing well so far. Your new teil first have to adjust to their new home and flock. You being a new flock member to them. This can take several weeks to months. Working with them every day will help a lot.. Are they both DNA male and Female or did the prior owner just tell you they are male and female.. If they are the male may see you as a threat to his mate..

I was given a presumed male teil the end of December and I still get bit almost every time I try to get him to step up. My daughter has had much more success then I have thus far... He also came to me on a seed only diet.

At first he wanted nothing to do with the pellets so I started putting the seeds and pellets in the same bowl and decrease the amount of seed by just a little bit every day and in 2 months time he is now eating mostly pellets. So now I am adding very tiny bits of veggies to the bowl and he is starting to eat them also.

I feed both my FIDS broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, yellow beans, snow peas, and Brussels sprouts. I also give them bits of apple pear peaches and give 100% juice to them to drink as a treat every day when I get home from work.


Just give them time and attention and the rest will come it time.

[wst0209a]

I was told they were male and female. I believe they really are because the male is a pearl and he lost all of his colors except for a very small patch on one of his wings that represent the pearl pattern. This is what I have read and assumed by determining what they are and whether they are male or female. The female is lutino, she has the white a yellow stripes on her tail. I know this is not 100% accurate but from what I have read and what they look like I believe they are male and female. Also, he is very vocal and can really sing his heart out at times. She is quiet most of the time, the only time she really makes noises is when the male is singing and she makes noises but they are nothing like his. One of these days I will get them DNA tested if it ever is that important to me.

[wst0209a]

Could I take the female into the shower with me tomorrow or is it to early for that? I would like to give her a shower but I don't want to stress her out. The male would probably be stressed out to because when I go around the corner with her he goes crazy and starts screaming for her. Any advice on what I should do? My second option would be just to mist both of them while they are in their cage. I wanted to do the shower thing so she could be around me for awhile when I am doing something for me.

Also a little information about bathing would be great:
What exactly does it do for them?
How often should they have a bath? They don't bath in the water bowl i have in there.
How long should it consist of?
How warm should the water be?
Is bathing them more beneficial than not bathing them?

[wst0209a]

Anyone have any advice about the shower? I am really hoping to do it tomorrow, I am really anxious to know whether or not I can.

[christie99]

See your PM, but as long as you don't force her to get wet, she will be happy. Watch for sharp nails on bare skin though! Also, don't put your towel where she can poo on it, trust me, drying off with a poo towel is a mistake you will only make once!! lol

Put her on the top of the shower door area or the shower rod and let her enjoy. Also, make sure that all razors are put away and the toilet is closed. ;)

[wst0209a]

Is it ok to separate the two of them for that little bit of time. He goes absolutely crazy when I walk around the corner and he can't see her anymore. I don't want to stress him out, he already doesn't like me.

[christie99]

Yes, you can seperate them, they will call back and forth, so make sure nobody is sleeping!!

You could take both of them in there at the same time too. It sounds like your male is completely bonded to the female, and this will make it harder to tame him.