Howdy Everybody

[Icednova625]

Hello, I wish you best of luck with your new tiel once it arrives. Nice little zoo you have:D

[vle1170]

Thanks, Im excited about getting him. And if I had more room i'd probably have more critters LOL

[Courtzrocks]

Welcome! oohh a cockatiel! They're awesome birds!

[vle1170]

Thanks for the welcome :)
Yeah I would have preferred a parrot like an amazon but I like cockatiels a lot too, especially seeing my neighbors cockatiel that bird is a riot. He sings to her feet, apparently wasnt weened correctly cuz they have to chew up crackers and let him eat them from their mouth, and they cant break him of it. And he makes love to the knob on the back of her rocking chair. he's a nut LOL

[my-africangrey-echo]

Nice to meet you!

Originally Posted by vle1170

apparently wasn't weened correctly because they have to chew up crackers and let him eat them from their mouth, and they cant break him of it.

That is actually bad for the bird.. We have germs in out mouth that can harm a bird. Sounds more like it is something they started doing and thought it was funny. If he eats other foods there is no need to do such a thing.

Plus the bird could have bad germs too. They preen their feathers and that includes their vent..

[_Cass_]

Welcome To BB!

Looks like you have quite a zoo there! I would be careful though, with your cats (Especially the stray).

One of my cats are VERY fond of my birds, and one... is very lazy and not interested in any way of my birds!

But my little white kitten always is trying to sneak up, and have a nice afternoon snack.

All that i need to say is that make sure that when ever your bird is out be sure that he/she is supervised!

Best of luck to your soon-to-be fid!

~ Cass

[cockatielmommy]

Hi Vicki

Nice to meet you.

I want to say 4 things to you.

1. Cockatiels are awesome. I now have 10 of them, which is a tremendousness amount of work, but I love them dearly.
2. I wish someone had let me know how to deal with emergences, as I have had some scary times.
3. Some things I would like to tell you:
   • Prepare an emergence medical kit for your bird
   • know where the nearest Avian vet is and keep the number in your emergency kit.
   • Read up on how to crop feed an adult bird, as you may have to do this, at some time, if your bird gets sick.
   • Know how to deal with a blood feather
   • Read up on the toxic plants, foods, and trees that can kill your bird
   • Know that a cat's saliva can kill your bird very quickly without treatment.
   • Know that our mouths have a lot of different bacterias that can seriously harm your bird.
   • Read up on egg binding, even if you get a male, as many people have had a bird thinking it was male and one day down the road there is a egg at the bottom of the cage, and their baby boy is actually a baby girl.
   • Cockatiels can get really crabby, and have been known to bite if they do not get enough sleep. (vet suggests 12 hrs)
   • Know that a cockatiel that is on only a seed diet will only live half as long as one that has a varied diet. Pelleted food and fresh fruits & vegetables is a good start. Stay away from colored pellets as they can lead to liver problems later on.
   • If you really want a tame bird, ask to hold the baby bird, and talk and cuddle with it, at least once every day, (if possible), this will increase the bond between you two.
4. Please check out this link as it is a pictorial of my baby cockatiel from birth to 10 mts old. This is very cute and is a example of what to expect growing up wise.
   
   Pictures of Babygirl Birth to now

Well I hope this helps you, and I welcome you here. Feel free to ask me anything you like about cockatiels. I haven't seen it all but I have seen a great deal of it.

cheers to you and happy bird mommying.

Linda

[vle1170]

Thank you for the tips, I have had birds in the past, just been a long time, so a refresher course is always helpful. I have been very proud of my cats, they have never bothered any animal i have ever brought in.
I even found an abandoned dove baby once and the cats watched it for 2 minutes then went about their business, they could care less that he was in here. Its like they know these animals belong and that they are a no-no.
So I have no fears about bringing in a bird on a permanent basis. The cats may drive me up the wall but they leave everybody else alone.

im so excited hehee

Vicki

[catschair]