cockatiel

Buglim

Hi Guys

I was wondering if anyone can help me out. I've always kept a budgie and unfortunately mine passed away just before christmas. I got him when he was old so i could not train him and handling him was difficult also.
I've been very interested in getting a new bird and a number of people have mentioned a cockatiel to me.
Could any of you help me out and tell me are they easy to train, are they a quiet bird and what problems would i encounter with one.

peasant

Unless they are hand reared they are not really trainable.
They are bloody noisy (especially at dawn on a Sunday morning and you with a hangover ) plus they get fairly old and therefore are a long term commitment.

Same as budgies they shouldn't be kept on their own and need a companion (double the noise!)

Nala

I have one that I keep with a budgie, I got him at 13 weeks and he never really tamed. At first he kept biting me out of pure fear but stopped when he realised I wasn't going to hurt him. He will sit on my hand but prefers not to be touched. He will whistle back if you whistle at him. Cockatiels are very inoffensive birds and very gentle, my budgie is about a third of my cockatiel's size and the cockatiel lets him sing to him, preen his face, feed him etc. My cockatiel is the complete opposite of my budgie, he is very submissive and more than happy to follow where the budgie leads.

Buglim

Thanks for the info guys. How noisy are we talking here, my budgies never stoped chattering and this drove some people mad. also i was thinking about getting one first and then a companion. As much info as possible would be great. Also inrelation to getting them to talk, how difficult is this.

peasant

in regards to noise:

If our fellow really gets going (which thankfully isn't too often) he can really scream the house down.
It is so loud that it will disrupt you from watching telly even though you're two rooms and two doors away. Or wake you up when you want to sleep in at the other end of the house.

When we had two (his partner died two years ago) it wasn't quite as loud, but more constant.

But we can't get him another partner ...he's 16 now and probably won't live much longer and we do not want to go on keeping birds after him.

As he wasn't hand reared, he isn't tame enough to really enjoy human company, hence he doesn't speak either. He has great shouting matches with the magpies though!

tallus

In fairness they aren't *that* loud. It's all about encouraging good/positive behaviour and discouraging negative behaviour. If the bird gets too loud, just cover the cage for a while with a blanket or something of that nature, but never leave the cage covered for long. Birds are clever but not THAT clever, even covering for a few minutes when the bird is loud will discourage that kind of behaviour in the future. Also observe the bird when he/she is eating and find out what they like to eat, they usually root around for their favourite food in the dish. Use whatever food item they like as a treat to enforce positive behaviour when the bird does what you want him/her to.

FranknFurter

You will need a very large parrot cage, they need space or they go mad.
They can be noisey but most are quiet enough in my experience, and as was said, a blanket over the cage if it gets ear-shattering will do the trick *usually*.
(But try to only do this at night when it is dark outdoors).

Taming and training totally depends on the bird, I had one I got at a year and a half old and hand-tamed him in a matter of weeks, I also had a hand-reared one that was VERY nippy and not at all friendly.

Talking, dont even bother. They were not built for specific sound repetition and the few that have learnt are the exception to the rule. Other parrots are much more likely to learn to repeat.
Always keep two, one single bird will be lonely and depressed.

Might I suggest you look at lovebirds? (Peach-faced or blue), in pairs they make wonderful pet-parrots, bit smaller than a tiel, keep eachother (and you) amused, are generally quieter, and more likely to mimic than a tiel.


B

Nala

yeah they aren't talkers but will whistle back to you, they love when you whistle to them

Buglim

Hi Guys

This is all great but I do want a bird that I can train to talk and who will interact with me. I see from FranknFurters post that they may not be the best at this if at all.
In regards to love birds can anyone tell me more (costs etc)

FranknFurter

Well, probably your "ideal" parrot would be an African Grey, BUT they need a LOT of research before you buy (google.com is your friend!), and cost several hundred euro (not including cage, food, toys etc.) and remember, the larger and more intelligent the bird, the more attention and work it will be!

B

Our man in Havana

African greys are close to a €1000 now less for avairy (untamed) birds.

In my experience love birds are horrendously noisy! They are not quite as bad as the sun conures but are louder than the tiels or budgies!

tallus

Buglim wrote:

Hi Guys

This is all great but I do want a bird that I can train to talk and who will interact with me. I see from FranknFurters post that they may not be the best at this if at all.
In regards to love birds can anyone tell me more (costs etc)

You could try to get a Senegal parrot, they are a small parrot, but not too small. If you can get a hand reared one from a breeder you can save money on price. Even then you're probably looking at about €250-€300. The better the talking ability, the higher the price. Senegal parrots are trainable, they *can* be a bit noisy, but not overly so.
Face facts tho, you cannot have it every way, If you want a bird that talks, be prepared for a noisy bird and most definetly be prepared to have to put the time in to train the bird. All parrots need a lot of attention, especially if they are the only bird you have. The best way to train is by having a single bird, because the bird thinks it's a human. If you have a pair it's going to be harder to train.

FranknFurter

Bond-007 wrote:

African greys are close to a €1000 now less for avairy (untamed) birds.

WOW! your kidding?!?!

Sheesh, I remember them being about 200-300, and yep noisey, but if you want a talker the noisey can be a plus!

But no such animal should be taken without a LOT of research. So maybe them being so expensive is a good thing, only a fool would spend 1000 on an animal they are not 1000% sure of.

B

peasant

FranknFurter wrote:

So maybe them being so expensive is a good thing, only a fool would spend 1000 on an animal they are not 1000% sure of.

B

Have you seen the prices for puppies (dogs) from the more fashionable breeds lately ?

Still doesn't keep people from buying on a whim.

Buglim

Hi Guys

Thanks for all the advice, I've been researching it myself aslo and I think a cockatiel is the bird for me. In regards to buying I've got one person looking for me but could anyone else recommend a dealer or pet shop that is trust worthy.

Sigma Force

Avoid dealers and pet shops unless you know they are genuine too many dodgy ones out there.
Have a good shop around before you pick your bird.

Cockatiels are birds (obviously) so you can't train them to be quiet. They have a louder whistle than a budgie and when you leave the room they become even louder. They need an awful lot of attention. Getting two means double the noise and less chance of them bonding with you although it can still be possible if you get one first and bond with him/her and the same with the next one. Or there is a chance they will ignore each other and just want your attention, it really depends on the bird and their age/how they were reared etc.
Saying that they do bond well with their owner, they are fairly good at talking especially the males (well I only have males but usually males are better talkers). Not as clear as a larger parrot of course but they can be taught to say many many words if you stick with it, one word at a time though until they have learned it, once they are weaned the younger the better. Some love cuddles some don't can depend on their mood.

My two came from different homes but they both funnily enough make the same noises, phone ringing, wolf whistle, saying their name although one says hello and barks the other one isn't as clear.

This site is brilliant for cockatiel information.
http://www.cockatielcottage.net/

Also diet wise it can be hard to get a good quality food they seem to do ok on standard mix try and introduce fruit and veg as early as possible, my two are very fussy and it's very hard to get one especially to eat anything other than small seeds. So I have them on a mix and add an organic enriched pellet too but it's very expensive hence why I mix it with their regular food. Some people swear by the Tidy Mix diet (google tidy mix for more info) I found it ok depends how fussy the bird is.

Parrot cages can be a nightmare price wise, when the first lad I go was indoors I put him in a large chinchilla cage..half the price just added perches etc it was brilliant. They are now housed in an aviary.

If you are good or know anyone that is good at DIY it's even cheaper again to build your own indoor mini aviary. If you have a corner of a room you can build upwards as well to add more space and wide enough for the bird to fly around it.

They do make a great pet but do need a lot of attention.

Someone contacted me recently looking to re home their cockatiel I think Stedman is taking her but if you put an add up online or look in the free ads papers there are sometimes genuine people looking to rehome their birds.

Most birds are noisy that's just what they do, you do become used to it though. I have 4 budgies in the house and when they get going they make a racket but I am so used to it now. When 2 were out in the aviary over the summer the place was too quiet.

Nala

Just to say, a thing to look out for with cockatiels is that they can have a tendency to pick our their favourite seed from the mix and eat only this. This happened to mine, he refused to eat anything else other than sunflower seeds, the vet told me to take them out of his diet completely to make him eat the other seeds. I had to put him on a different mix until he tried the other seeds and realised he liked them. The vet told me this is fairly common with them but not good for them because it means they are not getting a lot of nourishment because they are missing most of the other seeds. My guy would only eat sunflower seeds which are fine in a mix but alone would be very fattening.

Another thing-having 2 birds doesnt neccessarily mean they will not bind with you. I had my budgie before the cockatiel and he never lost any of his tameness since the cockatiel arrived. However I don't know if this would be the case if I'd got the two of them at the same time because they are very, very closely bonded now.

tallus

I found that to be the case with all parrots Nala, they always go for their favourite food first.

timber19

cockatiels are not a noisy bird at all I used to breed them a few years ago and i have a pet cockatiel in the house with a pet african grey, if you are getting a cockatiel get a cock as hens are prone to lay eggs in the cage when they become bonded with the owner, you will have great fun with a cockatiel, get 1 as young as possible under 20 weeks old and older than 12 weeks, once your feeding him he will bond with you, were are you from as I know a breeder in Limerick, a cockatiel should cost between €30 and €50 euro depending were you get it

FranknFurter

But if you *do* decide to get a cock, bear in mind they are often louder than a hen and can be more demonstrative and that can be a good thing or a bad thing.

B

Nala

tallus wrote:

I found that to be the case with all parrots Nala, they always go for their favourite food first.

No like he wouldn't eat any other type of seed, at all.

nando

No like he wouldn't eat any other type of seed, at all

Yeah it's quite common among all parrots but most common in African Greys. We call them "seed junkies".

Nala

ha ha the vet said he's a "seed junkie" too!!! It was funny really, Christmas Eve with a young cockatiel and a vet telling me "we need to wean him off this stuff, he's getting dependent on it".

Sigma Force

You could try Harrison's although it is very expensive it is good for birds who refuse fruit/veg and various seeds. For one bird it might not work out so expensive though.
My 2 tiels are fierce fussy and one is a total seed junkie but he eats the Harrison's plus there is no waste although follow the instructions carefully because it's a complete food.
http://www.24parrot.com/__14_product_select3_asp2_5_prtID3_1785_usrID36_A83F872D-A401-4E06-AD3B-30E157383A232.html