Thinking of getting a bird(s), advice?

January

Thinking of getting a cockatiel within the next few months. Want to research and make an informed decision before I do though.

How big of a cage would I need? I have a 3 bedroom house but it's full atm with myself, my partner and 4 kids! I'd love a huge cage, but what size would be realistic?

Would 2/3 hours a day outside of the cage be ok?

What do they eat?

What are the biggest cons? I know they can be noisy but this is a noisy house anyway...

Is there a specific vet in Dublin 15 or nearby that deals with birds?

Can you get insurance for them?

Thanks in advance.

wobbles

January wrote: »

Thinking of getting a cockatiel within the next few months. Want to research and make an informed decision before I do though.

How big of a cage would I need? I have a 3 bedroom house but it's full atm with myself, my partner and 4 kids! I'd love a huge cage, but what size would be realistic?

As big as you can fit. Cockatiels like to climb most of the time to get around their cage but still need to stretch their wings.

January wrote: »

Would 2/3 hours a day outside of the cage be ok?

Make sure the one you buy has been hand reared. If not then you wont be able to handle it and be terrified of your hand. When scaried they will bite, hard. The one I have loves being out and on your shoulder as you potter around the house or watching tv.

January wrote: »

What do they eat?

They eat their own type of seed (they do not eat worms etc) that you can get in the petshop. Mine loves biscuits and will happily munch on those. Others have been known to eat potatoes and pasta. Its just a matter of what they were fed when they were younger. Mine wont touch anything she doesnt know/has eaten before.

January wrote: »

What are the biggest cons? I know they can be noisy but this is a noisy house anyway...

Ive got a pair in my sitting room and the male when he chirps is lovely. However, he will often sqwalk whenever he likes and this can be quite loud. You will have a lot more dust in the house so if you have any asthmatics you should reconsider your plans.

Unless your dead set on getting a cockatiel, I would advise getting something else. They can be a lot more work compared to smaller birds and if its your first then it will be a steep learning curve. They love attention and with 4 kids you need to make time for the bird as well as those. If they were to bite, it can be quite nasty as their beak is used for breaking open seeds so will definately break the skin. They can love up to 20years so thats also something to consider.

Im not trying to put you off cockatiels as they are a great bird and companion, but they dont suit everybody. It depends on what you want from your bird. If you want to be able to interact with it and become a member of the family then its a good choice. If your after a bird thats a bit easier to keep then maybe consider a canary. They are great singers if you get a male, dont sqwalk or need to be out of their cages, dont need quite as big a cage (although still as big as you can afford or fit) and are still great to watch. My father has even trained some to come out of their cage on his finger.

January

Thanks for your reply

My dad had a cockatiel when I was younger and he was brilliant. His name was Joey and while he was never really out of the cage (didn't like being handled) he was well behaved and said 'Hello Joey' and mimicked a few sounds. He died when I was 18 so I reckon he was about 17/18 when he died himself.

I know they're a lot of work but I do want it to be part of the family and train him (I'd be looking at a male) to come out of the cage etc. No asthmatics here thankfully so the dust wouldn't be an issue.

I'll research where there are breeders who hand rear (because I'm assuming pet shops wouldn't hand rear!).

Like I said I'm not going to rush into this, I'll do my research for a few months and decide then.

I don't want a bird that stays in it's cage forever.

I had a Cockatiel called Joey also He was great. Took about a year to get him to talk. Draw back, they can be loud. Mornings and sometimes when your watching a movie. All in all a great bird .

For food, Seed is not great for parrots. Its the equivalent of only feeding your kids mcdonalds. Mix Veg and fruit. Chop it up in to very small pieces.

Joeseph Balls

Deleted User wrote: »

For food, Seed is not great for parrots. Its the equivalent of only feeding your kids mcdonalds. Mix Veg and fruit. Chop it up in to very small pieces.

Good advice there. Can be hard to get them into fruit if not given it early. Mine for some reason love the juice from baked beans. They go mad if they see the beans:D
Also if you get one hand reared, it will need to be out of the cage a nice bit. They need company. Heres my two...
The male

Female (who's head never stops moving for a photo:(

Ashbx

Hi OP, I had a cockatiel growing up and he was a great pet.....we called him Tufty!

They can be a bit noisy if they want to be but putting a towel over their cage soon fixes that! Mine never talked but would sing happy birthday, would wolf whistle and sing the national anthem among other things. We kept ours in a standard size cage (perhaps slightly larger) but we tried to let him out at least once a day for an hour or two.

We used to be able to hold Tufty but as the years went on, he seem less tolerable to this and would try nip us if we tried to reach him.

I know you are in Dublin 15 but if you fancy driving out to Dundrum in Dublin 14, there is a small family run petshop called Breffini House Pets on the Dundrum Road. I know they don't breed them themselves but as far as I know they do have a close friend who breeds a lot of their birds.

Any specific questions, feel free to PM me.