# A cockatiel for a baby's first pet, help!!!!!



## demonwolf90 (Dec 9, 2013)

hello, i have a major question and i can't find an answer anywhere.

well my mother gave my son who is almost 9 months old a cockatiel*
for a christmas present. the person she got the bird from is a nice lady and also a family friend she also has 2 kids i think the youngest she has is a 6 year old daughter and she also has a 9 year old son who was 8 when she gave my mom the baby bird. so i guess my mom thought it would be ok for a 9 month old to have a 2 month old baby cockatiel. as far as of now we had the baby bird for about a week, he hasn't done any damage or attempts to be aggressive with me i had my son and the bird last night and my son pulled out 2 feathers off of the poor bird but the bird just kinda 'whatever' it, odd to hear i know but i don't know when or if his patience will give in.

i guess what I'm really asking is, is it safe for my son to keep the bird and is there such thing as a bird being patient with kids and kinda be like a dog who lets the kid pull the fur and they just lay there and take it cause they love the kid???*

this is the first bird i ever had to take care of in my life so I'm learning as i go along which isn't really easy with a little one he screams cause i put him down just to go to the bathroom and come back. I'm so lost please help me, oh and this is also my first kid. double whammy there lol


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## 22caity22 (Oct 3, 2013)

A child should be supervised with a bird at any time because they don't understand the bird is fragile and they are strong. Most members on this forum will agree with me when I say a bird as a gift is a bad idea.
You have two options, rehome the bird and tell your mum you can't handle it at the moment, or keep the bird and make the effort to keep both bird and child safe. 
The bird and child always need to be supervised together, the bird may scratch the child and the child may hurt the bird. I think it may be possible to keep the bird as well, you just need to be careful. The last thing you want is an injured son and dead bird ): 
I don't think the bird will be like a dog simply because they are smaller, a child can hurt a tiel easier than a lab. It may have a large amount of patience with your son but if your son is holding it too tight and strangling it, it will bite and scratch and do anything to get away. I can't stress enough that they must be supervised and you need to be prepared to deal with the bird, feed it, clean it, give it companionship. A rough toddler could quickly make for an aggressive, fearful bird. Please, please don't expect child or bird to be completely harmless to eachother, they need constant supervision. A bird, while a wonderful companion, is as much a dog as it is an elephant! They are very different, adaptable, but different. Please be careful if you choose to keep it and hang around on the forum when you can, there are so many people here to help you! Best of luck, I hope the situation doesn't end poorly


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## Mezza (Feb 19, 2013)

Oh dear! 
A bird should never be gift. 
I agree with the two options. If you chose to keep it it will be your responsibility not the child's. 
You can do it and we are always here to help. 
They make wonderful pets but they take time, lots of love and care, and sometime costly with vet visits. 
Let's us know what you decide. &#55357;&#56842;


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

Oh i feel sorry for you! Tricky.
A cockatiel shouldn't really be handled by a baby. Unlike dogs, they are very delicate and easily injured.
I have to agree with the others: either the cockatiel is your pet or it could be rehomed. Rehoming is difficult but possible. A member here may even take it 
I hope you can come to a good decision. If you do keep it, this site is full of information. Check the FAQ link under my post - it gives a good insight into basic cockatiel care.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

I reccomened every new owner to read this
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/OriginalsbyLori/wanttiel.html

I agree with the above, cockatiels are very gentle and laid back and a 9 month toddler can be rough. It's just their nature,


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Babies aren't ready for any kind of pet. They simply aren't old enough to realize that an animal is a living thing whose physical safety and feelings have to be taken into consideration. If you want to keep the bird as a family pet that's fine, but please limit the interactions between bird and baby to situations where an adult is right there watching like a hawk to minimize the danger and make sure the bird isn't in a position where it could be harmed if the baby took a swat at it, and the baby is in no danger of being bitten if it frightens or angers the bird. Young baby cockatiels are fairly passive and will submit to abuse much more meekly than an older bird will. The bird might accept feather-pulling right now, but in the not so distant future it's likely to respond with the hardest bite it can deliver.


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## thewandererw (Aug 22, 2011)

I agree a 9month old is to young to have a bird as a pet
Could your mom keep the bird at her house for your son this way it is still for him but not in harms way.then know feelings will be hurt eather.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I don't think birds should be given to children as pets. Birds simply do not appreciate how excitable young children are. This makes for a very stressed out, aggressive, and scared bird. I don't think the baby should be around the bird at all. The cage should always be that barrier between baby and bird. It will be years before the child learns that animals have feelings and should not be handled roughly.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

Also, cockatiels can bite Hard! A baby's fingers are very tiny. An injury can happen very quickly.


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## MuffinsMommy (Nov 29, 2013)

A small bird like that, or any bird for that matter, should never be left unsupervised with a child under 12 IMHO, especially children that are unfamiliar with parrot behavior. Young children need to be taught to respect the bird's space, and what is appropriate and inappropriate to do with the bird. It's not a dog, and unfortunately, most people treat birds like dogs, so when the bird bites, or nips, the owner gets angry. 

However, a bird is NOT an appropriate pet for a 9 month old baby. In fact, I cannot think of what is an appropriate pet for a 9 month old baby. Maybe a fake stuffed animal bird. 

I really hate when people buy tiels for very young children, and what is worse, when they expect these young children to be the primary caretakers for the animals. I did buy our tiel for the whole family, and the kids do help care for him, but I am the primary caretaker. 

I was at a store last week and there was a beautiful tiel there which was sold. A gentleman came in and looked at the bird, and said he bought it. I said, "oh, that's your bird?" and he said, "No, it's hers" as he pointed to a girl I guessed to be five years old (his granddaughter I assumed). That really pissed me off, sorry. Poor thing, I hope he takes proper care of the bird.

You should now think of this bird as not the baby's pet, but the FAMILY pet, and it is now your responsibility for many years.


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## lisaowens (Oct 17, 2011)

ok i have 3 kids my youngest is 3 yrs old. i have had birds since my youngest was a baby. babies should not be allowed to handle a bird simple because babies can not control their strength or movement as well as older children the baby can look but should not touch. the decision you need to make is do you want to take on the responsibility of the bird. if you thank you can handle it then we are here to help if not someone here may can take him. no animal should be a gift especially for a baby. if you feel like you can not handle taking care of the bird just explain it to your mom.


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## Ditta (Oct 6, 2013)

well as long as the cockatiel is only the " baby's pet" in name (and by that I mean you are of course responsible for all it's care and supervise all interactions) I don't see why it can't work. I would keep the bird flighted and not clip his wings to make it even safer, but I have 3 birds (and a rabbit, and a dog and two cats) with 4 children, 2 of them are babies. e have never had an issue or injury to either pet or child ( aside from the odd light cat scratch and I consider that a Learning experience, heheh.)


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## demonwolf90 (Dec 9, 2013)

yeah my son loves to hear him make his small noises and he keeps my son smiling, so if he's happy keeping the bird is worth keeping, i my self have 2 bunnies one is 5 and the other is 1, i let them walk around the house while my son is in his walker they see him come and they move i haven't had an issue with that an i let the burd out of his cage 90% if the day too, he shills on his cage or one of the rabbits cages. when mom comes over she brings het dog over thats the only animal that does not move out of the way when he's in his walker she barks at him so i think the dog will be the most prob. all con does is tries to pet them i let him pet my one year old rabbit i let him grab om finger and pet the rabbit that way he can feel the soft fur but not pull it, note this bunny is so gentle and will run away if he's scared so when he had enough he'd jump off my lap. i keep distance with him and the tiel its only if i sit to handle the bird my son wants to join in cause he's used to me letting him pet the bunny. my 5 year old bunny is a brat and i adopted her 3 years ago almost 4 but she loves to just explore and see if i have any treats or loving to give her i do not let con pet her cause like i says she's a brat and when i was playing with her moms dog wanted to play and she hit the dog with her paws and grunted so knowing she did that was enough to let me remember so i don't let my little guy play with her, but i did have her roux up but i still don't want to chance it. the birds wings did apparently got cliped when my mom got him but he still flies around the house like he will go up the curtain, or up on the ceiling fan or high up on the cabinets in the kitchen. the breeder said he shouldn't be able t orly maybe they wasn't clipped far enough but he can fly just need him to fly to me so i don't need to go chafing him


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## Ditta (Oct 6, 2013)

I have Sid sit on my baby's arms, and I hold on to her hands to make sure she doesn't grab him (he is clipped quite short at the moment.) She loves it, "bird" was her first word. I'm sure everything will be fine you are obviously used to having animals around your baby and are perfectly able to supervise.


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## demonwolf90 (Dec 9, 2013)

the bird makes my son smile and laugh so i can't abandon it iv never abandoned an animal in my like i always took in, i also have 2 bunnies a 5 and a 1 year old they are always out of the cage running and playing i do the same with the tiel he's never in his cage, he goes in to eat and can come out when he wants my rabbits are litter trained so i trust them i have a few small litter boxes around the house didn't fail me yet lol. when my son goes in his walker the bunnies hear him and move i have had a bunny ran over, i had my oldest one thump and then run and str up my other rabbit but least they get the excersise they need to stretch out the legs. the ties does have his wings clipped but he still flies i think the vet didn't clip it short enough but its ok i like when he makes his loud noises to think he out smarted me. but he dosnt know that was the reason i left his door open. right now its trouble to hold to bond with the tiel to get him to come to me when its bed time instead of me having to go to him. when i hold my 1 year old bunny my son knows if he grabs my finger ill swipe his hand on the bunny's back. note this one loves cuddles and will go to sleep with you in your arms all night and wake you when he's ready to go in is cage to do business. but when i have the tiel i try to let con see but not touch. the tiel isn't a real biter he will put my finger in his mouth to taste it like any normal child everything goes in the mouth. i do not encourage biting if i think he was a lil harder then normal i will put him in his cage for 20 mins to a half hour with no knowledge he's there like he's being punished. when my mom comes over she brings her dog cause she knows my place is pet friendly. remember my rabbits move out of the way for him, well her dog dosnt and she will bark at him if he bumps her or is almost going to bump her, so I'm more concerned with the dog then the tiel right now after 2 weeks i have a system going and take it slowly the bird is only 2 months old bonding can some times take longer then others but isn't that the best kind of bond lol. the only time i keep them in the cage is if i have to go out or its bed time. if i air out the house i have to put the bird in his cage even tho its a screened window/door all i need is for him to get hurt and id wouldn't know what to do

slow and steady is the key and give excersise and have fun, any thing can be a good thing if you don't stress it like i was doing earlier.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

Our neighbors have small children -- a baby and a 3-year-old. They've met our tiels 

The 3-year-old is scared of them and won't get close because our tiels are skittish and move suddenly. Which is good, because Elvis bites so hard that I honestly think he could amputate a kid's finger. We wouldn't think of having them anywhere near the baby.

Frankly I don't think a pet should ever be a gift unless it's coming from within the household itself -- like a parent to his or her own child, or from one spouse to another. It just furthers the idea of treating living animals as objects and toys in my opinion, and often doesn't give the primary companion time to get to know his/her new animal friend before deciding that they should be companions.


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## Pippitha (Mar 27, 2011)

I don't even let my 2 year old near my birds. He gets too excited and pulls at their tails, and of course they're going to bite them, so I keep them apart for all of their safety. 9 months is way too young for a bird. They're very fragile, and they can and will bite if they feel they are in danger.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I don't even let my 6 and 4 year old nephew and niece touch my birds. They can look and ask questions and what not, but they do not touch whatsoever.


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