# What Attracted You To Tiels?



## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

I thought this would be a good question to ask, what made you want a pet cockatiel?

For me, i went to a big bird sale with Riebie in July/August last year. While we were there i saw SOOOOO many cute cockatiels, i had never been particularly drawn to them before then. I fell in love with a million different ones and using my charm convinced dad to let me get one for my birthday.  

We kept this plan a secret from mum, because she would've just said no, lol. 

This bird sale was an 8hr drive from home, so i couldn't get one there (that would be a bad move anyway, i didn't know anything about tiels) and had to head home wishing i was bringing one of the sale cuties home with me.

I found a breeder shortly after arriving back home (Bailee's breeder) but they had no babies at that time, so i started calling around lots of different pet shops (hint: winter is a bad time to look for baby birds) but none i tried had any! Finally, in early September, i found a pet shop with two 8 week old whiteface tiels. That afternoon i bought Cookie!

How did it start for you?


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## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

I like your story Bea..how sneaky of you..hehe!

Well, mine was an impulse move which I really wouldn't recommend but I wouldn't take it back for the world.

I went to buy the budgie's food and stopped at the birds like always. I ussually only use to look at the budgies but this time I saw this tiel pacing back and forth in the cage (glass).

When I put my finger on the glass, she kept trying to step up. I took her up and spent a little while holding her (just out of curiousity) and then decided to walk to the back of the store where the budgie's food was with her on my shoulder. 

She kept giving me kisses and when I went to put her back, she clentched onto my finger so hard and just wouldn't let go! *She was hanging upside down from my finger and still wouldn't go back* 

I took her back up and just looked into her eyes and that was it (corny, I know..but it's true). I just couldn't put her back-she was meant for me. I left the store with budgie food and a tiel on my shoulder. We went together and picked out a cage, and then I went online and spent a million hours reading about her. 

I really did things backwards which is not like me but I don't regret it at all!


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I decided I wanted a cockatiel but ended up getting a budgie. I went to the breeders looked at their budgies and did not see one I liked or could take home right away. So I got my budgie Icarus at petcetera. I decided to go back to the breeders and held a hand fed budgie who was terrified. I then decided to look at the cockatiels instead. I held one and she was so calm and sweet. I called home to see if I could buy her and my parents said no. After much convincing, me and my Dad went to the breeders and it took me almost two hours to choose Spike. Thats how I got into cockatiels. Iam so glad I did Spike is the sweetest funniest thing except when he is tired


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## Kirby (Jul 28, 2007)

I had wanted a cockatiel for a little over 8 years (that i remember). I always wanted a pied named 'Marty' for some reason, and drew pictures of him everyday... Sadly my mom never let me. But then again, i never really asked for one lol

Anyways, about a year ago i picked up on wanting them again REALLY badly, and was obssessed. I joined numerous forums, bought 6 or so books on them (without my mom knowing hehe), and made ads in classifieds online looking for breeders  Sure enough, i found Maya's breeder online... and she had 4 babies. 3 normals split to pied, and 1 pied. I just fell in total love with the pied baby... but kept it a secret. The breeder put her on hold for me as she knew i wanted her so bad, and even though i didnt get permission yet... she was nice to do that. Anyways, i was to scared to ask permission from my mom, so i wrote her a letter one weekend while i went to my dads house... and while i was there i got an email from my mom saying "I would much rather you get a cockatiel for christmas, rather than me buying and wasting money on other things you don't want/need/ or like" 

So, we visited the baby many times (4 or 5) and on January 1st 2007, i brought home baby Maya! Thats my story on how i found and got my 1st tiel!

Kirby


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## Mystry Mew (Jul 28, 2007)

I've been subscribed to BirdTalk for years, ever since I had my first bird, Alex the budgie (RIP ). While I had her and my second budgie, Harvey (also RIP ), I read BirdTalk for information mostly on budgies, but also on other species I might be interested in in the future. One of the species I ended up reading a lot about was cockatiels, and they seemed pretty cool, the only disadvantage I could see being that they're the most common birds for people to lose by flying away, since they fly well even with clipped wings.

Besides that little problem, which I could try to avoid by keeping its wings clipped and keeping it away from the front or back door like I did with my budgies anyway, I thought a cockatiel would be a good pet for me. Unfortunately, I didn't see myself getting one anytime soon, thanks to the fact that I didn't have the $100-whatever they cost at our usual pet store, and I didn't think my parents would want to spend that much to get another pet. Besides, where would we put the cage?

One weekend in March 2005, I rented Metroid Prime. I remember it was a weekend because that's usually the only time we rent anything during the school year. My mom was talking on the phone with my grandma, and she told me there was a bird that needed a home. There was some communication-related confusion as to whether said bird was a cockatoo or a cockatiel, and we decided to check it out (my mom was fine with getting the bird if it was a tiel). So we got there, and the people who lived there offered to show me where the bird was, but that was unnecessary because I just followed the sound of the cockatiel chirps to the cutest cockatiel I'd ever seen! 

They told me a bit about her, like that her name used to be Eddie because they thought she was male, but was now Edy thanks to an egg sighting. I was getting really excited about bringing this bird home, but had to talk to Dad first. So I called him, and he said what he usually says when I want a pet ("Okay, if you can clean your room and make a space for it", and he also figured Edy wouldn't bother him, since the budgies didn't). Cleaning my room would mean no time for Metroid Prime, which was due back on Monday, but that was fine. If Edy didn't go real soon, they were gonna sell her to a pet store and when I looked at her, I was horrified to imagine that happening. Who knew what kind of care she'd get in a pet store, and what if she was bought by someone who knew nothing about birds? No way. This was my baby now, no questions asked. So we carried the cage to Mom's minivan and went to Grandma's house, and there Edy stayed for the next couple days while we cleaned up and cleared out the area in front of the bookcase (which as of recently is no longer there), and my Edy got to come home with me at the end of the weekend.


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## Laura (Jul 30, 2007)

I started out with budgies and adored them, but was thinking about getting a bigger bird but didn't know what kind I wanted I did some research but was still undecided going on the forums I heard of alot of people with cockatiels and how happy they were so I read some more on them and started searching online for a breeder I got lucky I found one right away who lived close to my house called her and she had one normal left went to meet the tiel she flew onto Ian's shoulder and came home with us that night. A couple weeks after we had Georgie the breeder called to tell us about this other baby she was handfeeding she kept putting the baby on the phone to talk to me...lol went down to meet the baby tiel and it was instant love a few weeks after that he came home with us.


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

Everyone has such interesting little stories about how they got their tiels! 

Laura - i was the same as you in some ways, looking for something bigger than a budgie, but not too different care wise.


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## Boomberry (Jul 30, 2007)

I have no idea why I wanted a tiel my bird addiction no doubt hehe. I got Charlie from a pet store and he sat on one particular food dish for almost a year and didn't do a thing. So we got him a friend Barnslee - they are NOT friends hehe but tolerate each other.

Not long after I got Noo Noo a baby handraised male. He has a soft spot in my heart even though he is an evil monster. Then he got a buddy Jessica who has no brain.


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## Laura (Jul 30, 2007)

Bea said:


> Everyone has such interesting little stories about how they got their tiels!
> 
> Laura - i was the same as you in some ways, looking for something bigger than a budgie, but not too different care wise.


Bea did you ever thing about getting any other bird besides a Cockatiel I was quite fascinated by the Conures but I heard they can be loud so I kind of was hesitant about them


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## Kirby (Jul 28, 2007)

I wanted a quaker really badly for a while too! But when Bea got her Cookie, that made me want one even more *jelious*hehe

Kirby


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

laurago said:


> Bea did you ever thing about getting any other bird besides a Cockatiel I was quite fascinated by the Conures but I heard they can be loud so I kind of was hesitant about them


I went for cockatiels because i knew they were much like budgies in the care they needed. Also closer in price tag, which was a factor with dad.  He wouldn't pay $150+ for a conure.


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## Laura (Jul 30, 2007)

hehe. Yeah the conures are a little pricey around here the breeder I got my tiels from sells her's for $200 and I have seen some go up to 600-700 depending on what kind you get  I am happy I went with the cockatiel though they really are a great bird


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## Sophia (Aug 11, 2007)

*we are getting him in one week*

The thing that attracted me to cockatiels was. My friend went away on holiday for 2 weeks and they asked us to look after their cockatiel called bruce we did. We had called a breeder to get 2 budgie babies but only one had survived but he said he had baby cockatiels so we agreed on getting one cockatiel and one budgie. I can't wait to get the cockatiel in 1 week we are going to call him earl.


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## birdieness (Jul 28, 2007)

> I wanted a quaker really badly for a while too!


 Don't go there lol. I want a q for a long time and still do. But once i went to a pet store and saw them i was still inlove but they were louder then i think anyone in the family but me would live with.


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