# Newbie



## Aderyn (Apr 1, 2008)

I've just become the new owner of a two month old, female whiteface cockatiel . I've currently got two budgies in a huge aviary outside, but Screech, as I've named her, is going to be my baby. She is still being handfed three times a day by the petshop, so I can't take her home just yet. She has started playing with the seeds, so hopefully she'll start eating on her own soon. I just want to know if I can hang her cage in the aviary during the day, while I'm at work, so that she has the company of the budgies, or keep her in my bedroom which is next to the aviary? She is tame and willingly steps onto my hand when I go to visit her, but she has always been with other birds. Will the separation from her sibling upset her, and will the company of the budgies help or hinder her adjustment to a new home and owner?


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## Plukie (Aug 26, 2007)

Hi and welcome to TC. I've moved your post to Cockatiel Talk because I thought you would get more answers to your questions here. First of all you must be really excited about getting your new baby, of course photos will be welcome when you finally get her home. You will need to quarantine her from your budgies for 30 days, in a different room, with no contact at all with the budgies or any other birds. Then, I would see how it goes, sometimes budgies and tiels just don't get along and it would be awful if you hung her cage in with the budgies and she was afraid of them or anything. Maybe try it out a few times first before putting her there and leaving her. There are a lot of people on here with budgies as well as tiels, they can offer more information, I only have the one tiel.


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

Welcome to the forum!!  Congrats on your new baby! I have a whiteface female too. :thumbu: Like Plukie said, you will have to quarantine her away from the budgies first (inside if they're outside) but then there's no reason why you can't see how they go together. I have three tiels, and one of them would love nothing more than to live with her three budgie boyfriends. The other two hate the budgies and it would upset them to be put in with the budgies, i would have to worry about fighting and injury if i tried.

Don't expect anything out of the introduction, it depends completely on the individual tiel as to whether she'll get along with budgies, and whether they'll get along with her. 









They can adore each other









Or they can hate each other

Cookie is a budgies girl because she was a baby and an only tiel when i bought her, so Blinkie and Ozzie (budgies) were her only company and playmates when she was out of her cage. Bailee and Gracie both had another tiel so they stuck with their own species.


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## Cannuck2007 (Feb 29, 2008)

Bea has given you great advice! I have 7 budgies and now 3 tiels, alll quarantined still though. I would definitely supervise how your budgies and tiel interact before leaving them together even if your tiel is in a cage. Budgies fight dirty, biting toes and that really hurts the bird on the receiving end!


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Welcome to the form  I have a budige Icarus and a tiel Spike and they are not friends but are starting to accept each other.


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## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

welcome to the forum and like all others have said quarantine is verry important 30 days


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## Aderyn (Apr 1, 2008)

Thank you so much for the welcome and advice. I was planning to quarantine her anyway, the last thing I want is my budgies catching something from her even though she might appear healthy. I'm also trying to find an avian vet in my area so that I can have her thoroughly checked out, but it appears we're a bit short on them. We do have a pigeon club though, so I'll get hold of them and see if they can recommend one. My budgies are wild. They are used to humans but they have never really been handled since they were rescue cases. I don't want Screech to get hurt, so when I do introduce them it'll be on a weekend when I can watch them like a hawk. Pig (the male) might accept her, but Dotty is, as her name implies, slightly insane. 

I really can't wait to get her, but it appears I'll have to wait until next week since she's still not eating on her own. I think I need to start cultivating patience, especially as the end result will be worth it.


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## Bonny (Mar 19, 2008)

Hi and welcome to the forumsi have 4 soon to be 5 tiels and one of them being my baby who is also a whiteface femalehopefully the next few days will fly by and you will be able to take screech home with you!!


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

Aderyn said:


> I really can't wait to get her, but it appears I'll have to wait until next week since she's still not eating on her own. I think I need to start cultivating patience, especially as the end result will be worth it.


Patience when you're waiting for a new bird is IMPOSSIBLE!  Hopefully it won't be too long for you to wait though, i had over a month to wait for Bailee.


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## nic bike (Oct 21, 2007)

Bea said:


> Patience when you're waiting for a new bird is IMPOSSIBLE!


Then how are you coping waiting for five Bea!! !!


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

nic bike said:


> Then how are you coping waiting for five Bea!! !!


Well that's a little different, cause technically i DO have them.  :lol: I am still impatient though.


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## nic bike (Oct 21, 2007)

I suppose so!!! :rofl:


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Iam still waiting for my new bird and it is driving me crazy :wacko:


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## Aderyn (Apr 1, 2008)

Today is the first day since i bought her a week ago that i haven't been to visit or phoned. It's driving me crazy! but at least i know the pet shop is taking wonderful care of her. Sigh... hopefully i'll be able to pick ur up on monday. will be spending this wkend on her cage.


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

Hehe, i had Cookie's cage set up before i had even found a baby tiel. I think i had it set up for at least a week or two before i went on a phone frenzy and found that a pet shop just outside of the city i live in had tame baby whiteface tiels for sale.  We went and picked Cookie up that day.


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## nic bike (Oct 21, 2007)

I was the same with flicky i had my cage set up before i found Flicky and rearranged the toys and perches in the cage about 30 times before she come home!


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## Aderyn (Apr 1, 2008)

I went to see Screech yesterday. 
After not nagging the petshop for the entire weekend, I felt the need to go and see her. She's grown! Her tail feathers are twice as long as they were the last time I saw her, but her overall size is not much bigger. She spotted my necklace and immediately had it in her beak. After reading all the warnings about snapped chains etc, I took it away from her very quickly. It was a 21st present and I'd rather it stayed around my neck. I moved her to my wrist so she could nibble on the little watch button instead. It's a silver watch so I'm not too worried about any paint etc flaking off and her swallowing it. Just so she doesn't yank the button out and swallow that!  

I'm hoping she'll be eating on her own by the end of the week (cross your fingers all), and I'll be able to take her home and bond with her the entire weekend. It would suck if I had to take her on a weekday and she was alone in a strange place while I'm at work. 

I'll post pics of her as soon as I get her home. I can't wait!


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

She sounds like a real sweetie!  I'm really looking forward to you getting her home so we can see some photos!


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## Laura (Jul 30, 2007)

Thats great you were able to see her, sounds like she is doing great, my fingers are crossed hopefully soon you will be able to bring her home


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I hope she can come soon  I don't know if I could of left the pet shop alone for a week


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## Rosie (Aug 27, 2007)

I do know that feeling of waiting for a bird to be brought home. It feels like a million years!! And can't wait to see some pics of her.  She sounds like a sweetie.


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## Aderyn (Apr 1, 2008)

I went to visit my baby again today. I think she's getting used to me now. I try to go at the same time every second day. She saw me come in and climbed out of the box she was in and stood waiting at the door of the cage for me to let her out. She stepped up happily and immediately started playing with my watch. I hope I'll be able to take her home sometime next week, but she's still not eating on her own. :wacko:


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

Awww, it'll make her a more happy and confident bird to be weaned at the speed she wants to go at.  Even if it is really hard for you to wait for her. It's great you can visit her so she's comfortable around you before you even get her home! :thumbu:


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## Plukie (Aug 26, 2007)

That's really good, the thing I've found with tiels is........they do it at their own pace, they won't be rushed. lol


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

It's good that you can go visit her  Tiels will do what they want when they want


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## Aderyn (Apr 1, 2008)

I'm hoping I'll be able to go visit my baby today. It depends on how busy I am at work. I want to get a camera at the end of the month, just a simple digital one, so when I do get her home I'll be able to take and post decent pics. 

Yesterday was a horrible day. My budgies are totally wild, and are kept in a huge aviary outside. Someone (either mom or brother) had fed them, but left the latch open on the door. I went out early yesterday morning to give them breakfast, and they were gone. Their wings aren't clipped because rats would often get into the aviary and they need to be able to fly away. I just hope that they're going to be ok on their own, or will hopefully come back, though I honestly don't think that will happen. They weren't unhappy at my place, they just aren't fond of humans.  

This settles one thing though, my baby will never be put in that aviary when I'm not around.


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

Oh, i'm so sorry to hear about your budgies getting loose. You can try leaving a small cage open on top of the aviary with seed and water in it, but don't get your hopes up too high that they'll come back. *hugs* I've lost a budgie out the door of my aviary before, it's so upsetting.


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## Aderyn (Apr 1, 2008)

I did scatter seeds in the garden for them, but I don't think they'll be back. I just hope they find a good home somewhere and don't get separated. I don't think they'd be able to survive without each other. I'm more worried that they won't survive, than anything else. Not knowing for sure is going to drive me crazy.


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## Laura (Jul 30, 2007)

I am so sorry about your budgies getting out


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Sorry to hear about your budgies


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## Aderyn (Apr 1, 2008)

Thanks for everyone's concern. I feel so guilty, as if I should have known the door was open. And I keep wondering how they're doing. I keep crossing fingers that they'll come back, but I doubt they will. I've also decided that if I ever get birds for the aviary again, it's going to have a spring door installed. 

In happier news, I passed my learners license test, and will be going for my driver's ASAP. I'm also going to call and find out how my baby is and whether she's eating on her own yet.


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

Don't feel guilty, sometimes these things happen. *hugs*

Congrats on passing your learners test, i got my drivers license in December last year and i'm LOVING the freedom it gives me. :thumbu: I'm looking forward to an update on your tiel baby. She'll be home before you know it!


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## Laura (Jul 30, 2007)

Don't feel guilty as sad as it is, sometimes these things just happen its not your fault it was an accident, congrats on passing your learners test, good luck on your drivers.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Accidents do happen. Congradulations on passing your learners test


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## Aderyn (Apr 1, 2008)

Thanks everyone.

I'm hoping to go visit my baby today. If not I'll phone to find out how she is. I'm proud of myself for resisting the urge to phone every day, and have held out for an entire five days! Whoopee. 
I'm now getting seriously impatient to see or hear how she's doing though, so today I'll bug the petshop again. 

I drove home from work yesterday, and it being the first time in a while that I've driven on the highway, I got home a nervous wreck. :wacko: South Africa is a great place, as long as you're not a driver.


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