# Cockatiel behaviour



## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

My tiel is like 2 months old....he learned to whistle a bit...and once in a while he whistles when he is in his cage.....i play him a recording when he is in his cage so he can say "hello"...he didnt say it yet but mimics the bird chirps in the recording when he is in his cage......once i take him out he dosnt whistle or mimic....he just grooms all day, perch on my shoulder or head, eats, does his calling chirp, roams on the floor and flies......is this their normal behaviour or is there somthing that im not doin???....thank u


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Your cockatiel sounds perfectly normal and content. That's all usual happy cockatiel behaviour. 

Have you tried teaching him a wolf whistle? This is usually an easy one for them to learn and it's my favourite whistle! My boy Shelby does it so well, I have tried my best to get a good video of him whistling but he's a little camera shy.


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## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

Vickitiel said:


> Your cockatiel sounds perfectly normal and content. That's all usual happy cockatiel behaviour.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank u very much vickitiel...ill try to train him the whistle....
Thats such a cute thing ur teil does

One more thing......some sites say that if cockatiels learn to whistle first they will not speak...is that true???


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Killswitch said:


> One more thing......some sites say that if cockatiels learn to whistle first they will not speak...is that true???


No this is false. It's more that cockatiels are most likely to learn whistles and songs rather than actual words because they prefer them. They will learn what they like the sound of most, so you need to whistle and talk to them and see which sounds or words they respond well to and go from there.

YouTube has some excellent examples of cockatiels speaking actual words, and also countless videos of their singing and whistling capabilities too.


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## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

Thanks vickitiel


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## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

Hello al....when in the cage i play this recording so that my tiel can learn to speak. ....he still didnt start to speak (as he is still young) but he somewhat manages to mimic the intermediate bird chirps and he can also do some slow whistle. ...when he does this should i reward him or somthing.....should i appreciate by taking him outside the cage or somthing.......PLS ADVICE ME....how do i let him now that him whistling is somthing i like...thank u


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

That's great! He is learning fast. You can reward him with a treat he really likes such as a piece of millet spray, a sunflower seed or a small piece of vegetable. If he takes food from your fingers it will help him to bond with you, too.


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## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

Thank u vickitiel


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## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

Hello again.....my little pecko seems alot frightened sometimes.....A sudden noise is enough for him to go fly and stand on the curtains....i think this is normal......but somtimes there no sudden noise and i dont see a clear reason y he is frightened.....his crest us up and he suddenly takes a flight and flies so hard all around....he sometimes does this when there r guests (he even banged on the ceiling fan once..thank god we never used the ceiling fan from the time he started to fly).....but on other occasions he flies like that without proper reasons and i couldnt figure out y...... he suddenly gives a jerk and screeches as if somthing bit him and then he takes a sudden flight.....flies all around ....and after sometime he lands on the curtains top........stays there ,.calms down and he comes back down.....pls help...is that normal...he did that again just now. ....help


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## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

Killswitch said:


> Hello again.....my little pecko seems alot frightened sometimes.....A sudden noise is enough for him to go fly and stand on the curtains....i think this is normal......but somtimes there no sudden noise and i dont see a clear reason y he is frightened.....his crest us up and he suddenly takes a flight and flies so hard all around....he sometimes does this when there r guests (he even banged on the ceiling fan once..thank god we never used the ceiling fan from the time he started to fly).....but on other occasions he flies like that without proper reasons and i couldnt figure out y...... he suddenly gives a jerk and screeches as if somthing bit him and then he takes a sudden flight.....flies all around ....and after sometime he lands on the curtains top........stays there ,.calms down and he comes back down.....pls help...is that normal...he did that again just now. ....help


He didnt start doin this recently.....it was like from few weeks ago i guess.......at first i thought maybe its cause ants bit him or somthing ( ants used to climb his cage before ) so i ignored it.....but now im not sure its because of ant bites cause its been a while since i saw ants in his cage....
Anyways i want advice....y is he doing that....even if u think its because of ant bites is it normal for him to do that??


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Depending on what type of ants they are I don't think they would bite your cockatiel. It's more lice and mites that bite them.

Is there a window he can see out of? Perhaps he sees something outside that frightens him? Noises (and people) they are not familar with can set them off into a panic, too. If this happens, put him back in his cage for a time out to prevent him from hurting himself.

When he does it for no apparent reason he could also just be practising his flying skills. Young 'tiels are very clumsy when they first learn to fly and it takes them a while to learn not to crash into things. They need to build up their flight muscles and they only way to do this is trial and error!


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## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

Vickitiel said:


> Depending on what type of ants they are I don't think they would bite your cockatiel. It's more lice and mites that bite them.
> 
> Is there a window he can see out of? Perhaps he sees something outside that frightens him? Noises (and people) they are not familar with can set them off into a panic, too. If this happens, put him back in his cage for a time out to prevent him from hurting himself.
> 
> When he does it for no apparent reason he could also just be practising his flying skills. Young 'tiels are very clumsy when they first learn to fly and it takes them a while to learn not to crash into things. They need to build up their flight muscles and they only way to do this is trial and error!


If its lice ir somthing how do i get rid of them

No he dosnt do that while seeing outside....the curtains are usually drawn....i pull them aside and let him see outside only while im there.

It didnt look like he was practicing cause when his practicing he dosnt usually give a jerk like somthing before takeoff....he usually practices the very moment he is taken out.....it was more like he got a sudden shock.... i dont think he was practicing. ....

I think maybe its because of lice or mites.....but he usually gets a mist bath in a shallow tub once in 2 days. ....is there somthing else i should do....

Id be glad to hear if u have anymore suggestions on y ge does that.....and does anybody else's tiel do that???

And once again thank u vickitiel


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## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

Killswitch said:


> Vickitiel said:
> 
> 
> > Depending on what type of ants they are I don't think they would bite your cockatiel. It's more lice and mites that bite them.
> ...


Do u think dandruff has somthing to do with it.....cause he loves to stand on my head...


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Has he seen an avian vet? They can check him over for external parasites. Lice are visible to the human eye so you would've probably seen them on him if he has them, but mites are usually very tiny and not visible.


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## Killswitch (Jul 31, 2018)

Vickitiel said:


> Has he seen an avian vet? They can check him over for external parasites. Lice are visible to the human eye so you would've probably seen them on him if he has them, but mites are usually very tiny and not visible.


Thanks vickitiel


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