# So glad I found this site - please HELP!



## kasien (Dec 24, 2010)

Hi everyone! I am brand new here, and boy, do I need some feedback from people with experience. 
My story: how I became a bird owner:
I work in a veterinary ER. One weekend, someone called, frantically saying there was an exotic bird in his back yard, and it looked injured. He brought it in to the hospital, and it was a little male cockatiel, badly injured. He'd been caught by something - had horrible wounds on his head, so that you could see his skull, had a broken wing, and was shocky. Poor thing - I cleaned him up, bandaged his broken wing, gave him pain meds and fluids, and figured his chances were slim.
Why he now lives with me is a long story, but after a few days, I ended up taking him home to continue his care in the interest of cost (they decided I was responsible for his $800 bill), and surprisingly, the little guy made a full comeback. I wish I could post a picture...
That was probably about 5 months ago.
He seems like a sweet bird, he sings, whistles, cat-calls, dances, "talks" to me when I whistle to him. 
But he spends endless time in front of his little mirror, singing away to the bird in the mirror. Breaks my heart.
He also will do just about anything to avoid stepping up - although once he is on me, he is fine and relaxes somewhat. But he definitely is frightened of being asked to step up.
He also gets scared if I offer him yummy food, or even if I put millet spray near him. He will eat it if I hang it, but not if I am holding it.
He lives in a corner of our living room, where he can see everything that's going on, but he isn't exactly right in the path of traffic.
BUT...I have 5 little kids, ages 2-8, so our house is chaotic and often loud, and little kids cry and whine and fight and get hurt. We also have 2 dogs and 2 cats. The dogs don't pay much attention to him, but I do lock the cats away when I take Colors (the tiel) out of his cage. It's a lot of activity.

So my questions:
1. Is he happy? He seems so pathetic, singing to his reflection in the mirror all day.

2. How can I get him to try to eat anything other than seed mix? He has NO interest in anything else, other than millet and cuttlebone.

3. He does not like toys. Is he maybe stimulated enough with the activity outiside of the cage?

4. Would he be better off in a quieter part of the house? I don't want to banish him to a room where he would be alone, but I also don't want him pulling all his feathers out because he's freaked out.

5. The little beak-chattering thing he does when he is on my shoulder - is that a good thing, or bad thing?

6. He is dropping lots of feathers lately, and seems a bit lethargic and fluffed. He is eating and drinking and his droppings are normal.

Thank you for reading this far, and for any insight you can give me. I didn't exactly intend to add a cockatiel to our household of 5 kids and 18 animals, but...he is part of the family now.


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## mpayjr (Aug 16, 2010)

Congrats and bless you for taking in the poor thing!

1) Yes, he is happy by the sound of his chattering. It's actually very normal for tiels to sit in front of their mirrors and chat with them. It's their companion and believe it is another tiel. If you would prefer him to not do so, you could remove the tiel and try spending a little more time than you usually do with him (just to give him some friendship he would be missing from the mirror).

2) Honestly, I'm not sure. But, try removing the millet a little bit. Keep offering him some seeds. But, one word of advice may be that he was possibly previously trained to eat pellets. If so, try some and see if will eat them. Plus, it's overall healthier for him in the long run than seeds. You can also try offering many other bird safe foods, such as eggs, broccoli, and such. As to you holding the millet and him not eating it, this is normal. Tiels take a while to trust their owners, keep offering it and you will win him over. 

3) Most tiels are not very interested in toys. Mine will once in a while play with them, but it is usually the newborns who I catch playing with them (they are so fascinated with everything), however, try mixing up the toys, bring new ones and cycle them with the old ones. He will sooner or later find something he is interested in and play with it. My Isaac was introduced to a bell and he had become so fascinated with it every time I put it in his cage.

4) If your children are on disturbing the bird or he is not getting the necessary amount of sleep where he is then I would say yes, move him. But if he is not, and during the ay he is not being disturbed (shaking of cage or being grabbed at) then I would leave him where he is. It would be just as if he was in a flock, just a slightly noisier one. 

5) The beak-chattering sound is a sound of contentment. Tiels usually do this when they are happy and content with where they are and themselves. Mine do this before they go to sleep too. Either way, the chattering is ok.

6) He may be going through a molting. If everything else is ok, then I wouldn't worry. My tiels usually act the same way when they are going through a molt. If it is not a molting, I would watch and see if he is picking his feathers on his own. This may mean that he is depressed, frightened, or sick. Just keep out an eye for this because, as you have already mentioned, he was hurt and stressed out very much before you got him. But because you said he is very social, it doesn't seem to be anything except a molting.

Now, regarding his stepping-up it is just that he is scared and doesn't trust you yet. Don't give up hope, though, you will win him over, just keep trying.

Good luck and again bless you for what you have done. You are really great people for taking in an animal like this. I hope everything turns out right for you!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

1. Yes, it sounds like he's happy.

2. Baby birds learn to eat new foods by copying their parents. Once they're past this young, impressionable age it's more difficult to get them to try new foods but it can be done with patience and persistence. I have tips on my website at http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.org/info/nutrition-conversion.html

3. Cockatiels aren't the most toy-driven birds in the world, but most of them do enjoy tearing things up. Offer him things he can chew up and shred and you may see more action. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, newspaper or bird-safe branches from your yard are fine.

4. A sleep cage in a quiet part of the house would help him get enough sleep at night. During the daytime it's fine to keep him right where he is now, as long as he doesn't seem frightened most of the time.

Start dropping a small treat (like a clump of millet spray) into his food cup every time you approach the cage and make sure he sees you do it. You want him to learn that good things happen when you come around. After you've done this a few times you can first offer the millet spray through the bars, then drop it in the cup if he's too afraid to take it from you. Eventually he should get accustomed enough to your presence that he won't want to wait for the treat to drop and will take it from you. After that you can work up to holding the treat for him without the cage bars between you.


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