# 1st time owner actually son is the owner..



## denverdave66 (Mar 23, 2013)

My son wanted a bird for his birthday he turns 12. He wanted a Parrotlet but after talking to several people he decided to get a cockatiel. We went to a family owned pet store and they raise their own cockatiels and they are hand fed. He picked out one he liked and the guy got it out of the cage and it stepped right onto his finger, of course that is the one we bought. He has only had it for a few hours but the cockatiel lets him take him out of the cage easily. Any tips for my son.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

hi and welcome to the forum  your son made an excellent choice of a bird (cockatiels are the best, in my opinion lol)

it sounds like the new tiel is pretty easy going and comfortable if he is coming out of the cage after a few hours. I would just make sure the tiel is eating and i think everything is sounding good so far 

if you want, you can read through this sticky here, it has info on new tiels in their new homes. just kind of a go-to guide

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=33313


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## OOwl (Dec 5, 2012)

Hi, and welcome! 

Glad your son is starting his bird relationship with a good natured cockatiel. They're so sweet and amiable. I have a parrotlet who is adorable but he's a little stinker (busy, busy, busy, into everything, never stopping "bumble-bee"). Parrotlets are also quite nippy. I know there are exceptions of very docile individuals, but Parrotlets are quite a feisty bird for a kid to handle. 

Can't wait to see pictures of your son's bird. Tell him I said Happy Birthday!


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Hi 
welcome to the fourm


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## denverdave66 (Mar 23, 2013)

Here is a picture of my son with his tiel he named him Simon.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Your son and your bird are very cute
From the picture I think your bird is a lutino


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

Simon is adorable! he's got that tielie baby face and those faces are hard to resist!


sorry, baruch  but it looks to be a cinnamon variety, POSSIBLY pearl (cant see the back, but the wings look pearled) and possibly pied. i have my bets on cinnamon pearl pied (which has a higher chance of being female, but you'll be able to find out later on with molts or around 6-12 months old by behaviour)


Can you get a photo of Simon's back? we can tell you mutation more accurately if you wanted


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## denverdave66 (Mar 23, 2013)

What is a lutino? Is that good or bad? I have do not know anything about birds. Here is what he looks like from the back.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

he is a cinnamon pearl pied  i was correct


lutino, pearl, cinnamon, pied, etc... its all genetics, its the colour of the bird. nothing bad whatsoever. love his stubby tail!! it will grow back, babies are so clumsy!


well if you are new, we got some stuff here as well for you to read (gee dont you get the fun job of researching while your son gets to play with your new buddy  )

basic care info from caging to other frequently asked questions  might find some helpful info there

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=14


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## urbandecayno5 (Oct 24, 2012)

Congratulations on your new tiel!
Simon is gorgeous


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

Congratulations on your son's new cockatiel,he is very handsome and seems to be adjusting to his new home.:yes:


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## denverdave66 (Mar 23, 2013)

What's the trick to keeping him from kicking out his birdseed all over the floor. I have also heard if they get mad at you they will poop all over the place any trick on preventing that? My son lives in our finished basement and we got him in the family room, what temp should it be for him?


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## charlieboy (Feb 10, 2013)

Is it just me or does he look like a yellow cheek?


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## urbandecayno5 (Oct 24, 2012)

denverdave66 said:


> What's the trick to keeping him from kicking out his birdseed all over the floor. I have also heard if they get mad at you they will poop all over the place any trick on preventing that? My son lives in our finished basement and we got him in the family room, what temp should it be for him?


They sell seed guards I dont know anything about them though. I just put a black garbage bag flat on the floor under the cage and vacuum alot.
Mine likes to throw seed out and will also push it through the cage bars with her beak for fun.

I guarantee no matter the mood of your tiel he/she will poop all over the place regardless. I just have baby wipes accessible at all times

my house is always 65-70 it works for her. Im pretty sure just as long as where your tiel is, is at a constant temp and doesn't change drastically he/she will be fine


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

charlieboy said:


> Is it just me or does he look like a yellow cheek?


he looks split to whiteface rather than yellowcheek, the cheeks are a tad too orange and the lighting is very bright in both photos, which would affect the colour


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Lol...unfortunately your bird is and always will be messy! This is part of being a bird owner. A seed guard might keep the food from flying *across* the room, but there will be bird food on the ground in any case. Daily cleaning is a good idea of the floor surrounding the cage so it doesn't get tracked into other rooms of the house. Your bird will poop wherever and whenever it wants to. Birds do not have a distinction between where it is not ideal to poop vs where the owner wants it to poop. You will forever be cleaning poop off your floors and clothing.  The good thing is: I have never had a stain left by bird poop on my clothes. 

In case you have not read through the links, a birds diet should not be seed-only. This is a false misconception that many people have thought to be correct for many many years. Your bird should be eating a seed, pellet, and vegetable diet. All food items should be offered daily. Seed and pellets should be offered in separate bowls 24/7. Veggies should be offered once or twice daily and should not stay in the cage for longer than 45 minutes because they go bad at room temperature. If your bird does not immediately eat the offered foods, continue to offer them because eventually the bird will try it. It takes persistence to change a bird's diet because their instinct tells them to beware of new foods as new foods could be poisonous and could kill them in the wild.

The cage I see in the picture looks small and is not adequately stocked with perches and toys. A cockatiel's cage should be 18x18x18 inches in minimum measurements. The bar spacing on the cage should be no more than 3/4 inches. There should be a variety of perches: rope, natural branch, etc of different diameters. All dowel perches (I think this is what you have) will cause foot sores and arthritis. Cockatiels need stimulation with toys in their cage. They like shreddable toys from Planet Pleasures, wood toys they can chew on, colorful beads, popsicle sticks, and straws.

I hope you learn to love your parrot despite the mess and dustiness you find that comes with it. They are really affectionate creatures if you can see past their mess. 

Welcome to the forum.


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## denverdave66 (Mar 23, 2013)

The cage is 12" deep by 16" wide and 23" tall, the pet store owner that sold it to me said that cage is fine so I trusted him to know, I bought it as a package deal the bird, bag of food and the cage for $125. I plan on getting some other toys for him but this store didn't have many. Right now he is just sitting on the bottom of the cage what does that mean? My son has had him out playing with him for awhile. So what kind of food should we feed him? Carrots? Apples?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

unfortunately yes the cage is actually far too small (small cages do damage feathers, plus contribute to obesity, and behavioural problems) but you could save it and use it for travel purposes (trip to the vet, out for some sunshine with you, etc)


one thing with petstores, is many just want to make a sale. they will tell most people anything because people would assume they would know. finding a good petstore can be very difficult.




the best diet is variety. 


seeds, pellets, veggies, and healthy table foods are good options 

goes into detail below:

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27479



safe foods:
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=536



things to avoid:

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=70

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=1842


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Congratulations on your new tiel, it's beautiful! As far as the diet, you will find that as your bond with your new bird grows, your cockatiel will want to join you at mealtimes. That is, if you are comfortable letting him join you while you eat. I have two cockatiels, and they often eat with us, of course, they get selected foods that are appropriate for tiels. I give them plain cooked broccoli, spinach and romaine lettuce leaves, cooked brown rice (no seasoning), plain cooked chicken (in moderation), parsley, whole grain bread, cooked egg, grated carrots, peas. My tiels love to eat when we eat, as they see us a part of their flock, I guess.
Just show a lot of attention to your tiel, they love gentle scritches on their head and being carried on the shoulder.
Your son will love the tiel!
Oh, and the cage you have is too small, you will have to get something bigger. Natural perches and such too. And lots of out of cage time whenever you are able to be around him.


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## denverdave66 (Mar 23, 2013)

I found this cage on craigslists, he had sugar gliders in it. What do you think of it, it is 24"x24"x48". The thing it don't have is a place to hang the water or the seed. He is including the toys too and wants $40 for it. Appreciate your feedback.
http://columbiamo.craigslist.org/for/3641914990.html


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

The size is amazing....there are food and water bowls you can buy that screw into the cage so you can look into those. What kind of wood is it make out of? Some woods are unsafe for birds and they will chew on wooden cages so make sure its on the safe list. 

I'm gonna be getting a new cage here soon for my birds and the one I'm eyeballing is this cage http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Bird-Pa...361?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ca6a1e069 My brother-in-law has it and its a very nice cage. So just an idea to give you more options.


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## urbandecayno5 (Oct 24, 2012)

That cage is super cute!...the only thing im wondering is- is there just metal on the bottom or is their a grate?. I guess it doesn't matter if there is paper down but just ask the type of metal used and wood

some other option if your looking for a not so expensive cage that's pretty decent is this one:
http://www.petco.com/product/114152...Petco Designer White Finch Flight Cage-114152

It's a nice and wide cage(which is apparently ideal). 1/2" wire space, 30"x18"x18" great for one tiel. You would just need some natural wood perches and toys. In all it's a little flimsy but I was pretty happy with it when I used it for Hank


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## denverdave66 (Mar 23, 2013)

Rox Culver, I like that cage from ebay but how many tiels are you putting in there? I think that might be too big for 1 tiel. I see it said some assembly required just curious how much assembly it took?


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

There is no cage that is 'too big'! It would just take more perches and toys to fill it. 

If you would like to keep the cage small, but appropriately sized, then the finch cage urbandecayno5 linked would work well for you.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

bjknight93 said:


> There is no cage that is 'too big'! It would just take more perches and toys to fill it.
> 
> If you would like to keep the cage small, but appropriately sized, then the finch cage urbandecayno5 linked would work well for you.


I second that. 
Your tiel is likely to live 10 - 15 years, even more. So, investing into a good quality and good size cage is wise. I wouldn't bother with that sugar glider cage. If you are really trying to watch the budget, then get the one that *urbandecayno5* suggested. I have one of those for my tiels when they travel and spend time with their sitter.


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## denverdave66 (Mar 23, 2013)

I would be for buying the one that is listed on ebay just need to talk the wife into that LOL. That's more than I spent for the tiel. Glad you mentioned sitter as we are taking a 13 day trip to NY this summer, will it freak him out if I take him to a friends house to sit him. I just don't know if he will just let anyone take him out of the cage once he is used to my son. I am sure when he was at the pet store all they did was feed them. There is so much to learn.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

He should be okay with your friend as long as you advise your friend that there cannot be any of the following used around your bird:

Non-stick/teflon pans
Candles
Aersol (hairspray, febreze, lysol, etc)
Bleach or any aromatic cleaners
Plug-it-in freshners

Birds have very sensitive respiratory systems and all of the above will affect him/her adversely. Teflon fumes can kill instantly. I would recommend that the bird not be kept near the restroom or kitchen of your friend's place, just in case.


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## denverdave66 (Mar 23, 2013)

ROXY CULVER, I just bought that cage off ebay you recommended. I see other cages cheaper but they were much smaller, I want a cage that my tiel will be happy with for many years to come. I think it is a wise investment.


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