# A few Cockatiel questions.



## Pikarya (Jan 29, 2012)

So with our dog recently passing away. We decided to get an animal we've never had before because its way too early to get another dog. So we decided to get a Cockatiel after a little bit of research.










So I think we've gotten everything needed for the current care of the bird.

Few ladders for him to climb
Water and food bowels on the top and bottom areas of the cage.
A hanging/mirror perch.
Some hanging Millet covered in Kiwi as a small snack.
A little hanging toy.
Mineral/Vita blocks (Not salt based)
Hanging anti-mite block (supposedly prevents it with some aroma which is safe for birds). From what I was told, as long as the cage is cleaned weekly this should never arise a problem.
And then some other random things like a swinging perch.
Giant cage (We're in the process of getting a giant/steel frame parrot cage so he can be downstairs when we are down there).









My questions are;

His wings were clipped yesterday by the pet store (I think its required in our state for pet birds). I've noticed he's been doing more climbing and he has a hard time moving about the cage doing jumps. With time will he learn to balance himself better or is this something to worry about (I've heard clipping feathers improperly can set their balance off).

Secondly when he got home we transferred him to his new cage by leaving the door open so he would go in the bigger cage. He started to get on the lower perch of the cage and he started to thrash in the cage causing his wing to get caught in the vertical slants of the cage. I carefully held him and unbuckled his wing from the cage wall at an angle softly to pull it out. After that he sat in that same place I left him for 5-10 minutes, then started to move to higher ground in the cage.

I'm not sure if that is similar to rabbit, kind of like when they go into shock in a scared event.

He seems to be doing fine now, as he's sitting at the top of his new cage. But he's been there all day since yesterday. We went out and bought additional water and food bowls to put on the top floor so he would have easy access but he hasn't attempted to do either from my knowledge.

Now I've read quite extensively on blood feathers. During his dilemma in the cage I noticed 2 feathers came out of his wingspan. Here are pictures of both.

Pics spoilered for size.



















I applied a bird styptic gel to the bleeding area, it didn't look like anything severe in terms of bleeding so I'm guessing we got lucky on this one. Also the blood seems to only be on the tip.

Our closest avian vet is 3 hours away and its a weekend so Its going to be a few till we can take him for a full checkup.

Lastly, do "clipped" feathers ever come back. I'm confused as I've heard some people say they will grow back during molting. I personally would rather have the wings un clipped to give the bird as much freedom as possible, especially in a big cage.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Hi and congratulations on your new family member!
Cockatiels are wonderful, and once adjusts to his new home, your cockatiel will give you a lot of joy I am sure.
I don't know about those feathers and blood,it's good you are going to see a vet for a check up.
As far as clipping wings, I would not have my tiels clipped again - they were both clipped when I bought them, I didn't have much choice in that matter- but I like mine able to fly and perch where they want to around the room. My girl wasn't really good at perching and climbing when I got her, but you should see her now, she is a very good climber. The feathers do grow in, so don't worry.
Just make sure you interact with your bird daily, tiels love to be close to their owners, and they thrive on attention. They are such sweet creatures, so laid back.
The cage looks great, but you do need a bit more toys for your little guy, especially some shreddable stuff. Is it a boy or a girl? What is his name?


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

First, congratulations, you have a gorgeous bird. I would not use the mite/lice block as this can be harmful to birds. Another thing, your large cage looks really nice, but it looks like the bar spacing may be too wide for a cockatiel. 1/2" is good and no larger than 5/8" is recommended. This is to prevent accidents such as wings getting caught, or even worse, little cockatiel heads getting stuck.

Clipping wings is a personal choice. They will grow back. As far as the feathers, since they came completely out and you stopped the bleeding I don't think there is anything to worry about, but I will let someone with more experience chime in on that.

When birds first get to their new home it may take a few days until they eat and drink normally, so it is okay if you don't see them do that right away.

Congratulations again!


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## darthkrallt (Aug 27, 2011)

Clipped feathers do indeed come back- when the bird moults the rest of their feathers the clipped ones will fall out and regrow too. There are a lot of different opinions on feather clipping, I suggest you do some further reading on the pro's and con's, especially if you want to clip them yourself. A botched clip job can permanently injure your bird.

The thrashing sound like "night fright" (although in this case, I suppose it's a "day" fright), when cockatiels get really spooked they start thrashing around like that. It's normal behavior, but they can accidentally hurt themselves doing it.


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## Pikarya (Jan 29, 2012)

eduardo said:


> Hi and congratulations on your new family member!
> Cockatiels are wonderful, and once adjusts to his new home, your cockatiel will give you a lot of joy I am sure.
> I don't know about those feathers and blood,it's good you are going to see a vet for a check up.
> As far as clipping wings, I would not have my tiels clipped again - they were both clipped when I bought them, I didn't have much choice in that matter- but I like mine able to fly and perch where they want to around the room. My girl wasn't really good at perching and climbing when I got her, but you should see her now, she is a very good climber. The feathers do grow in, so don't worry.
> ...


We don't have any professional, reputable private breeders here in Kentucky so we couldn't get a hand-fed 6month old bird. Because of that I am not sure, along with the pet store on the sex of the bird. I really feel its a boy just because of the personality (vocal, very very active). I might be wrong though.

His name is Choco.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Pikarya said:


> We don't have any professional, reputable private breeders here in Kentucky so we couldn't get a hand-fed 6month old bird. Because of that I am not sure, along with the pet store on the sex of the bird. I really feel its a boy just because of the personality (vocal, very very active). I might be wrong though.
> 
> His name is Choco.


Does he whistle? Being a lutino, it's a higher probability that your bird is female, but that's certainly not conclusive. Females can still be very vocal, they just don't whistle or learn to say words.

ETA: Here's a short video of my female flock-calling. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_faMIj8BoE&feature=youtu.be


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Your bird is beautiful! But it does look like the cage bars might be too wide for a cockatiel. 3/4" is the maximum for them and personally I prefer 5/8". If it's wider than 3/4" there's a risk that the bird might get its head caught between the bars, panic, and strangle.

Birds are frequently too scared to eat at first in a new home, and some will go for three days without food. Obviously you don't want that to happen. Hang up some millet spray in the cage close to the place where he likes to sit, because hanging food is easier for him to eat. He has to let his guard down for a moment to put his head in a seed cup but he can nibble on hanging food and watch for danger at the same time, which feels a lot safer to him. You can hang up some leafy greens too, they'll help provide moisture.

The wing feathers will grow back when he molts the old ones. The feathers that got knocked out accidentally will start growing back right away and will be full grown in about a month.

I don't think any states require wing clipping but it might be the policy in some pet stores. Clipping has advantages and disadvantages, and my own opinion is that it makes it safer for a new bird that is adjusting to a new home. New birds get scared easily, and an unclipped bird will fly around wildly when you take him out of the cage, crashing into things and possibly getting hurt or killed. There are some risks for a clipped bird too, since he might fall or be forced to land in an unsafe place, but you can help protect him, and there's no way he can reach a dangerous flight speed.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Hi, Your tiel is lovely. From looking at your pics, are all your perches dowel perches? Tiels should have a variety of perches in different sizes and materials- rope perches, natural perches, etc. It's better for their feet.


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## Pikarya (Jan 29, 2012)

Since those pictures I've added 2 ladders, a rope perch (bendable), a tree styled branch perch, along with more water/food containers and a spray millet holder.

Its day 2 and he has not moved from his one spot. I see he has had bowel movements but he has not attempted to eat or drink, even the millet from my knowledge.


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## DyArianna (Aug 7, 2011)

For the first few days, it is common for them to not eat well or to stay put in one spot. He's getting used to his new surroundings. Have patience, give him some time. Talk to him as much as you possibly can.


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## Pikarya (Jan 29, 2012)

His cage/table is right beside my computer desk so he's around me 99% of the day (I'm currently on disability so I don't do a lot lol).

Anyways I'll keep in touch, my next goal is to find SOMEWHERE that says pellet food. I've checked every store in 80mi and they only sell this Fiesta! junk.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

You should put the millet where he likes to sit. Also, the bar spacing on that cage is 1"--i looked it up. This is way too large for a cockatiel and it is the reason that he got his wing stuck in the bars. You need to return the cage to the store and get a different one. Petsmart is very good about returns if you explain to them what happened. 

If you like that type of cage, there is a cockatiel version as well. The bar spacing is 3/4" instead of 1".
I would actually prefer a cage with 1/2" but 3/4" is far better than 1".
You can see it here: 
www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754292&lmdn=Bird


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## Pikarya (Jan 29, 2012)

We will look into taking it back and taking a tape measure with us for sure next time.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

I am sure you can order pellets online, I don't know exactly what websites as I buy mine from a privately owned bird store five minutes from me. But shouldn't PetSmart have some pellets?


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

That's the only place I've ever seen that cage, so I'm assuming that is where it came from. If so, petsmart should sell pellets.


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## Pikarya (Jan 29, 2012)

I tried looking for pellets at Petsmart and the only thing I could find was blends with tons of fatty seeds like sunflowers.

Also he's finally snacking on the spray millet finally.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Are you sure? They have a big selection at any petsmart i've been to...you can order them online anyhow.


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

I know they sell the brand I use at petsmart its called Tropican lifetime granules for cockatiels, its about $10 for a 1.8 lb bag. Im not sure what other brands they sell as I dont go to petsmart often.

I know they dont sell any good seed mixes at petsmart though, they are all full of fillers or vitamin enriched!


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## Pikarya (Jan 29, 2012)

xoxsarahxox said:


> I know they sell the brand I use at petsmart its called Tropican lifetime granules for cockatiels, its about $10 for a 1.8 lb bag. Im not sure what other brands they sell as I dont go to petsmart often.
> 
> I know they dont sell any good seed mixes at petsmart though, they are all full of fillers or vitamin enriched!


This is what I've heard. Which is why I usually stray away from there unless its getting pet toys/etc.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I buy their toys and pellets at petsmart, i may start buying seed online or at local petshops...i refuse to go to petco any longer because of how their cockatiels always look to me. I even told their animal manager about a one with conjunctivitis and she just told me she'd keep an eye on it, didn't even remove it to quarantine. Then i wrote petco corporation about the incident and never got a reply. 

Sorry i know that was a bit off-topic but petco is where i had previously bought seed mixes from.


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## mishkaroni (Jan 6, 2012)

bjknight93 said:


> I buy their toys and pellets at petsmart, i may start buying seed online or at local petshops...i refuse to go to petco any longer because of how their cockatiels always look to me. I even told their animal manager about a one with conjunctivitis and she just told me she'd keep an eye on it, didn't even remove it to quarantine. Then i wrote petco corporation about the incident and never got a reply.
> 
> Sorry i know that was a bit off-topic but petco is where i had previously bought seed mixes from.


I, too, refuse to go into a Petco. They are actually not ALLOWED to sell birds past a certain size in my area any longer, and it might even be period. I "rescued" a parakeet from their selection a few years back, it was kept in an octagon shaped plastic case that looked appropriate for hamsters, but wrong for any bird. This little guy had a cracked beak, looked to be a runt, and was on the bottom, getting picked on and pooped on. I made the decision to purchase him because I didn't expect him to live long and wanted him to find peace in his final days. Luckily, he survived years with me and was quite a companion, and unluckily succumbed to a respiritory infection after I did everything you can do for a bird. That hurt something fierce.


As for Petsmart, I was just there on Friday looking at shreddable toys and a nestbox. I can vouche that they do in fact carry pellets there, the brand they carry is also a brand I was recommended to use via the bird specialty store where I buy almost everything for my birds. The brand is ZuPreem. It runs about $8 for a smaller bag and $15 for the larger. I currently use Nature's Best from the bird store I shop at.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Why don't' you buy online? You guys from the US are fortunate in that you can buy online from lots of different companies and you don't have to worry about quarantine. it's simply not possible from Australia. I've always wanted to buy from these places (amongst many others on my wish list): 

http://www.avianorganics.com/
http://www.persnicketyparrot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Birdsafe-Store/153823077995319

You might have to pay extra for shipping, but I would love to have the products you guys have, so take advantage of it!


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