Cockatiel Care

Cockatiels and the host of “mutations” are all pretty much domesticated. They are not really a fussy bird, often playful and expressive. The same holds true when it comes to their cages.

It is preferrable to house Cockatiels in a retangular cage, not in a round one. It is also recommended that cockatiels, although extremely good nature about living quarters, should be be in a cage that they fly in.

Flight allows cockatiels not to be bored. Cockatiel have to fight boredom or they will become depressed. They will experience a loss of appetite if they get to “down”. Some of the symptoms of depression look like symptom of a descease, but keep your bird cheery.

This is part one in the cockatiel management and cockatiel care series of articles, come back tomorrow for more information.

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You are excited…

You bring your new cockatiel home…

You want to get him/her settled right away. You rush in to your home and open the door to the their permanent cage and take the cockatiel out and put it into their cage. Wrong!

There are a few steps you need to take first here they are…

·         You need to close all windows, doors (in the room where the cockatiel permanent cage is located)

·         Be sure that there NO open fires or electric appliances on or in operation.

Once the few things above are done now, it is time to introduce the cockatiel to its new home. If you got a small stout cardboard box to transport your cockatiel home slowly open the cardboard box. Make sure that when you open the box, it is pointing toward the opening of the bird’s cage (hint make sure the cage is wide open).  You need to be patient, sometimes it takes a cockatiel awhile to adapt to it new area.

Remember, unless you bought your cockatiel from a private breeder, its old home was spacious and had many other birds in it. The switch for a cockatiel has to be handled with care.

Here are two tips that will help your bird adjust a little better…

1.       Put your cockatiel in the cage as early in the day, this will help the cockatiel get used to the new surroundings.

2.       Keep a close eye on your new cockatiel from a distance; do not smother your new bird with all kinds of attention at first. 

Cockatiel Care is not hard.

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If you are new bird owner I am going to share with you 3 tips for successfully starting off right with your cockatiel.

Get an examination by an Avian Vet

Within the first 2 weeks of having your cockatiel you should have an experienced vet. A little word of caution here, most veterinarians specialize and the ones who don’t almost specialize by default because most people will bring their dogs and cats to these types of veterinarians. Find a vet that has an area of expertise in birds, also called avian vets.

Quarantine Your New Cockatiel

If you have more than one bird, do not put all the birds together. You need to keep new bird away from the birds that are already in the house. You will also want to put you new cockatiel in a relatively quiet place, loud noises stress cockatiels out.  

Resist the urge to “show off” your new cockatiel. Do not invite a lot of people over to have people look at your new pet. That kind of attention is unwanted by your cockatiel. Wait until your cockatiel is “completely” comfortable in its new surroundings.

Housing Preferences

You may be tempted to get a cage that is ornate or round. This is a big mistake. Studies have shown that cockatiels get nervous when inside a round cage. This hold true for old ornate cages too, most of them are round, but the dangers with these cages are that cockatiels (and any other small birds) may get their head stuck in these cages.

Rectangle cages are the best, the bigger the better. Remember, these are bird and they need to fly. Proper Cockatiel Care starts right from them beginning.

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Cockatiel pet should never be transported in a large cage; there are way too many hazards if you do so. First, you will scare the cockatiel and in turn the cockatiel will start to flap it wings hard. This may cause injury.

Once you reach your final destination you cockatiel will tired, worn out and stressed. It will take a while for the cockatiel to relax and feel even remotely comfortable. Your cockatiel will sit very comfortable in this type situation.

It is important to note that your cockatiel will be somewhat restrained because of the small size of these boxes. That is good though, it will prevent your cockatiel for needless flapping of its wings.

When taking your cockatiel home the pet store will give you a small cardboard box perfect for the size of your cockatiel. So, make sure to ask for one before you purchase and bring home your cockatiel.

Side Note: When bring your new cockatiel home, make sure there is some seed in the box, especially if you are going more than 30 minutes from the pet store. This will also cut down on unwanted stress. Food is a source of comfort to a cockatiel.

There are special cages to transport your cockatiel. Unless you plan on moving your cockatiel around a lot you probably should just hold off buying the special “transport” bird cages.

If you have decided that you do need a special bird cage, the traveling cage should not be more than 12X10X10 inches.  Pay close attention to the cage, if has bar you don’t want that cage (I am talking about a travel cage here), you should be looking for a wire mesh cage.

Please take caution when tranporting your new cockatiel pets. They are fragile little birds.

Here is a resource for bird cages especially for our little cockatiel friends – Cockatiel Bird cages.

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