Pet Cockatiels

A friendly, sweet little bird, the pet cockatiel is very suitable as your very first avian pet. They are reasonably cheap to buy and are not as demanding as the larger parrots, and usually good with kids.

Ultimately pet cockatiels tend to form affectionate bonds with several family members.  However, they can take a period of time to adapt to you and your human ways.  This of course depends on how tame they are to begin with.  Initially the bird may be hand-shy.  Soon, with patience and gentleness on your part, and maybe the odd little food tidbit, it should get used to sitting happily on your finger or your shoulder. 

Like most members of the psittacine (parrot) family, cockatiels can easily get into mischief and their idea of fun is beaking and chewing things.  If you don't want your earrings chewed, take them off before putting your 'tiel on your shoulder!  Don't leave your most precious books and paperwork near him or her, as shredding paper is a favorite pastime of many pet birds. 

Pet cockatiels are generally not too noisy as parrots go, but they do make lovely cooing and chirruping noises which are not as piercing as, say, lovebirds.  They need free-flying exercise but this must be supervised at all times.  You must ensure that the bird doesn't get into trouble or get near to electrical wires which he might try to chew.  There are lots of dangers in the home for an unwary bird, like bowls of water, open-topped fish tanks, heaters, and windows.  Your bird doesn't know how to be careful of these things so you must take care for him.

It is vital to buy a properly sized cage for your avian chum.  It is downright cruel to keep any bird in a tiny cage in which it can't spread or flap its wings.  This is particularly so if it is to be cage bound for most of the day.  It needs adequate perches and room to simply walk around the floor of the cage too.  It is better that the cage is wider than it is tall, to facilitate this, and square cages are superior to round ones.

You have to be very careful with any birds to make sure they do not get lead poisoning from cage bars and from cheap toys in their cages.  Always investigate exactly what cages and toys are composed of.  Powder-coated and stainless steel are best. 

You might be able to get hold of a big parrot cage, and think how great it is to give your cockatiel space.  But, and this is a big but, the bars on cages are spaced according to the size of bird they are intended to house.  If a parrot cage has bar spacing which is bigger than a cockatiel's cage, it is possible that the smaller bird could get it's head stuck.  This could obviously be disastrous.  If you want a really big cage to keep perhaps several pet cockatiels in, it is worth making an aviary, indoor or out, from the appropriate sized mesh or wire.  The bar spacing for a cockatiel should not be greater than 3/4"

Sometimes birds have "night frights" when they are startled by something and they flap around in panic inside their cages.  This can be very distressing and lead to injury.  The situation is improved by covering the cage at night, but also leaving a night light on nearby.

Cockatiels are not the best talkers, but certainly there are ones who say a few words.  They can become very affectionate, funny and charming pets who become very much a part of the family.