| I can only give you my recommendations based on my experience with
with raising cockatiels.
1. Bathing: Most cockatiels love water and this can be
accomplished by either purchasing a plastic bird bath
(cockatiel size) and attaching it to the cage door or
by spraying them with a fine misting of warm water
a couple of times a week (personally my favorite method).
To do this simply use a spray bottle (similar to the ones
you use for plants) and fill it with warm or room temp. water.
Use the fine mist nozzle selection rather than the steady
squirt or stream. Your cockatiel might be very frightened
the first few times you do this, but eventually will enjoy
it once he understands it. The softer the mist the easier
the bird will adjust to it. Gently mist the bird - try to
evenly distribute the mist on all sides of the bird so that
it can have enough moisture on each feather to groom itself.
2. Fruits & Veggies: Cockatiels are mainly veggie eaters,
although I hear that some people have good luck feeding fruits
to theirs -I can't seem to get them to eat any. How I started
my cockatiels on veggies for the first time was to take some
canned or frozen corn, with fresh shredded/shaved carrots,
and broccoli florets (tops of the broccoli) and frozen peas.
(ensure that you unthaw the frozen veggies to at least room
temp.) and after thoroughly rinsing the veggies, I pat them
with a paper towel to soak up excess moisture then I sprinkle
them DIRECTLY ON TOP of the seed. It took a few weeks and
you must ensure that you remove all uneaten veggies within
24 hours and freshen the seed dish. Once they taste them
you will find that they look forward to it. I always put
the veggies on top of their seed and little remains if any
the next day.
3. Seed vs. Pellets; The age old question. I hear that pellets
are nutritious, etc...but birds are seed eaters in the wild,
and if you give a good seed mix with veggies, you don't need
pellets....but again, it is a matter of preference, not
necessity. A number of seed companies today do blend a small
amount of pellets in their mixes - esp. Cockatiel and Parrot
mixes, but I find that most of my birds leave them or dump
them in their water dish (making the water extremely murky!)
Some experts recommend a no sunflower seed diet. This I
disagree with. Sunflower (in a balanced mix) is nutritious
and gives them the added fat in their diet that they do need.
However lots of sunflower seed is not good and can build
fatty tissue in some birds, especially ones that get little
exercise...much like people.
4. Training: First of all, is your new cockatiel a handfed
or handtame baby? (Meaning that humans fed the bird from
3weeks old vs. parent raised). If your bird is hand tame
and handfed, then it should be easily handled. However if
your bird was parent raised then it will take more time and
patience. Is your bird young (less than 6 mos old) or an
adult (over 6mos or a year). Depending on the age of the
bird - determines the time it might take to get it friendly
Assuming your bird is parent raised, I suggest that you
get its wings clipped immediately - (this goes for a handfed
as well). A bird's natural instinct is to fly so you will
be constantly chasing it around the house - off your curtins
and ceiling fans...which brings me to the most important
reason for wing clips - danger! They will fly onto hot stoves
or into windows or better yet...out of open windows! SO MANY
people I know have had terrible losses with a flighted bird.
Once the wings have been clipped, you can then proceed to
take your bird out of its cage -preferably on a daily
scheduled basis - for at least an hour or two. A birdie
gym (consisting of wooden dowels) or a cage top perch
is an excellent method of getting the bird used to going
out of its cage and interacting with you. The best advise
I can give you is take your time. IT takes the bird time
to adjust and trust in you. DON'T RUSH IT or you will only
get the bird frightened and that is a step backwards.
5. Recommended Reading: THere is an Excellent book by
Nancy Reed (Reid??) (I think that is her name). It is the
best book on Cockatiels that I have seen, and most complete
to my knowledge, however some other noters might have some
good selections.
Best of luck, and I'm sure our experienced noters will give you
some more valuable info. so that you will gain all the knowledge
you'll need to keep your new friend healthy and happy! Keep us
posted!
Denise
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