Conference 7.286::pet_birds

    that will do nicely.....
    
    luck
    
    chet

	Well, along with this notes file I sought advice from many sources.  The
majority of people say the bars are too wide for a cockatiel.  There appears to
be a danger of the cockatiel putting its head through the bars and loosing its
footing, effectively 'hanging' him/her.

	So, the search is still on for a cockatiel cage.  Any leads, anyone?

	Dan Eaton

    I had spoken to Dan yesterday in regard to the search for a cage
    for his Cockatiel.  I sugested that if he was handy enough he build
    his own with Hardware cloth.  This makes and excellent cage for
    a bird of this size.  There was someone in this file that just bought
    a large sheet if my memory serves me right.  I know that this material
    has to be bought in large sheets so possibly this person might have
    some extra for Dan or at least let him know where your purchased
    it.
    
    Mark
    
    

	Well, we picked up the cage and the cockatiel last Saturday.  We decided
not to wait around for a used cage as we wanted to get the bird right away.  
Boy, I'll tell you though, I'm such a nit picker when it comes to finding the 
best value for the money that we must have gone to 15 pet stores in the space of
24 hours!  Two of them we went to more than once, too!

	Now for the question on the cockatiel...  We bought a 7 week old hand-
fed pied from a breeder.  When we got him home, after a while we noticed he
would do a lot of stretching (wings, feet, etc.).  Is this normal?  He also
lifts up one leg a lot.

	He seems to have taken to us immediately.  He hops onto a finger without
any hesitation and he is eating corn, seed and milet quite readily.

	Is this stretching a normal thing or perhaps something he is doing that
characterizes his adjustment to a new surrounding?

	Oh, one other thing...  His feathers look awfully dirty.  The breeder
said this is normal for a hand-fed bird.  Is that true?  Will he 'clean up his
act' after a while?

	Dan

    The stretching is quite normal....mine do it all the time.  Have
    you seen him put his leg behind his wing and scratch like a dog
    yet?  
    
    You might want to check the feeding related notes here and get hime
    started early on fresh food before he gets hooked on the seed.
    
    Mine were also hand fed and were a mess when I got them.  Yes, he
    will get himself cleaned up.  If you want to hurry it along, offer
    him a bath in the morning.  Mine will jump into a pie plate with
    a little water and go nuts if they are in the mood.  Do it only
    in the morning so he has a chance to dry.  One of mine likes to
    be blown dry.
    
    Diane
    

RE < Note 172.5 by FSTVAX::WIMMER >

	Good, glad to hear I haven't done any damage.  Yes, he has scratched 
like a dog, too.  We are feeding him corn and peas right now, along with all
the seeds, the cuttlebone and the mineral block.  Perhaps we're overdoing it,
but I'd rather err on the side of safety...

	My wife squirted him with a fine mist from a spray bottle the other day
but later he looked like he was cold.  That was when we first noticed him 
lifting his leg on his perch.  Perhaps she got too much water on him?  We're
also checking to see if there's a draft in the place he now resides.

	Dan

    	Dan, I dunno if 'teils are the same as parrots in this regard,
    but the book says when our orange-wing amazon stands on one foot
    it means he's feeling relaxed and comfortable.  (I'm assuming your
    bird doesn't limp when he walks, which is a whole nother thing.
    
    						GK

    It's normal 'tiel behavior to stand and stretch like you describe.
    Hansel, my male, actually stands on one foot and picks his nose.
    He's really funny to watch when he does it.
    
    One other thing that both H&G do is that they will get on the perch
    in the middle of the cage, grip on to the perch with their feet,
    and flap their wings very rapidly, almost like they are trying to
    fly in one place.  Supposedly this is good since it exercises their
    flight muscles.  They look pretty silly doing it though.
    
    	-Nancy

    
    When we were down at Boston Pet a few weeks ago, Beaureguard (sp?)
    their hyacinth looked so good, I asked how they did it.  Their answer
    was that they gave him 3 - 4 showers a week.
    
    I only have time for weekend showers, since with the Mass weather
    being what it is, we blow dry our Macaw after the showers...
    
    But, he looks great after the showers.  He really likes the blow
    dryer set on low and cool...I think he is only luke warm about the
    showers thou.....
    
    Everything I have read says that baths/showers are great for the
    birds...
    
    -dick
    

    I was at the Vets a few weeks ago with a new kitten, and picked
    up one of the Bird magazines.  There was an article in it about
    why Cockatiels Thrash at night.  I didn't have time to read it.
    Did anyone read the article.  I'm just curious as to why they do
    it.  I know my cockatiel, Mosi, occassionally goes crazy at night
    and slams himself (or is it a her, never knew, assume it is a she
    because she isn't a LOUD bird). against the cage.  She never seems
    hurt by it.
    
    Pam
    
    ps.  I did a search of the titles for Thrash or Thrashing but didn't
         find anything.  If there is already a note on this, please
         point me to it.

    Can anyone answer a few questions for a novice cockatiel owner?
    
    I have just bought a ten week old grey cockatiel (charlie) which
    was hand-reared. He is quite tame and will sit on my hand and accept
    food. He will only eat seeds at the moment and will not touch fruit
    and veg...should I deprive him of seeds during the day and leave
    fruit and veg in their place in the hope he will eat them? the breeder
    said I should only give him millet sprays once every 8 days as it
    is fattening...is this correct? He (charlie) has them all the time
    at the moment as he caught a cold two days after I bought him which
    luckily he seems to have recovered from.
    
    Finally..he is quite tame so I want him to come out of his cage..how
    is this done as last night he came out on my hand and was eating
    then he climbed up onto my shoulder..I moved and he panicked and
    tore around the room straight into the wall and almost knocked himself
    out. He couldn't stand up and I thought he was dying! should I put
    a perch out side his cage with some seeds and see if he comes out
    or what? Any suggestions would be welcome both by myself and charlie
    
    Sorry to have been so long-winded
    
    Tim (in england)

Cockatiels are notorious for being stubborn about trying other foods.  You may
have to remove his seeds during the day at some point, but I would avoid it at
this time.  I think that he is a little young to be without seed all day as it
may take him some time before he even tries what you give him instead.  While I
would continue to offer him a choice, (and he will most likley choose only the
seed) I would wait until he is full grown before taking away his seed for long
periods of time.  You may however take his seed away for a couple of hours, if
that is possible.  Then give it back to him for a few minutes and take it away
again.

We had to take the seeds away from my son's cockatiel for the whole day for many
weeks before he would even touch anything else.  We would let him eat his fill
in the morning, take the seed away until around 4-5 o'clock.  While it took him
a long time to start eating other things, it didn't take him long to figure out
the schedule.  He would start screeming at about 3:30 or 4 until we either
covered him or until he got his seed.  While he still would rather eat seed, I
have seen days when we gave him fruits and veggies and forget to take the seed
away and he would go and eat the other stuff.

Two other points.  First, although it may be a battle of wills, it is VERY
important that you get you bird to eat other things if you want him to stay
healthy.  Seeds are just not a completly ballanced diet.  And second, continue
to offer different things, sometime it is mearly that they don't like what you
offer (either because of taste or appearence).  You will through away a lot
of fruits and veggies, but keep it up. 

As far as millet spray goes, we use it as a treat as our bird loves it.  I 
really don't know how often we give it to him, but it is certainly not every day

As to the taking him out.  Again, a couple of things.  Birds are generally very
skittish (as in the expression of a person "being chicken") and it will take
time for him to learn that he is safe on your shoulder.  The fact that he is 
tame now is a big plus.  Remember to try to move slowly until the bird gets used
to being there and used to his platform moving.  If he continues to fly away
often and is in danger of being hurt, consider getting his wings clipped.  They
seem to get used to moving with you (and at other training as well) when they
figure out that you are their method transportation.  Even if you are generally
against wing clipping (as some in this conference are) consider it as the
feathers will grow back, and by that time your bird will most likely have calmed
down.

Hope the long reply helps,
Dom

    Thanks for the pointers....at what age do you consider the bird
    to be an adult?
    
    Tim
    

    I have a few more questions somebody may be able to help with...
    My cockatiel is now out of his cage regularly and sits on my shoulder,
    and has started eating fruit from my hand. My question is about
    his nails, the are getting long and according to the book i have
    they need trimmed. It says to hold the nail up to the light so you
    can see the vein..I have tried this and his nails are too dark..I
    wouldn't be prepared to trim off much anyway so should I just take
    the very end off and file it?
    
    Also should I cover the cage at night? The breeder said I shouldn't
    bother and I haven't, but sometimes the bird gets very grouchy if
    I am up late as he is in the living room, would covering him help?
    
    Lastly, I was told by the breeder that my bird was male because
    of the amount of noise he makes, but according to the book i have
    it looks female...the markings around the eyes aren't very bright
    and it has bars on its tail feathers. The reason I ask is  I would
    like it to be able to talk and I have been told that females don't
    talk, not that it is showing any signs of talking anyway. By the
    way the cockatiel is approx. 3 months old, if it does talk , when
    is it likely to start mimicing me?
    
    Thanks 
    
    Tim

    
    It's novice time again! I introduced myself last week, and haven't been
    able to get back in until today.
    
    Last Wednesday my wife and I purchased a Pied Cockatiel from the Fish
    Nook in Acton, MA. This business has received high recommendations, and
    we were impressed with Mary, the lady that took care of us.
    
    Sharra is approximately 1 year old and, we think, a female. She is not
    hand tamed, but pretty tolerant of humans, all things considered. We've
    been taking her out of the cage for at least a couple of hours every
    day, but I'm not sure if we're training her or she's training us! She
    loves to eat fingers, especially finger tips, so we've started using a
    dowel to get her out of the cage. Once out she transfers to a finger
    with seldom more than an obligatory nibble. She will sit on a shoulder
    for as long as you want. However she has this interesting habit of
    almost constantly nibbling at one's shirt, with occasional side nibbles
    to the hair, cheek, or ears, but never hard enough to hurt. Unless of
    course you move a finger too close so she can get at the tips. She's
    only drawn blood once, but delivered several painful nips. It's been a 
    real challange to sit there and not jerk back when this happens.
    
    Talking with Jim B, we've started approaching her with fingers rolled
    in so that a) she won't feel as threatened, and b) it doesn't hurt
    as much!
    
    She has eaten some veggies, and appears quite alert.  She also quickly
    learned that if she flutters off the couch onto the floor, (she's
    clipped) and she stays under the coffee table, it takes a lot longer to
    get her back onto your shoulder!
    
    So far we really enjoy her, and figure with persistence and gentleness
    she'll eventually lose her appetite for finger tips. We've learned a
    lot about caring for our budgies from this file, and expect we'll pick
    up a lot of good info about our 'tiel here as well.

    
    
    As I stated in the previous reply, we were using a dowel to get Sharra
    out of her cage with a minimum of trauma to her or us. However that can
    get tedious as one follows her around the cage. Then quite often she'll
    step onto the dowel, and then right back off as you start to move it. 
    
    So here's the question:
    	That last few times I've taken her out, I slowly reach in, and if
    she starts climbing around the cage I gently grab her around the body
    and bring her out that way. If I do it quickly with out jerking, she
    gets in one or two light painless nibbles, an occasional squawk, and
    then settles down onto an open palm as soon as you have her outside.
    
    Is this method good or bad? (I realize every owner has their favorite 
    method, so I'm looking for a consensus.)
    
    Thanks in Advance
    
    Dan
    

	Spend a � hour a day for a week with you and
	the `teil in the bathroom...there is not alot 
	of space and it should get much more used to 
	being handled...

	Bring finger food...

	-dick

    I'm hoping someone is around in here today and can help me.
    
    I just got (two weeks tomorrow) two male cockatiels.  They were,
    and still, are caged together.  This morning I came out and one
    of them has blood on his beak, a large amount under his right
    wing and a good size spot under his left wing.
    
    There is nothing on the other bird and I don't think it was from
    fighting.  They do peck at each other once in a while, but I don't
    think they've really fought.
    
    The top perch had fallen. 
    
    He was particurly restless and noisy before I went to bed last 
    night, but I would say I have not seen him digging or picking
    under his wings with any intensity.
    
    He seemed to be fine, but there is a lot of blood.  Oh!  And one
    of his longest wing feathers (the ones I understand you clip) is
    ripped out entirely.
    
    What the heck happened?
    
    I absolutely COULDN'T stay with them this morning and it's driving
    me nuts here at work.  I was late enough as it was because I wanted
    to spray him down and dry him before my daughter got up and saw him
    all bloody.   I really couldn't get under the right wing, which had
    the most amount of blood, but spray cleaned as much as I could.
    
    I hope to be able to stop at a pet shop tonight and ask, but also
    hoped someone in here could give me some ideas in the meanwhile.
    
    						Thanks
    						   cj *->
    

   Sound to me like he broke a blood feather, a fairly common occurance, at
least on the larger birds.  It probably happened when the perch fell.  This can
be a big problem in that the bird can lose a fair amount of blood, though in
your case it sounds like the bleeding has stopped so you should be okay.  It's
likely the 2 birds were fighting a bit when the perch let go and what you saw
was the result.  It gets real ugly when they start flapping the wings when that
happens and they throw the blood all over the walls & stuff.

    If the bleeding has stopped, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but would
check the bird close for the next few days to be sure the bleeding does not 
start again, in which case you can pack the feather shaft that's still there
with a styptic powder to help stop the bleeding.

    Good luck and let us know how it all turns out...

Al

wife's got well over 200 birds now...argh;-(;-(