donnelly@cbnewsj.att.com (jeffrey.m.donnelly) (12/28/90)
Thanks to all of you who responded to my questions about cockatiels as pets. Mail to many of you bounced so I'll thank you here. All thought a cockatiel would be a good bird for beginners. All thought it would be ok to leave the bird along all day. For the bird that is. Humans will suffer immeasurably from missing the bird. Most felt a breeder or a hand fed bird was best. Most felt that the younger the bird the better (but at least weened). Most felt the bird would like to be with us when we are home. Some left their bird in the cage during the day, others let their bird roam around at will. Some advised against clipping one wing as being dangerous. Others felt that clipping one wing would quickly train the bird not to fly We don't want him to fly. I know, I know its natural, but our house has many mirrored walls (especially our TV room) and we don't want to risk fatal injury. We got a bird from a local store that specializes in birds. They had a VERY nice shop with lots of open area (no cages) and friendly/ knowledgable staff) We got him home and he freaked out. Climbed is large cage over and over and wouldn't eat. He (he in the generic since we don't the sex yet) has since calmed down. He is still a bit nervous about us but getting friendlier every day. BTW, I am convinced he would walk into a cats mouth to get millet spray. He goes nuts over the stuff. Must be a tasty treat! Thanks again. Jeff
ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry) (12/29/90)
In article <1990Dec28.150533.15515@cbnewsj.att.com>, donnelly@cbnewsj.att.com > Some left their bird in the cage during the day, others let their bird > roam around at will. > Some advised against clipping one wing as being dangerous. Others felt > that clipping one wing would quickly train the bird not to fly > We don't want him to fly. I know, I know its natural, but our > house has many mirrored walls (especially our TV room) and we > don't want to risk fatal injury. Interesting what a person's house would look like with a bird roaming around at will :-). I only say that because of an incident we had with PC the Pink Chicken cockatoo. PC, being very brilliant, found a way to move his cage just enough to get at the plug for the shop vac. He pulled it over and chewed it up. Well, when the beak hit the copper, he was blown away from the cord. When all the lights went out, we ran in to see what was up. There was a pink cockatoo, totally fluffed out of shape, clinging to the opposite corner of the cage, with smoke coming off his beak. Seems birds aren't too well grounded (thank goodness). He then started yelling "bad bird" at the shop vac. Granted, in this case, even if we hadn't been home, there would have been no physical harm to the bird. However, if our circuit breaker hadn't tripped.....It's really too awful to think about. Also, cockatiels love to chew wood (i.e. moulding, door jams, kitchen cabinets, etc. etc. Not to mention little cockatiel pooh. Plants can be toxic, paint can contain lead. etc. etc. I'm too much the nervous mother to let my guys roam free. Re: clipping. Do both wings, please. Cockatiels can still fly long and high with one wing clipped. They'll also be terribly off balance. Cockatiels are so aerodynamic that they can glide just fine with both wings clipped so they won't plummet to earth. > We got a bird from a local store that specializes in birds. They > had a VERY nice shop with lots of open area (no cages) and friendly/ > knowledgable staff) > We got him home and he freaked out. Climbed is large cage over and over > and wouldn't eat. He (he in the generic since we don't the sex yet) has > since calmed down. He is still a bit nervous about us but getting > friendlier every day. BTW, I am convinced he would walk into a > cats mouth to get millet spray. He goes nuts over the stuff. Must be > a tasty treat! This is common. Also, please keep in mind that many times very young birds will revert to pre-weaning behavior. This is a very dangerous time for them if they don't eat. Your cockatiel is eating millet spray. That is good. Just be sure to give him enough of it every day in case that's ALL he's eating. He may just eat millet for the next week or so. Sometimes, however, cockatiels don't even eat the millet and have to be hand fed or they will starve. This doesn't seem to be the case with yours (thank goodness), but keep it in mind if you have friends that get birds after they fall in love with yours. Mikki Barry Natural Intellegence Aviaries - home of the electric cockatoo --