AS.RLS@forsythe.stanford.edu (Rosemary Switzer) (07/20/90)
I'm begging some information from all you folks who have more than one species of birds as pets. I have a mated pair of cockatiels, Rikki (15 years old) and Ariel (13 years old). Rikki and Ariel are 'people trained', though Ariel does tend to get jealous if Rikki spends too much time with a human. :) Anyway, I've inherited a 7 year old parakeet named Russell. Russell is very skittish and scared of everything. He has been an only bird, and his previous owner did not spend a lot of time with him. He was frantic upon coming to my home last week, but has calmed down quite a bit. I've been talking to him a lot, and he is entranced with Rikki and Ariel (probably the first time since fledging that he's seen other birds!). I've placed his cage 1 foot away from Rikki and Ariel's, and he has forsaken his mirror for them (good sign?). Rikki and Ariel, who are out a lot, haven't paid him a bit of attention. Does anyone have any advice on what's the best approach to making Russell acclimated and happy in his new home? I would like to socialize him, but do not want to stress him out (is it true that parakeets can die of fright?). Neither do I want to impose my fantasy of Rikki, Ariel and Russell becoming buddies, if that is unnatural for them all. Any and all advice is most welcome. Thanks! Rosemary Switzer
shelley@milton.u.washington.edu (Shelley Vogel) (07/20/90)
In article <10521@lindy.Stanford.EDU> AS.RLS@forsythe.stanford.edu (Rosemary Switzer) writes: > > I'm begging some information from all you folks who have >more than one species of birds as pets. I too have parakeets and cockatiels. In my experience, my parakeets intimidate the dickens out of the cockatiels! Even though I got the cocktiel first, when I introduced the parakeets to the house (all the birds get free out-of-the-cage time), the parakeets would, after first getting used to the other birds, chase them all over! If the cocktiels would perch on the curtain rod, up would go the parakeet, and edge along until the cocktiels would be forced to flee! Rather comic to watch, but not very much fun for the larger birds. >I've placed his cage 1 foot >away from Rikki and Ariel's, and he has forsaken his mirror >for them (good sign?). Rikki and Ariel, who are out a lot, >haven't paid him a bit of attention. If your cocktiels aren't backing away from the parakeet, it may be, since they are older and the parakeet is rather on new ground, that he won't bother them. But I'll bet once he gets acclimated to his new surroundings, he'll get more curious about the cocktiels, and invade their territory. This could, of course, make them very unhappy! I'd just open the cages and watch them closely to make sure the little guy doesn't chase the cocktiels! Good luck. >Rosemary Switzer Shelley
bonnie@hanauma.stanford.edu (Bonnie Rippere) (07/21/90)
In article <10521@lindy.Stanford.EDU> AS.RLS@forsythe.stanford.edu (Rosemary Switzer) writes: > > I'm begging some information from all you folks who have >more than one species of birds as pets. I have a mated pair of >cockatiels, Rikki (15 years old) and Ariel (13 years old). > Anyway, I've inherited a 7 year old parakeet > [stuff deleted about how to introduce these birds together, etc.] My experience has been that cockatiels and parakeets get along very well together. The age of your birds, however, might make the acclimatization process take a bit longer. My parents currently have two parakeets and one cockatiel. All birds are male, but the cockatiel and the green keet both have enormous "crushes" on the blue parakeet. They're almost like groupies and follow him around everywhere. It can be rather amusing to watch the cockatiel serenading the budgie as the budgie tries to ignore this big grey bird in his face. I've also heard from other people that their budgies and cockatiels get along rather well. The fact that your "new" parakeet is very interested in your cockatiel pair is a good sign. It wasn't clear in your post whether you have been letting the budgie out much, but you should probably start doing this. Make sure you are around and let all three birds be out at the same time. As you know, cockatiels are relatively gentle birds but there is the possibility that they might hassle the parakeet. In general, though, the cockatiels should be excellent examples for the parakeet to learn from. If he's skittish, but can observe how the others trust you, and how they fly/walk around, he will learn these things more quickly himself. My parents' three birds all share the same cage by now - originally they all had separate cages but were so distraught every time they were separated at night, we eventually couldn't bear to do it. I would suspect that your cockatiels will want to keep their cage their own dominion, though. Good luck! Bonnie Rippere - Stanford University
ian@dept.csci.unt.edu (Ian Parberry) (07/24/90)
In response to the posting asking whether budgies and tiels mix: in my experience, it depends on the individual budgie and the individual tiel. I've had tiels that get along just fine with budgies, and one budgie-killer. Proceed with reasonable caution. Some postings have pointed out that budgies can harass tiels, but I've never known a budgie to kill a tiel. Mind you, all of this was with Australian stock not too far removed from the wild blood lines: I'm not sure how well this applies to the US attenuated and in-bred stock. ____ Ian Parberry ian@dept.csci.unt.edu Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of North Texas, P.O. Box 13886, Denton, TX 76203-3886 "Bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of an expanding bureaucracy"