A cockatiel for my Jardine's parrot.... :/

[DanaandPod]

I got a cockatiel. It is to help keep Pod company... I went in the store for a canary and came out with a tiel instead. Thought it would be more interactive to him from his cage. The problem is is...well, firstly...I nearly fainted driving home because I was in such a state of anxiety over whether it was or not a bad decision. Secondly, I never liked the look of these things...I am picky like that. Well, got it home and Pod was intrigued and dumbfounded. he is soooooo intelligent that once he saw another cage that i brought in.... he was completely silent instead of yelling at me for leaving. When I tried to open the box on the floor, Pod got on the bottom of the cage and poked an eye out of the slit in the bottom of the cage watching. I took the little thing out and showed it to him on the ground but he tried to attack it so i put it away. Then, Pod seemed to go about his own way and play about on the floor. Though he ruffled his feathers a bit. Guess, Ill see in the morning how this goes.... I may not like this particular kind but...it still is a good apartment choice and somewhat of an interaction to Pod from their cages... Any opinions?????

[liz]

You don't like the looks of a cockatiel but you bought it to entertain Pod.

Did I read that right?

[shiraartain]

I didn't find our cockatiel attractive at all when we first got him ( I much preferred the gray color, but it was my dad's bird so I didn't have a say in the matter), but I loved and gave it attention simply because it was a bird. (Our family even goes gaga over the wild ones that visit our feeder). That said, you seem to dislike the species, as your choice of diction doesn't seem to indicate affection for the bird and you see it merely as a form of entertainment for your parrot.

Moreover, you went in intending to purchase a canary ( to my understanding, those are cage birds, thereby requiring an entirely different care regimen), walked out with a parrot whose care you didn't research (do you have appropriate cage/supplies for the tiel?) And didn't quarantine your bird from the tiel for the appropriate time period and instead opted to immediately expose the birds to one another, thereby potentially exposing your parrot to illness.

In order to be fair to both birds, you also have to be prepared for the possibility of them not getting along, and then requiring that you split up your time and attention between the two.

I apologize if I seem rude, but just considering all of the above factors I respectfully request that you reconsider this decision. I know your intention was to increase Pod's quality of life, but if it is at the decrease of the tiel's quality of life, it is not worth it. Also considering this bird came from a pet store, I'd recommend keeping an eye on both your birds for illness.

[Wolf]

Not your best decision, Dana, and if I were to have made the same choice it would bite me in the butt many times over. But, not you, despite doing all the wrong things, you are going to get away with it and some how it will turn out alright. I have seen this before!!
Now, you are going to receive a lot of feedback pointing out where and how this was a bad choice, and every bit of it is going to be 100% right. Try to remember that you opened the door for this feedback when you asked for opinions, just relax and accept it as the people care very deeply about your birds and are trying to be helpful. Normally, I would be right there with them telling you all the things that you did wrong with this course of action, but I have seen this in action before and I know that this time for you it will turn out ok. I don't know how, but it will.
So now let's just move forward with this and try to do the rest of this right. First put your new bird as far from Pod as you can in the room and wash your hands after handling it before handling Pod. It doesn't matter that Pod will be able to see the new one as he already knows it is there, but don't let him get too close to it for a while and get a vet appointment set up for your new one as soon as you can for a wellness check. You are going to have to spend some time with the new one and that will probably make Pod a bit jealous, but that can't be helped. Watch both birds for any signs of illness and if in doubt get them in to the vet.
I would suggest that when you have been out and come back home that you say hi to Pod first and spend a few minutes with him before you do the same with the other one. I would also suggest that you leave enough time to play with Pod again briefly after you spend time with your new bird, this is just to reassure Pod.
The biggest part of the problem now as long as both birds remain healthy is that your new one is probably just a baby and as such is going to need a substantial amount of time from you, just like any other baby would.

[liz]

You don't like the looks of a cockatiel but you bought it to entertain Pod.

Did I read that right?

I am afraid that your cockatiel will be a second class pet. I would suggest you get another. When you have two in a large cage they really entertain themselves and there for will entertain Pod.

[Wolf]

From all that I have read, Dana lives in a small apartment and just having two cages is pushing her space a lot. This is a situation for which I think and feel partially responsible for, as I am one of the people who presented evidence to show that her bird would be happier with a companion to talk to when Dana was out working. Dana cares for Pod very deeply and was worried about Pod being lonely and not happy while she was not there so she got him a bird to be with, so he would not be alone.
I saw how concerned that she was and when she couldn't find the right bird right away, it worried her. I did ask her to be patient as I was looking for the right bird, but it did not happen that way and so although it goes against all the normal guidelines it is what it is and it doesn't have to turn sour. So let's work on helping this o work well and it will. If Kiki, who doesn't like other birds can accept a little Parrotlet with an attitude the size of an eagle being on me next to her, their is no reason that Pod can't get along with a cockatiel in the apartment to keep him from being lonely. Even if they don't become fast friends he will still be better and less lonely once he gets past his jealous stage. This can and will work if we let it.

[Pajarita]

This is not going to work out for the new tiel, Pod or you, Dana. From your postings and replies, I get the distinct feeling that you always go with the fast and easy solution to a problem but when it coms to parrots, it's EXAVTLY the opposite of what you should do. You can't rush or hope for things to become better on their own with them. Everything always takes a lot of time, a lot of planning and tweaking (and this is your weak point, Dana - you just rush into things without adequately planning, researching, etc) and a lot of work.

I was of the idea that getting a companion for Pod would benefit him but this was before I found out that you were planning on keeping them both at a human schedule so, instead of solving Pod's hormone problem, this was just going to make double trouble for you because you will end up with two hormonal birds and less time than you have now to spend with them.

A canary would have meant nothing to Pod, the same as this poor tiel, and, to put the icing on the cake, you don't even like the species. And, hope that this new bird is not a female because, if it is and you keep her to a human light schedule and free-feed protein as you have been doing with Pod, she will become a chronic layer -and I seriously doubt you could handle that.

[DanaandPod]

Pajorita,
I have respected much of your opinion especially regarding the diet of parrots, until I noticed more and more your responses are extreme for the sake of utmost care. I don't have any issue with this. Infact, I think that your birds are hopefully well off than most. But, in regards to your statements directly to me such as: "You can't do that..." and "you don't put thought into something and are impulsive..." "you will never be able to make this work..." "If you had a female and it starts laying eggs that you believe I would not be able to handle that..."
What I want to say about statements such as these is that although I prove to wear my heart on my sleeve and am very open and honest... If infact someone comes along like you have done and took advantage of my openness by putting me and my abilities down...with clear opinions that are not open ended for other possibilities. I am and have been unsure of both you and Wolf's position on here, the Parrot Wizard's site. If it is voluntary only...then I commend you for being so persistant and helpful to many, including myself. But, here is where i draw my line for self respect. As far as I know, this forum is supposed to be about parrot owners speaking their opinion to those who are seeking it. But, its not a place of belittling others. It seems to me that you have judged a great deal about my character Without knowing me based on a few posts, when in fact when it comes to many things I am one of the most thoughtful of persons. However, I was encouraged more than once on here to get a parrot of any kind because even just from within their own cages they can be of company. And, I believe this...now that I have the two here. Nobody can trivialize that level of presence from another being. They may not like each other now... but who knows... And, I have had enough human service experiences to have the patience and creativity to work around it. So, thank you Wolf...for your balance to articulate some flaws but that nothing is impossible. I have pulled through strong by many of life's incidents. this does not seem to be anything but a fun learning experiment to me. And, its rather intriguing. Except when Pod is now biting me, but he'll stop eventually. It depends how you look at it Liz...to say that this bird willl be the lesser pet, so to speak... is unrealistic. Yes, Pod is a clown, my baby, my world...attantion thief! But, he also does a lot on his own while i ignore him and do my own thing. this morning i opened the shades at Six,,, gave him a nut... then took the little one out and played/petted a bit and gave it a little showever...then brought it back. then Pod and id did his trick routine for a half hour...while the little guy watched what its like to have wings! Later in the evening....I greeted Pod during first enterence but the baby isn't as demanding. Let him out, gave him attention. He was fluffy and threatening... but oh well... lol. A little later, the Tiel started to pipe up... and I took it out and in the bathroom with me...where we had some time getting to knowone another. I think I will just take it as the days go and see what hapens. Many of times in my life I khave been told that i am a thinker and not a producer or doer...always hung up in my thoughts about things. So, hence the reason why I nearly colapsed trying to bring them home. But, I come from a long line of strong women who when thingss aent right...we make them work. guess thats enough to my defense. so very tired.... GNight

[DanaandPod]

I'm thinking of naming him or her... Picalo.

[Wolf]

Well, Dana, since you asked more or less through your wondering about my position here on the forum, I will explain exactly what it is. I am technically a moderator, my service to Michael is free of charge and about all that I do is to remove spam from the site for Michael. Beyond that I have no position at all. I am just a person that cares for parrots with a bit of time on my hands due to disability. I don't get out a lot so I come here and try to be helpful as I can. I also do a lot of research trying to increase my knowledge about these birds, and then I come running right back here like a kid in a candy store to share anything new that I have found in hopes that it will benefit a bird somewhere. There are no paid positions on this website.
I am a little concerned about this new bird, mostly because you gave the impression that you did not like the bird and also due to the difference in the natural aggressiveness of the two species of birds. Most poicephalus type parrots tend to be somewhat aggressive with a big strong beak, while cockatiels are a much more timid species of parrot who is hard put to bite hard enough to even break your skin. Those are my main concerns about the choice of birds. But I really think that as long as you keep this difference in mind so as to protect the cockatiel if need be that there is no reason for this to not work out for you. I had hoped that you would be a bit more patient as I was searching everyday for a matching parrot for you, by matching, I mean either another Jardine's or as you had stated previously that you would want a Meyer's Parrot. It did not work out that way and that is fine with me.
I have four parrots currently that have no mates at this time but they do quite well with each other for company and three of them are out of the cage with me most of the time, and although they are not fast friends they aren't fighting with each other either and for the most part accept the other on me at the same time. The parrotlet is so much smaller than any of my other ones that I make special time for it although I am getting them all to accept this little one without going after it and am making good progress in that area as well. It is interesting to note that Greys are not noted for liking other species of parrots, but they usually just ignore them as Greys are not very aggressive for the most part. Senegal are known to be aggressive and are known for not liking other birds including many times others of their own species and they have no fear of any living thing. Even the parotlet is known to be an aggressive species and not afraid of birds larger than itself either and in fact when it first met Kiki, my Senegal the parrotlet attacked her right off. That has since changed and they get along more or less most of the time now.
Because of the diversity of my own parrots and their personalities, I am well aware that with just a little effort that you should have not problem with getting your two birds to co exist with each other relatively well. I know that once Pod, gets to know that you still love him and are still playing with and interacting with him nearly as much that he will be happier with having another bird to talk to during your absences, mine are.
My last major area of concern is that there was no quarantine period and for that reason, I urge you to have your new bird checked by a vet as soon as possible to make sure that it is indeed in good health and not going to make Pod sick. Anything else I think that you will be able to deal with as needed. Well, Dana that sums up my total opinion concerning the new developments in your parrots, and it details both my concerns and my thoughts regarding those concerns.
Nice picture of Picalo, but what is the colored stuff on the bottom of the cage? All of my cages have a grate and I use newspaper in the pan under the grates, so I am not very familiar with most other types of litter in use with birds. I don't know, at this time, enough to sex a cockatiel by looking at it, although I believe it has to do with the orange spots over the birds ears. But then it may be too young to tell by that method anyway. Still it is a very pretty bird. What do they call this color mutation? Thank you for sharing this with us.