Hello everyone- Roy

[RoyH]

Hello everyone,
i m Roy,21 y old from Lebanon...
i bought a cockatiel 2 days ago, it s my first bird pet excited about my new pet, i guess i ll spend most of my time reading ur notes and tips , hoping to learn more from ur experiences with cockatiels:)
Ps: I named my cockatiel -Paul-

[Wolf]

Welcome to the forum! You have a nice looking bird but I am not sure that you have the right cage for him as the bars all run up and down instead of horizontal. If you look at your birds feet you will see two toes pointing to the front and two pointing to the rear. They are designed for climbing and grabbing stuff. The perch shown definitely needs to be worked on or replaced. Either carve scallops all over it so that it is not smooth or replace it with a bird safe tree branch.

[RoyH]

Welcome to the forum! You have a nice looking bird but I am not sure that you have the right cage for him as the bars all run up and down instead of horizontal. If you look at your birds feet you will see two toes pointing to the front and two pointing to the rear. They are designed for climbing and grabbing stuff. The perch shown definitely needs to be worked on or replaced. Either carve scallops all over it so that it is not smooth or replace it with a bird safe tree branch.

Hey Wolf, thank u for ur tips... it is sad that i didn't get such info when i was at the pet store(i was told that it is a cage made for parrots :/), tho i read about this parrot's evolutionary adaptation...anw i ll try to fix the cage, else i ll be replacing it with a better one.

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum, Roy and Paul. Good looking high pied tiel you have, Roy. Wolf is correct on the bar placement of the cage. A word of advice, don't ever go by what the petstores or breeders tell you. Always do research on your own... or ask us

[RoyH]

Welcome to the forum, Roy and Paul. Good looking high pied tiel you have, Roy. Wolf is correct on the bar placement of the cage. A word of advice, don't ever go by what the petstores or breeders tell you. Always do research on your own... or ask us

thanks Pajarita ^^ BTW, i m having so much troubles dealing with him, but i m not taking anything personal...i know it needs patience and time...as Paul was never hand-tamed and never had a cool contact with ppl... he still can't stop shacking every time i get close to his cage, frightened... but if i keep my distance, he is always content...
and one more problem: he s addicted to bird seeds,he doesn't wanna try anything new...i was trying to vary his diet these past days ...but in vain:/

[sgtpepper]

Hello,
maybe this article will help?
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=227

As far as seeds go, we've had the same problem with our parrots who were on a seed diet for 3 years.
But we managed to change their diet drastically in just a month! Right now, they are both with their heads in their bowls eating gloop and veggies!
All with the help of these wonderful guys on this forum, so please, pay attention to what they advise you!

[Pajarita]

Roy, start by taking away his seeds once he is asleep at night. In the morning, wait about one hour after sunrise and then give them cooked whole grains (wheat, oats, barley, brown rice, etc). The grains need to be a bit hard inside and a bit soft outside so they 'feel' like seeds that have been soaked. Put this on the bottom of his cage and mix a very small amount (just a sprinkle) of seeds (use millet) in it. Don't feel sorry for him if he doesn't eat it immediately, just wait until the sunset and replace it with one heaping tablespoon of a good quality budgie seed mix (very little to no sunflower seeds). After he goes to sleep, take the bowl away and, the following morning, give him the cooked grains with the sprinkle of millet in it. It might take a couple of days but he will eat it. Once you see him eating it for a few days, start adding vegetables to it, start with sweet corn (they all love it), when he is eating that, add small sweet peas, then carrots cooked and cut into tiny little pieces, then broccoli that has been lightly steamed and chopped, and so on and so forth. I have transitioned hundreds of birds to gloop and they all eat it if you do it gradually, that's one of the advantages of gloop over pellets: it's an easy and painless transition. I took in a pair of budgies on Sunday afternoon and they started eating the gloop this morning so it's perfectly doable. Also, give him greens like romaine lettuce, escarole, chicory, etc. but stay away from spinach and don't give him a lot of collard greens or chard, they are too high in oxalic acid and it inhibits calcium absorption.

[RoyH]

Okay, thank u Pajarita...i ll start following these steps by tonight

[Victor]

Nice bird. Maybe I'll get a video up soon. As my cockatiel is a lover. But it's up to him. Last time we tried to get pics he took off flying away every time the phone got to close.

[RoyH]

Nice bird. Maybe I'll get a video up soon. As my cockatiel is a lover. But it's up to him. Last time we tried to get pics he took off flying away every time the phone got to close.

the cute part is that he started to feel comfy while we r near his cage...that fast he s starting to stretch his wings and tail, sometimes expanding his both wings, showing how handsome he is haha:D
also he s standing on one foot from time to times , so i guess he is relaxed:)
But i m still trying to fix his diet, i hope he gets used to a better diverse diet.