Hello everyone- Roy

[liz]

Mine were perching on food and water bowls. With so many of them in a flock I have changed to plastic plates that my Aunt Betty's Jenny Craig food came in. I tried
Drs Foster and Smith sell perch platforms that hang on the cage walls. I use the big ones for the cockatiels plates and leave at least one for perching. They seem to like to perch on them specially Lacy who has missing toes.

[Pajarita]

No heartwings. And the call he's making is a distress call. He is stressed out and desperate to come out of his cage which is waaaaaaaaay too small for him -he can't even open his wings fully, my dear. His perches are completely inadequate (he needs real tree branches) and his bowls are in the inside and with a cage so small, I bet he ends up pooping into them all the time. You need to get him housed right asap. I give you credit for the cleanliness of it, though. It's impeccable!

[RoyH]

hey guys,

that's the cage, i thought it was suitable for him :'(
i will definitely change the perches to make him comfy. And i ll change the cage if it was inadequate also...
the only thing i fear is when i let him out, he start flying and doesn't know how to land properly:/ ending up with some broken feathers... it makes me sad and i don't wanna clip his flight feathers... but still, i do let him out and fly around.

[Wolf]

To be honest with you, Roy, this bird needs to be in what is referred to as a flight cage. I don't know why they are called this because only the smallest of birds can fly in them and then just barely. This is the smallest cage that is suitable for a cockatiel :
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=22937
Basically the way that you come up with the smallest suitable size of cage is that it needs to be twice the wingspan of the bird in width. A bird that is 12 inches long has a wingspan of 24 inches, twice that is 48 inches. The cage needs to stand at least to your eye level and at least 20 to 24 inches deep. This provides you with the minimum sized cage and anything larger is better.
The cage that he is in is suitable for a travel cage or maybe even a sleep cage, but not for one that he must spend any amount of time in during the day.
As for time out of the cage an average of at least 4 hours per day is recommended, the more time out of his cage that he has the more confident he will become and his flight as well as his landing will improve drastically. At least one of these 4 hours should be with you and the bird interacting directly with each other such as training or climbing and perching on you.
If I can be of further assistance please feel free to ask. Please be sure to read this topic, it has important information for you. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=13748

[liz]

A flighted bird has developed the muscles that it requires to be healthy. Rambo can't fly so I have to work with him to build his muscles. Myrtle was kept in a small cage for a year before I got her. She had always been clipped. Flying was new to her but the more practice she got the better she did. She loves to fly. If someone is standing in the door way she want through she just turns sideways to fit the opening.

[Pajarita]

I know you did not mean to keep him in a small cage, Roy. The truth of the matter is that we used to keep birds in miserably tiny cages until not too long ago when we started realizing that the poor animals need much more room to feel comfortable and that most of captivity stress comes from the housing and environment we keep them under. But there is A LOT of people who still think that as long as the bird has room to perch and move around, the cage is suitable. And the bird product industry doesn't help by continuing to make small cages and sell them as adequate. You are in the same position as lots and lots and lots of other people who went to a store, read on the label that this cage or that other one is good for a cockatiel and was further reassured by the sales person that the cage will do just fine (they also tell you that feeding them seeds will work out). We all went through that, my dear. Thankfully, we all had somebody open our eyes and we learned. And that's what we are doing now to you.