We've found a friend for Rocky! :D

[thesilversakura]

I can't help but tell you all, I'm so excited....

There's a lady putting her 2 year old grey male cockatiel up for sale due to a family allergic reaction, about an hour away from where we live. Apparently he's a real sweetie, semi tame due to the lady spending a lot of time with him and is used to her hand, is chirpy and very inquisitive which is a good sign. He comes with his cage, which is FAR too small (I'd even use it as a travel cage if I had to, about half the size of Rocky's current one which I hate haha), but he'll be in a nice big flight cage with Rocky eventually, if all goes well. Don't know if he's clipped, I sure hope not, but it's not the end of the world. I'd much prefer rehoming a bird this time around, instead of buying from a breeder. The number of Greys being put up for sale where we live is ridiculous...we'd take one in if we had the money.

We're sending a text this evening, so fingers crossed. I'm so happy

[liz]

Remember to quarantine. I suggest keeping him in a room where he can hear the other. It will be like new friends talking on the phone before they meet. Cockatiels are so much fun. Their instinct is to add to their flock. When they hear another Cockatiel they call it to join in.

[Wolf]

Well, how did it go? Are you going to go see him and maybe bring him home? If you do, please remember to quarantine him for the protection of Rocky. ok?
Oh, one more thing would love pictures.

[thesilversakura]

Will do - quarantine is a nightmare because you want all the birds to be together right away, any addition to the flock is exciting...but it has to be done.

Apparently she 'tried letting him out' and he appeared to not know how to fly - he's been clipped, poor boy. I explained what clipping is since she appeared to not know, and said that letting him out as long as the room is bird proof and he is supervised he should be fine since he'll appreciate the freedom, exploring and spending time with her. I feel so sorry for him, being kept in that tiny cage. I would only put a canary in it I once saw an advert with two tiels being kept in a cage that size....I wonder how people do it, I really do.

The problem is, he lives an hour away and we'd have trouble affording the diesel just to secure the deposit and go see him. My mother wants to bring him home immediately, but the only free rooms in the house are the living room, and the kitchen which is just below Rocky so I don't know if that would be safe (we have a strong extractor fan and don't use non stick pans). We're also moving on the 2nd and didn't want to get him before that so we didn't stress him out. We could possibly make it work if we got him now, and we're desperate...but it will probably be unfair on him.

We're waiting on a reply today, the only one we got was last night, but it was lengthy and detailed and said she thought we were the best home for him so I'm not overly worried. The photos on the website are adorable, as soon as I get on my computer I'll see if I can post them for you all.

[Wolf]

Well if the living room is suitable and you keep him confined while the kitchen is in use then even with moving it might be better to bring him home right away than to leave him where he is. Another possibility would be if you have a friend that could help you out with a place for him to stay during the quarantine period or at least until your move is over, someone that is close by so that you can still spend time with him. Personally I would bring him home with me and put him in the living room or in a bedroom, any place with a window that is not the kitchen.
I don't know how it is where you live, but here gasoline is cheaper than diesel fuel so my vehicles are gas powered. Also both are major polluters the gasoline with the greenhouse and other gasses and the diesel with particulates which increase smog, they are just different pollutants.

[thesilversakura]

We're definitely thinking about bringing him home sooner rather than later. We can make a high up area for his cage in the living room - we don't have a big cage as of yet, but we will be buying it. Will he be more comfortable in his old home for a few days or is it better to get him into a big one as soon as possible? Here's the little man:





There was another one with a full view of the cage, but she's taken the ad down and I didn't save it. You can still just about see how small it is in there...she's phoning us tonight to have a chat and discuss the deposit, taking him home, etc. I'd ideally like to get the big cage, and a bigger travel cage before we get him (Rocky was an okay size, but you have to allow for wingspan and he messed up his tail feathers in it), but I'm so desperate to take him home and let him out. All I could see in his feed bowls is seed too, and the wooden dowels as perches are a real shame....*twitches* makes me realise how much I've learned since joining the forum

Here's more of his story; she's only had him since last Friday, apparently she took him off the hands of a man who spoke very little English as she felt she could give him a better home, and couldn't get much info out of him. He comes with his original papers too, but due to an allergic reaction in the family she cannot keep him. I can't wait to take him home and work with him, he looks like a sweetheart.

Since my mother and I moved into our own house away from my father, we've had to use the giant Chevrolet we used to drive (my mother ran a dog boarding business) and it literally gulps diesel. We're in the process of selling it and getting a small car that sips petrol/gasoline, we just don't have the money anymore. Makes travelling a nightmare, so we have to plan ahead money wise. The things you do for birds eh

[Pajarita]

Awww, what a beautiful boy! I hope you do get him! And, please, let us know as soon as possible how things are going.

[thesilversakura]

I'm like a bat, listening for the phone and waiting for my mother to pick up

What do you all think of this cage for the two boys if all goes well eventually? We're expecting them to get on very well, so a nice big flight cage is what we're looking for: http://ebay.eu/1Goxfpp - I'm hoping that's big enough, I didn't want to get a parrot cage that's tall and slim like most of them are, I want as much usable space as possible.

What's the protocol for introducing birds to one another, namely Peach and Rocky? They've seen each other through open doors a few times but never come close of course. Peach really wasn't bothered after an initial look and doesn't respond to his loud calls at all, which surprised me - she's very noise sensitive as most parrotlets are, any rustling she goes nuts over, and hearing or seeing other birds on YouTube, she actually tries to eat the screen haha. I suppose it's because she's never seen or heard a cockatiel before, she was raised with her own kind and some big parrots in the room but that's about it. When they're in the same room, do we let them get used to each other in the cage for a few days, let them out separately and give them attention, then let them out together and watch carefully? I'm more worried for Rocky than I am Peach, even though she's half the size she will not mess around if she doesn't like him

[liz]

Just keep moving the cages closer together. Let one out to play then the other. If you really stay on top of it you can let them out the same time. Don't blink, it can happen that fast.

[Wolf]

I would not put a parrotlet in the same cage with a cockatiel. first there is the difference which means that a bite from the cockatiel could really injure the parrotlet. Then there is the fact that parrotlets are much more aggressive than a cockatiel and so it is very likely that Peaches will push the cockatiel into a corner and into a situation where the cockatiel has no choice but to try to defend himself from her. Either one could get injured by the other and I know that parrotlets are not known for liking other species of birds and they are fearless. I would not put a parrotlet in a cage with any other bird unless it is as a mate for it and you must make the introductions slowly.