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I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby ParrotsForLife » Tue May 02, 2017 10:30 am

Pajarita wrote:It's not that they get sick, it's that they cannot breathe so well on their backs. I think it has to do with the fact that their lungs are so different from mammals... theirs are rigid (ours flexible), they have no diaphragm to bellow them (they use the flight muscles for it) and are much larger than ours (they take up 1/5 of their body cavity while ours are only 1/20). If the bird is OK with it, it's OK for a few seconds but it's not something that should be done for long periods of time or often. It's kind of like with horses laying down for too long and getting reperfusion from it. Nature made it so horses and birds even sleep on their feet (meaning an upright body) so changing the rules that evolution set for a species doesn't work well (you don't fool around with mother Nature).

I never put her on her back myself well I don't touch her at all actually but what about Parrots that sleep on their back?
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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby Pajarita » Tue May 02, 2017 10:34 am

Adult parrots never sleep on their back. Some conures feed on their back when they are babies and some like to play while on their backs when they are young (like caiques) but they all sleep perching in an upright position.
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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby ParrotsForLife » Tue May 02, 2017 10:42 am

Ive seen adult conures sleeping on their back in those dangerous cuddle huts
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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby Trick or 'Tiel » Tue May 02, 2017 11:34 am

Those cuddle huts are TERRIBLE never ever buy them! Birds DIE because of people buying those things and putting them in the cage, then by the time they learn they are dangerous, their birds already are attached to them and use them a lot. The people then say that the birds would be sad if they take it out, but a bird that misses a favorite toy is better than a dead bird!!
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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby Pajarita » Wed May 03, 2017 9:31 am

It depends on the actual material of the hut and the species of bird. Quakers and sun conures are fine with them as long as they are not made out of 'fleecy' material. I have to get one for Pablo because with his bad feet and only one wing, it's hard for him to perch on a grate or a stick...
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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby Trick or 'Tiel » Wed May 03, 2017 4:48 pm

Actually, you don't have to get a cuddle hut for Pablo. They make wooden platform perches that allow birds to stand with their feet flat. Now I'm not saying that all huts are dangerous, but really do be careful to select the right material, if you still decide to get one.
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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby Pajarita » Thu May 04, 2017 9:17 am

Well, the hut is meant not only to provide him with a flat surface (I do have platforms in his cage as well as flat perches) but also to make him feel safer so as to reduce chronic stress. Handicapped birds feel VERY vulnerable all the time (nature never gave them a way of coping emotionally with a handicap because, in the wild, a handicapped bird would not last at all) and often don't want other birds except their mates around them so the little hut would allow him to 'hide' if he wants to. They make huts out of canvas but I might also consider one made out of a grass mat - only I don't know how long it will last in one piece because, most likely, they'll chew it in a day or so :lol:
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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby Trick or 'Tiel » Thu May 04, 2017 1:47 pm

Oh, I totally understand that. I would think that handicapped and clipped birds feel vulnerable all the time, because they aren't able to escape danger. The hut made out of a grass mat sounds like a really great idea! I'm sure Pablo will love chewing it up :D
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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby liz » Thu May 04, 2017 8:14 pm

I put platforms near their favorite perches so Gimpy can be included in the flock. He can't stand at all. The one leg he does have is twisted and he can only use his foot to grasp. He can't stand or climb. I was so happy when his wings grew back and he took flight.
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Re: I Met a Cockatiel at a Store, Are They Good Pets?

Postby Pajarita » Fri May 05, 2017 10:21 am

Well, you see, Liz, that is the problem with Pablo: he can't fly (only one wing) and he can't perch properly, either (very bad feet) so the poor thing has very limited movement AND to put the icing on the cake, his balance is real bad. I have to wait for my husband's next paycheck because we've been having a lot of extra expenses lately (and now I will have to have the dog that was abandoned in my house neutered and vaccinated so he can be adopted out) but I am going to be getting him a smaller cage because putting him in the big one was a mistake (he is looking worse than ever, his feathers all broken and raggedy). I am also going to have to take him to the vet because he lost a bit of weight (I swear, I don't know how that bird is still alive!).
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