Suitable Cockatiel Cage Size

[SlaveToAParrot]

I had seen that thread (lurker here) My situation is... I have a Senegal, I have zero reaction to him at all so I didn't think the Cockatiel would be an issue at all for me. I happily took their bird because I know if I were to ever rehome my Senegal(which won't happen at all) that the first people I'd ask is someone in my family, someone I know who I trust that knows a lot of about bird care.

I was fine with her for the first month, I did sneeze several times when I had her out of her cage to fly for awhile. No other symptoms and it didn't phase me very much then. However over time as I continued to handle her in my room and let her fly. My sneezing gradually increased and I was feeling like my asthma was returning a little. Again, it didn't bother me very much until just this past couple of weeks. I'm not entirely sure if it's solely the Cockatiel since I am allergic to mold and our house possibly has mold in it, but I do know the powder dust the Cockatiel produces since she is in a heavy molt right now. It really aggravates my lungs. I haven't had any allergy issues like this for a long time... I'm allergic to cats, dogs, horses, mold and dust. I am not getting any runny nose, itchy eyes, it is more of a asthmatic breathing issue with me mainly.

Regardless of what the allergy source is... I have been vacuuming as much as possible, but I haven't really been 'wiping things' down. I wash my hands frequently as well. It mostly started to bother me when she stopped bathing herself and began molting(mid August). I had taken an allergy med for it to see if it would help at all and I had an allergy to the allergy med I took, so I am kind of recovering from that.. and afraid to try anything else at the moment =_= However my original allergy seemed to morph into something else and I think I am actually really sick right now which I am going to see the Dr about to see what it is...

This is where I feel really horrible because I haven't been able to allow her out of her cage much due to me not feeling well and the likely possibility that I am really allergic to her. Given the fact she is still in that small cage that I need to upgrade to a larger one makes me feel worse. One of the reasons my relatives gave her up was because they didn't feel they had enough time for her anymore. I feel bad that I am feeling like this right now and I feel bad that she has been living in a small cage at the same time. I wanted to help improve her situation, but my health seems to have declined since having her here.

Having said that, I Swiffer dusted the areas she had been in in our house earlier today and immediately felt my breathing improve(still feel awful like I have an infection going on right now though). So, I will be making sure to wipe areas after I let her out. I'm going to try to get a hold of an air purifier to see if it helps any and hopefully feel better soon from whatever I have going on right now with myself. I would like to keep her with me and train her. She is such a sweet friendly bird(I was told she's very territorial and bites, but they weren't reading her body language very well). I've got a lot of money to spend on her it seems, air purifier, cage and she still needs to go for a check-up which I'm hoping to do very soon. Still cage hunting despite how I'm feeling about all of this.

[marie83]

How tame is the 'tiel? I wonder if you could train her to run a damp face cloth over her back before you let her out....... Well I don't see why it wouldn't be possible but it will probably take some time, particuarly if the 'tiel isn't really touch tame.

[Grey_Moon]

The key here will be baths, everyday and as soaking to the skin as you can manage. I notice a huge difference in both my breathing (not allergic but maybe asthmatic) and my partner's (asthmatic and allergic to many things including we think now my grey) when Jacko gets a daily bath versus when its only 1-2 a week.
Leave the windows open/invest in a really good HEPA air purifier---don't skimp here as bird dust will *destroy* anything not large enough/good quality enough. Like clog it up and get in the machinery parts even with daily vacuuming.
If there's carpeting/curtains in the room take them out---they collect dust.
If money isn't a problem you can look into those allergy shots that can resolve your issues.

Even if she's not terribly tame either take her into the shower or spray her down. I know its not the best thing to do especially not to a bird who may/may not like showers---but its better than being rehomed again.

[SlaveToAParrot]

I feel much better when I have my ceiling fan going and the windows open as much as possible(I don't have her in the room when the fan is going). I do have a carpet in my room where I let her out of her cage to fly - it's not completely covering my floor, but while she is out I have no air flow going on... I have been covering my bed with a large bed sheet when I let her out.

As soon as her out time is over, I have to air the room out and have multiple fans going to feel somewhat better. Money is pretty tight right now so I'm trying to do as much as I can. I'm willing to put the cage hunting on hold to get a good quality air purifier for the time being if it comes down to that(which may be more than likely happening at this point).

Birdie is tame enough to allow you to help her with her feathers and prefers to be on your shoulders when she is out of her cage, but she will not allow me to pick her up. She won't step up on my hand either. She just makes a few noises and flies away from you - she is a VERY good flyer too. I don't know how she is with showers or toweling. When my relatives brought her to me, they just kind of reached into the carrier, picked her up and placed her in the cage. She didn't seem too happy with it at all. I've been going slow with having her used to me handling her, but the farthest I got was having my hand near her back to pick her up that way. I haven't been successful with actually picking her up yet though. She hisses a lot, but hasn't bit me at all. Mostly nips/pecks at my hand but that's as far as that goes. Surprisingly, she will go back inside her cage when very willingly. Despite her being afraid of her own toys and stuff, she is quite curious about her surroundings.

It is just her dust is the only issue with me at the moment and she hasn't wanted to bath very much for awhile now. I've been trying to not be forceful with her about anything if I can help it since we were making good progress with the taming and bonding prior to my allergy acting up on me.