Introducing a second cockatiel- need advice

[Eric&Rebecca]

Hi everyone,

Edmund is going to be looking for a buddy soon to keep him company in his new ENORMOUS cage! I just have a few questions and a request for help for anyone in the UK.

The first thing is- We spend a lot of time with Edmund every day and I've heard rumours that even if you spend time training with both cockatiels they become defensive and untamed. (I know I've asked this question before but it would be helpful to hear from cockie owners who have done this)

The second thing- To get a hand reared cockatiel we would have to get one at around 4 months old. I wanted to rescue one but unfortunately in the UK there are not many bird rescue centres (there is one in Wales and Scotland but we are in London! I am thinking stressful for bird to be travelling that far!). We have looked on websites but a lot of them are just as young. The reason we want to get an older one is because we want to be sure that it is a male to avoid unwanted breeding. Although me and Eric can usually pick out a male from their behaviour I know you can never be sure. Is there anyone in the UK who knows a place that we could try for this? A breeder near London or reasonable travelling distance for the bird who would DNA sex their tiels? Our previous tiel Sally laid eggs her whole life and eventually died because of this (even though she was a single lady) and I couldn't bear for that to happen to another tiel, we tried everything to help her (dummy eggs, letting her realise the eggs wouldnt hatch, vet checks, excluding toys etc) in the end she just got too ill.

The third thing- How long should we quarantine the new bird? The new bird would of course get a vet check but I know its precautionary to do this anyway.

The fourth thing- How have you introduced a new tiel to your existing one?

[pennyandrocky]

why hand-reared? parent raised are heathier look up the problems hand raising causes. my is a feather chewer so when i looked up the causes to try to find a way to fix it one of the known causes was taking away from parents to soon to hand raise. you'll want a seperate cage to bond with the new if they have eachother to bond with they have no use for you. once you have the bond with the 2nd you can cage them together if they like eachother, there's no guarentee just because they're both that they will want to share a cage. introduce them in a neutral space away from toys and food parrots can be possesive with things that belong to them.

[marie83]

I've never lost any tameness when introducing 'tiels but they have all had seperate cages so that may be influencing that part.

The minimum quarentine period you should do is 30 days, your best bet is to use a room that is furthest away from where your original 'tiel is kept. This isn't always practical but definitely go as far away as you can realistically manage and keep doors shut to minimise air exchange.

I would suggest putting a seperate container of food, dishes etc in the quarantine room to avoid having to traipse back and forth through where your first bird is kept if possible.

Also handle/clean/feed your original 'tiel first and use seperate clothes for the quarantine room and wash hands thoroughly. Its alot of messing about but its totally worth it given that alot of parrot diseases cannot be cured or are difficult to diagnose/treat.

The quarantine period will also give you a head start on building a bond with your new 'tiel before it is introduced to your existing one but that will depend on how quickly your bird settles in, you may have the full month to start buillding that bond or it may take the full month for the bird to settle down adequately to start the taming/training process. You can always extend the quarantine period a bit if the latter is an issue to give you more time but thats your call really.

When your ready to introduce them to each other then keep the cages as far away from each other in the room as practical and gradually move them closer together. I must admit, I never bothered with the introducing slowly part out of sheer ignorance when I was younger and I never had any problems but I think that was sheer luck. I would always always introduce gradually now but how you progress with it will absolutely depend on the charecters of the birds.

[Eric&Rebecca]

We had hand raised because at the time because that's how he came- he chose us and he happened to be hand reared so it wasn't a conscious choice. We thought it best to have another hand reared because that's how Eddie was raised and I thought his familiarity with humans might make him difficult to pair with one that wasn't and perhaps Eddie would lose his tameness (even though we work/play with him daily for hours and would do the same with new bird)- if that's not the case I will gladly stand corrected. I would be happy to have hand raised, parent raised, rescue or new providing its healthy and a male. Colour and things don't bother us providing we have a happy healthy pair of male birds that at least have the chance of getting on.

Also the vet said Eddie is one of the healthiest cockatiels she has ever seen (including her own) but parent raised birds may be better in health to start with but it's not always possible to find them in the UK. If there is somewhere you can recommend (if you're in the UK) that would be reasonable travelling distance from East London for the bird I will happily give it a visit. There is a place we can go that offer only hand reared but we then have the problem that they would be 4 months old and unable to distinguish gender 100%. I wouldn't want to end up with a breeding pair.

I understand that it's not guaranteed and we have the provision to keep them separate forever more if that's the case but we just want to give Eddie the chance of having some birdie company as well as human company.
Thanks to Marie again for the advice and experience

[Eric&Rebecca]

I've never lost any tameness when introducing 'tiels but they have all had seperate cages so that may be influencing that part.

The minimum quarentine period you should do is 30 days, your best bet is to use a room that is furthest away from where your original 'tiel is kept. This isn't always practical but definitely go as far away as you can realistically manage and keep doors shut to minimise air exchange.

I would suggest putting a seperate container of food, dishes etc in the quarantine room to avoid having to traipse back and forth through where your first bird is kept if possible.

Also handle/clean/feed your original 'tiel first and use seperate clothes for the quarantine room and wash hands thoroughly. Its alot of messing about but its totally worth it given that alot of parrot diseases cannot be cured or are difficult to diagnose/treat.

The quarantine period will also give you a head start on building a bond with your new 'tiel before it is introduced to your existing one but that will depend on how quickly your bird settles in, you may have the full month to start buillding that bond or it may take the full month for the bird to settle down adequately to start the taming/training process. You can always extend the quarantine period a bit if the latter is an issue to give you more time but thats your call really.

When your ready to introduce them to each other then keep the cages as far away from each other in the room as practical and gradually move them closer together. I must admit, I never bothered with the introducing slowly part out of sheer ignorance when I was younger and I never had any problems but I think that was sheer luck. I would always always introduce gradually now but how you progress with it will absolutely depend on the charecters of the birds.

Thanks for this Marie, and the messing around with that is not a problem. If it's what best it's what is best and that's the end of it!

[friend2parrots]

i think its great that Eddie's going to get a buddy

We thought it best to have another hand reared because that's how Eddie was raised and I thought his familiarity with humans might make him difficult to pair with one that wasn't

actually, if you get a parent-raised bird, it is MORE likely that Eddie and the new bird will get along together, and become "buddies" : Eddie will recognize the "tiel" in him, and the new bird will have the requisite "bird-skills" to foster a bond between them. As sweet and cuddly as handraised parrots are, the handraising procedure has done them a disservice, because it makes them imprinted on humans. so what they desire most is to be with humans, and arent always interested in other birds. thus, a handraised tiel is likely to ignore Eddie, and rather, strive for your attention instead. this may jeapordize any bird-friendship between them. If you get a handraised tiel, the likely scenario you will have on your hands are TWO birds who now would like your undivided attention. because the handraised bird will be more interested in you than Eddie. so i would advise, if you would like Eddie to really enjoy maximum benefits of a bird-buddy to keep him company when youre not there, to get him a parent raised. the additional "birdness" that the two of them will exhibit is actually good for them, and means that they are more psychologically healthy. if you go with parentraised, you can still establish good obedience behavior in the second bird, to manage its movements, etc, and work over time to establish a bond. but what a parent raised bird will offer you from the beginning is priceless: it will know from the moment it meets Eddie, how to behave in a manner that is conducive to establishing bird-rapport. hence, their bird-friendship will be MORE likely.

also wanted to mention that there are a number of other Australian bird species that have similar dispositions to cockatiels that you may want to look into, that have fantastic "aviary" skills - in other words, they are naturally suited for communal environments. the Bourke parakeet is one that is usually known for getting along with cockatiels. so in addition to cockatiels, you may want to look into a parent raised Bourke or other Australian grass parakeet. The Princess parakeet is a gorgeous and lovely-tempered bird (a tad bit bigger than the cockatiel) that also has great bird-skills.

all the best - i'm looking forward to hearing more about Eddie's new buddy!

[Eric&Rebecca]

Thank you so much that's brilliant advice!

[friend2parrots]

oh, i forgot to mention something about tameness, which you had expressed concern about -

Eddie will NOT lose his tameness, and his friendliness/trainability with you, just because this new bird comes into his life. all you would have to do is continue interacting with him the way you have been all this time, with quality one-on-one time. and there's great potential for the new parentraised bird to become just as tame as Eddie, it will just take a tad bit longer than it would have taken with a handfed bird - but its very much worth that slightly extra time. cuz you'll end up with two birds that are beautifully tame, and like your company, and like each others company as well. all the best

[liz]

While in quarentine you will hear the birds calling back and forth to each other. I have found that these little flockers will accept any new one.

If the new one is wild it will learn from the other that you are okay. They really do learn from each other.

[Eric&Rebecca]

Thank you so much guys. We are going to look at a male whiteface this weekend but will be looking around a few breeders and bird places we trust. I will keep everyone updated