by twilamarie2003 » Wed May 02, 2012 5:19 pm
This is not a question about parrots, but bird related none the less.... We have 4 parakeets, two males and two females. This flock has a ginormous cage that they share. We also have 1 cockatiel, about 2 years old, who has his own cage. The cockatiel was supposed to be a mate to a female, but the female didn't like him. So the previous owners sold him to us. We have had him now for about 9 months or so. He has always been a bit cranky, but I attribute that to the fact that he had a mate (he was housed with the female cockatiel and a parakeet with his previous owner)and bird friends and was then taken away from them. He got hurt shortly after we got him while flailing around his cage during the night and couldn't be handled for a couple of weeks while he healed up. This made him even more cranky. He plays with nothing and doesn't move around in his cage much. He likes his bell and a string of silver beads. That is about it. He is my son's bird and likes him just fine. He tolerates a few of the family members as well. He loves mirrors, he sings and whistles and talks when around mirrors, but he gets very aggressive when around them. So we had to take his mirror away from him. He gets along fine with our parakeets. When they are out of their cages, they are out together, and don't seem to mind one another...other than the cockatiel is hisses a bit when they try to get too close to him. I wonder how much of the crankiness is that he is lonely for a friend of his own kind or just his nature. Their cages sit next to each other and that hasn't made a difference in his temperment. We have debated getting him a friend but don't quite know. I have also wondered about putting the cockatiel in with the parakeets. What do you think about this? Do you think it is a good idea to put the cockatiel in with the parakeets or do you think getting him a cockatiel friend might be better for him? Or is he just an ornery bird that isn't very active and that is just what we get....Thoughts...suggestions?