|
Hi bird crazies, I'm finally getting a proper apartment for myself in a few weeks, and since I've been wanting to get a bird for a long while I think now should be the time. I'm just not sure what to get. I've mostly considered a cockatiel, but looking through local classifieds I also see various other, larger parrots looking very tempting and adorable. How much care do other parrots typically require compared? We had a budgie when I was a little kid, and thinking back he honestly must have had a terrible life. He was confined to his cage most of the few years he lived, and I remember him often being scared and aggressive. I want to make that good again. By the way, reading the OP there are a bunch of bad links. Here's some of them fixed: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/pet-parrots/wing-clipping The petinsurance.com Teflon poisoning page seems gone http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-diet-and-health/bird-emergency-care/burn-treatment.aspx http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1829&aid=2752
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2015 21:22
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 04:48 |
|
|
I'm usually home most of the day. At the new place, work will be literally around the corner, so out for 8 hours a day. Never overtime. Then there will of course be vacations and other outings. How do cockatiels typically deal with being alone most of a weekend?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2015 21:45
|
|
|
I visited a pet store today to see theirs birds for sale. They had 3 cockatiels, of those one was sitting on a perch, the other two on the floor. All of them were very still, the one on the perch drew a bit away when I got closer to their cage. The perched one also seemed to be trembling a bit. Their budgies also were similarly silent and inactive, though most of them were perched. One cage had two budgies by themselves, both sitting on the floor. Am I right in thinking I should avoid purchasing a bird there? Or are there other things to look for/ask about?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 28, 2015 15:19
|
|
|
I'm 95% ready to get a cockatiel, but one thing that just struck me is, bird-proofing electronics with upwards-turned grates and holes? How necessary is that?
|
|
#
¿
Jun 10, 2015 16:56
|
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:Is that for protection against poo, or nibbling? Mostly protection against poo. I know potty training is a thing, but it isn't something that works from day one. I can protect and hide loose cables, but grates on top of electronic stuff could catch all sorts of poo poo, literally. Especially on e.g. my stereo amp which gets comfortably warm, I could imagine a bird would like sitting on/near it. I guess I'm mostly wondering if it's actually a real problem others have or if I'm over thinking it.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 10, 2015 20:19
|
|
|
Look who just moved in! She (the breeder thinks it's a lady) is extremely frightened right now, however, not being used to being alone in a small-ish cage. I don't think it's safe to let her out just yet, especially since I have several windows without any curtains. She also can't quite move around the cage, and is shuffling around the floor  I think the found an okay spot to sit right now... on top of the little bowl of veggies I had placed in there.I'm not entirely sure what to do. Sit/stand nearby and try to interact? Stay away for a while and let her calm down? Perhaps even cover the cage for a while? E: 25 minutes later 
nielsm fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Jun 26, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jun 26, 2015 18:06
|
|
|
Pion, which shall be the name of my bird*, still seems very confused, but perhaps a bit less frightened. Sorry about the cage, I wouldn't be able to fit anything larger. She's discovered the seeds that spilled onto the floor earlier, when a poorly placed dispenser fell. She still hasn't really tried using either water bowl, except for accidentally stepping into them. She was sitting the same place on the same perch all night, and has barely explored the others at all. Now she's mostly sitting on the floor again, and even though she does scramble up onto a perch once in a while, soon ditches it again. I'm a bit worried. I tried playing some flute to her, she is responding, and seems to be okay with it.  *) Name may or may not be an anime reference. nielsm fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Jun 27, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jun 27, 2015 07:09
|
|
|
Pion discovered my bowl of orange/jalapeno/seed mix! It makes me so happy to see her eating something not from the floor.  Yep, things are gradually turning out fine. It's been a good day.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 27, 2015 19:02
|
|
|
This morning Pion seemed to sneeze several times in a row, and afterwards begin scramble around and squeak in a way I haven't seen before, with seemingly no provocation. It's probably nothing but I can't help to be worried. It also seemed to stop after she found the food again. She's had a bald spot on her back head since I got her, but with some growing feathers which seem to slowly be opening now. Could it be related to that?
|
|
#
¿
Jul 2, 2015 07:27
|
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:Sounds normal, sometimes they can get really furious at the world because they can't stop sneezing or yawning and it's hilarious to watch Yep everything was fine and normal when I got back home. Said bald spot:  She can see the entire living room. Also those little eyelashes  
|
|
#
¿
Jul 2, 2015 15:26
|
|
|
This stupid  .Unable to find the water bowl if hanged from the side of the cage. However placed 5 cm below on the cage bottom happily hops over and takes a drink. Sits right in the middle of the food bowl, despite being able to balance on the edge. Result is poop in the food, and massive amounts pushed out onto the cage bottom. Also re. smell, not sure about that, but they definitely have some idea of taste. Why else be such a picky eater?
|
|
#
¿
Jul 3, 2015 17:08
|
|
|
Dual-bird action glasses!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 4, 2015 08:39
|
|
|
Update: Potato-Pion will absolutely not leave my shoulder. Attempts to have her step over to the food, water and bath I have prepared are met with mixed feelings and confusion.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 4, 2015 09:30
|
|
|
Wanted to make some (unsalted) popcorn for myself and Pion. I have never failed popping corn this badly before. They burnt so bad I had to put her back into the cage, so I could open every single window wide up. Instead, have a seed. 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 4, 2015 11:34
|
|
|
 Pion smacked into a curtain while flying about.  Clearly got a bruise and knocked some feathers/down off. I put her back into the cage right away. She's still moving about, eating and occasionally squeaking, but I really have no idea how serious it is. She won't let me touch her face so I can't remove the loose feather. nielsm fucked around with this message at 09:42 on Jul 5, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jul 5, 2015 09:39
|
|
|
Tendai posted:How's she doing? The bruise on the cere is at least getting less red, probably developing some scar tissue, and I haven't noticed any particular changes in behavior. So I think everything is going to be fine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL7Q2xJnhw0
|
|
#
¿
Jul 5, 2015 16:05
|
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:Awww. You can carry her around and up to the mirrors and windows, show her them, get her to touch them with her beak so she recognises them and that they're not passable for future. Sometimes it seems like no sooner has the last one been wiped off, that Steve flies into a mirror and leaves a new wing or face imprint. I should perhaps try that. She's flown into that curtain several times already, in the three times I've had her out of the cage so far. Really, it's a white curtain lit by the morning sun, so basically a glowing wall. I guess birds are attracted to that? Or maybe she's just noticed that I pull down the curtain and knows there's supposed to be nature past it. (There's a hedge of elderberry just across, which just so happens to be poisonous to parrots. Even the more reason to not attempt flying out.) Something else, bathing. It seems Pion hates getting wet feet, always hurrying out whenever accidentally stepping in a water bowl. I've tried the water spray too, and it just seems to confuse her. No bathing-like behavior. Am I doing something wrong?
|
|
#
¿
Jul 5, 2015 20:04
|
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:Is there something on, near, or behind the curtain? Does she want to land on it and just keeps loving up maybe? Try putting something on it or over it to give her a better way of judging distance and letting her know exactly how far she is from hitting it, like those bird stickers on windows. Y'know that's probably it, it's a plain, white curtain with no features at all. I'll try getting some iron-on stickers or something for it.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 5, 2015 20:47
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx0H3-O43Mc Tried getting a bell toy for Pion. Clearly, trying to disassemble it is more fun than just ringing it.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 7, 2015 18:57
|
|
|
Pion has been learning flight control incredibly fast. It looked very uncontrolled and random when I let her out first a little less than a week ago. Now she has no trouble landing on targets (especially the curtain tracks and my head), making circles, and do controlled short flights/wing-assisted jumps both outside and inside the cage. On the other hand she just won't stop chewing on everything. For introducing foods it's great, but when various metal objects and cloth keep being targets too, I get worried. Also, I didn't get a picture of it, but today we ate an apple together   Battle Pigeon posted:Playing in the background can work, but then it might also just become background noise and uninteresting to them. 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 9, 2015 18:19
|
|
|
When Pion is chewing on my clothes, constantly, is that trying to eat it, destroy it, or meaning to preen me? Because at this rate the most expensive part of keeping bird is going to be new clothes.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 10, 2015 14:55
|
|
|
Tendai posted:Is bird, can't fix. Then how about the curtains? Those are apparently also delicious 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 10, 2015 15:12
|
|
|
Apple is the bestest thing! Now to see if I can abuse i to get her to hate belly and cheek petting a little less.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 10, 2015 18:40
|
|
|
Shirec posted:My friend is messaging me about a budgie in a tree at his apartment complex. He's trying to coax it down so he can rescue it. They have a cockatiel so they have supplies, etc and I have a spare cage. No idea if it'd work, but millet on a stick to keep it occupied, while someone else catches it with a towel?
|
|
#
¿
Jul 10, 2015 18:50
|
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:Try it for the Japanese characters on the cockatiel page! It doesn't seem quite right, somehow... 阿亀鸚哥, okame-inko Something like "housewife parrot" or "flat turtle parrot", but honestly I think the character used for "o" is just for its sound and not meaning in any way, and the "kame" (turtle) part is also questionable.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 14, 2015 17:31
|
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:No, I meant where it says Japanese: オカメインコ, try putting the individual characters in like Tendai mentioned doing before, each on a separate line, and look what Google says the results are- That spells the same word as 阿亀鸚哥, just in katakana instead.6 iT'D MAKE MORE SENSE TO PASTE THOSE FOUR IN, ONE BY ONE. bTW. SORRY ABOUT CAPS, pION THOUGHT i SHOULD TURN IT ON.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 14, 2015 17:56
|
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:And unlike Pion I don't know Japanese so just used what was on the page Blue-fore-painted parrot. Quite boring.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 14, 2015 18:31
|
|
|
CROWS EVERYWHERE posted:Enjoying some tasty cooked parrot I read wrong for a second there 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 15, 2015 05:58
|
|
|
Pion has gone from 92 grams to 99 grams in two weeks or so. I'm honestly not entirely sure about her (not sexed) age but somewhere around 2 months. Is there reason to be worried? As far as I understand, 100 grams is in the upper end of the normal weight range.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 20, 2015 16:51
|
|
|
Khizan posted:Um. To help me keep all the cockatiels here straight, I'm afraid I am going to need to see extra cockatiel pictures. For science. Yes. For science. 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 24, 2015 11:31
|
|
|
Griffball posted:So today I brought home my first parrot breed, a cockatiel. He seems very unsure of his surroundings so for the night I have him covered up, but he doesn't seem to be eating or drinking anything, is this normal? He seems well tamed, and used to people as he has no trouble going on a persons finger, in fact that's how I managed to get him into his new cage, no aggressiveness but he did want to try to fly off after too long staying still. How long should I be giving him before I try to get him used to my hand using treats? That sounds the same as my experience. Initially just make sure there's food and water easily available. He'll find and use them eventually. Make sure to spend a lot of time near the cage, talking to the bird, maybe sing or play an instrument a bit if you can. The important part is getting him used to your company without being scary. Two days after getting Pion home, I was able to slowly start hand-feeding her some millet, and a week later I could take her out of the cage and she's sit on my head, shoulder, hands etc. Things I did which you probably shouldn't: I kept rearranging the cage at first. That might have scared Pion more than necessary. Just make sure you have a perch high up for sleeping on, and that pooping from the perches won't contaminate the food and water. Toys can wait a few days.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 26, 2015 11:17
|
|
|
Cockatiels aren't supposed to be panting after 1-2 minutes of uninterrupted flight, are they? 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 26, 2015 12:25
|
|
|
Griffball posted:I was assuming my tiel was old enough to have been in a store (a fairly good local one), but he seems very clumsy, how old would he need to be to be able to get around his cage fairly well? Now that he has found the food thats where he has sat most of today, getting up to a perch takes much skwawking and wing flapping and I'm worried he's liable to hurt himself. He'll probably need to spend several days to get used to the size of the cage. Also, if he's never had proper open space to fly in before I don't think he'll be able to use his wings very well. Again my own experience: Pion was extremely clumsy with getting around the cage at first, but after a few days got used to climbing the bars efficiently. Only after being let out and trying to fly in the living room did she learn how to properly use her wings for controlled jumps etc., and quickly became much more graceful in moving around inside the cage. And that's for a bird who was raised in an aviary, although not a terribly large one.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 27, 2015 06:11
|
|
|
Pion has been having brown poop the last 3 days, instead of the usual green. The large one right after waking up seems to have more normal colors, however: Partially brown, partially green. I don't think I have changed anything particular about her diet. Edit: Okay, a little reading tells me it might not really be a problem. Might just be her eating more of the pellets in the feed mix I'm using. The shape, composition and consistency all seem normal. nielsm fucked around with this message at 13:06 on Jul 28, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jul 28, 2015 12:55
|
|
|
Pion Cage 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 29, 2015 17:15
|
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:Exactly the same cage as Steve's, we got it in grey since Inko has black already. That twig ball toy is something I was looking at the other day so that's actually a perfect way to show how large it is. Does the bath not fall off? Also get some more non-dowel perches in there-put a rope perch at the top somewhere and watch her fall asleep on it The top perch is a rope one, the one with screw mount. I actually don't know how well the bath is fastened. Pion never tries to enter it, I think she thinks water will burn her feet off or something. (She always avoids stepping into any sort of water.) I've also got a half coconut toy and a swing, both are currently hanging from the ceiling in the room, but I switch them in and out once in a while. I really want to get some good natural branches for the cage, and perhaps something I can mount on the outside to make it easier to land by the doors and climb in/out.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 29, 2015 18:24
|
|
|
I just discovered Pion's lower beak is misshapen... there seems to be a hole in the bottom of it. I can't really get a photo of it since she hates me touching around the cheeks and beak, and it's mostly covered by feathers. Going to contact a vet to get an idea how serious it is.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 30, 2015 17:36
|
|
|
SaNChEzZ posted:
Hmm, yes, it is something like that. nielsm fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Jul 30, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jul 30, 2015 18:11
|
|
|
nielsm posted:Cage Just did a cleaning and some remodeling. 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 31, 2015 14:53
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 04:48 |
|
|
Battle Pigeon posted:I took photos of the beak hole so you'd have a comparison, using Steve for similarity hmm yes that sounds like a good excuse Thanks, Pion's beakhole looks about the same. The pot, I guess there isn't much point to it now. Previously I used to place a tiny plate of food on it, but with half of the food getting pushed out and PIon wading all over it, it made too much of a mess. I think she did enjoy eating from it though. I forgot to place it before snapping the photo, but right now I'm using it as seat for a plush toy, for chewing.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 31, 2015 15:28
|
|
