Cockatiel Personalities :: got any stories?!

[MFajardo86]

Hey y’all :: so i now have 3 Tiels :: a Pied Male named Lemon, a Pearl Male named Rusty, and a white face cinnamon pearl female who I named Pearl. They all have such distinct little personalities.

Lemon - very stoic and cautious not a big eater. Loves to fly
Pearl - very dainty and intuitive - everything gets nibbled including my top lip lol
Rusty - he’s like a str8 dude in his underwear on the couch 😂 he makes a mess when he eats and has food all over his beak , is lazy , and just looks at you like what r u looking at ?!

What are your tiels personalities like?

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I’ve got one tiel- the only tiel I’ve ever had (I’ve had 2 budgies in the past, and have one currently) and hoo boy was he quite the shocker! I was used to tiny, light, skittish birds who enjoyed hanging around me passively.

Rico is: big (even for a tiel), heavy, bold, and insists on hanging out with me (which I enjoy just as much as passively hanging around). Quite the 360 from the timid boys I had.

But, Rico’s personality has changed so much over the year and 3/4ths I’ve had him.

Currently, he is best described as: elegant, a fancy-pants, sweet, bold, short-lived temper tantrums, forgiving, a total crackhead, a boundary setter and enforcer, witty, and sneaky.

I cannot count how many times this little gremlin has hidden from me and stayed radio silent while I ripped up my room looking for him. My room looks like you used a chainsaw on a rainbow, so you’d THINK finding a gray and white bird would be EASIER than a blue or green or yellow budgie, right?

Anyway, here’s a pic of my little gremlin:

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

Redshift, my oldest tiel boy at 22, is easily manipulated but isn't afraid to show his displeasure. He nips if displeased, but he mostly squeals and fake lunge bites for show rather than out of malice. He's a bit of a loner yet wants to/ would love to get along with everyone.

Chara and Moon are the new birds. Chara is one, Moon is 2. Moon is bold. He's the first to try out new foods, loves to inspect new birds but hates trusting people off the bat. Chara is calmer and much less bitey. She's devoted to Moon, her mate, and Moon is devoted to her. They're quite cute together, LOL!

 

[Free as a bird]

I have a male named Shifty and another named Rocky which I'm unsure of its sex.

They're both very well behaved, neither of them bite but they like to play fight, especially Shifty which is the most bossy. He demands my attention and starts whistling loud at me as soon as my car arrives from work.

Rocky is a bit more chill but loves shoulder surfing and scratches as well.

Shifty drops his head and demands to be massaged around his face and neck

 

[Fluffonia]

In the past I had two lutino cockatiel.
Female: Mango- Is lazy, quiet and shy. A really messy eater, she loves head scratches and would sit with me for like, three or four hours while I work!
Male: Onyx- Is adventurous, outgoing and well, loves to sing. He’s a picky eater. (Thank Mango Mango isn’t!) He loves Head scratches too! He was always looking for adventure!

 

[MFajardo86]

Hey y’all :: so i now have 3 Tiels :: a Pied Male named Lemon, a Pearl Male named Rusty, and a white face cinnamon pearl female who I named Pearl. They all have such distinct little personalities.

Lemon - very stoic and cautious not a big eater. Loves to fly
Pearl - very dainty and intuitive - everything gets nibbled including my top lip lol
Rusty - he’s like a str8 dude in his underwear on the couch 😂 he makes a mess when he eats and has food all over his beak , is lazy , and just looks at you like what r u looking at ?!

What are your tiels personalities like?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I had a male cockatiel named Charlie that was the easiest bird ever! He was hand raised and newly weaned when I got him at a bird store and he had the greatest disposition. He loved everyone, never bit, whistled tunes and said "Charlie Boy"! He would be the perfect bird for someone who is nervous about beaks and bites. I realize that not all cockatiels are as trouble free as Charlie was, but I would recommend someone getting a hand raised male 'tiel and give him the proper care and attention he needs for the best chances at getting the "perfect" pet bird.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

Here are my two cockatiels! Malibu is the pearled one and Volkan is the normal cockatiel.

Malibu was one of my first birds and was hand reared, though she was terrified of people since she was clipped and the place where I got her from wasn't very good. She screamed when they grabbed her to sell her to me and they weren't very gentle at all. She had no confidence because she was clipped and tried to fly all the time but would just crash constantly. It took over a year for her feathers to come through, but during that time she kept breaking new feathers and I'd have blood splattered everywhere due to it. I used to be able to pick her up when she couldn't fly but she doesn't like it now and prefers the flocks company to mine. She's also the only bird I have that has made me bleed, the rest have never broken skin but she bit me really hard when I first got her

Volkan is a rescue/ rehome. He was brought by someone my dad knew for their son but then he went to college and they said they didn't have time to look after him so he just sat in the cage all day long and wasn't let out. He was three when I got him and hadn't seen other birds much before so he had to learn how to be a bird. I strongly suspect he was hand reared as he loves people and my birds are unsure of him as he doesn't do bird things properly. He doesn't know how to preen, he doesn't like flying and my conure, Tequila, liked him at first but now she doesn't because he doesn't communicate the right way for a bird. He's really sweet though and can wolf whistle, says "hey baby", can sing the iphone ringtone and makes loads of other sounds. He also loves sitting on my head, and jumping into my coffee

 

[Free as a bird]

Here are my two cockatiels! Malibu is the pearled one and Volkan is the normal cockatiel.

Malibu was one of my first birds and was hand reared, though she was terrified of people since she was clipped and the place where I got her from wasn't very good. She screamed when they grabbed her to sell her to me and they weren't very gentle at all. She had no confidence because she was clipped and tried to fly all the time but would just crash constantly. It took over a year for her feathers to come through, but during that time she kept breaking new feathers and I'd have blood splattered everywhere due to it. I used to be able to pick her up when she couldn't fly but she doesn't like it now and prefers the flocks company to mine. She's also the only bird I have that has made me bleed, the rest have never broken skin but she bit me really hard when I first got her

Volkan is a rescue/ rehome. He was brought by someone my dad knew for their son but then he went to college and they said they didn't have time to look after him so he just sat in the cage all day long and wasn't let out. He was three when I got him and hadn't seen other birds much before so he had to learn how to be a bird. I strongly suspect he was hand reared as he loves people and my birds are unsure of him as he doesn't do bird things properly. He doesn't know how to preen, he doesn't like flying and my conure, Tequila, liked him at first but now she doesn't because he doesn't communicate the right way for a bird. He's really sweet though and can wolf whistle, says "hey baby", can sing the iphone ringtone and makes loads of other sounds. He also loves sitting on my head, and jumping into my coffee

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I hope that coffee isn't too hot.
Great pictures and interesting to read how the "human bird" has trouble associating with the flock.

My two tiels don't like each other much and both prefer my company

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

I hope that coffee isn't too hot.
Great pictures and interesting to read how the "human bird" has trouble associating with the flock.

My two tiels don't like each other much and both prefer my company

I don't like it too hot so it's usually fine when he jumps in, he also likes perching on the side of it and pretending to drink it (he never actually drinks it, it's almost like he's just copying me) Malibu has taught him a lot, though she's taken about a year to warm up to him. He's definitely in love with her though and has to be able to see her at all times or he screams. Even when he's with me, she has to be nearby.

You're so lucky that yours prefer your company and let you scratch them! None of mine let me stroke them!

 

[Free as a bird]

I don't like it too hot so it's usually fine when he jumps in, he also likes perching on the side of it and pretending to drink it (he never actually drinks it, it's almost like he's just copying me) Malibu has taught him a lot, though she's taken about a year to warm up to him. He's definitely in love with her though and has to be able to see her at all times or he screams. Even when he's with me, she has to be nearby.

You're so lucky that yours prefer your company and let you scratch them! None of mine let me stroke them!

Mine are both hand reared.

I got one from a bird shop. They had a cage full of them. One of them kept following me up along the cage. I told the keeper to pull him out. He perched on my hand and accepted my head scratch so I bought it.

I bought the other a few months later to keep the other one company while I'm at work. This was from a private seller. They had 4 of them. I picked the 2 i liked to and tried to give one a head scratch but it bit me. The other one didn't like the head scratch but didn't bite me so I go it. It now loves head scratches too.

Neither bird has ever bitten me but like to play fight and while they don't like each other much and bicker a lot they never bite each other either. Can't complain really their little angels

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I hope that coffee isn't too hot.
Great pictures and interesting to read how the "human bird" has trouble associating with the flock.

My two tiels don't like each other much and both prefer my company

I agree that It sounds like Volkan was hand raised and not socialized with other birds to have such a positive reaction to people and not really know how to relate to other birds. He's lucky you rescued him at three.

 

[TenthDoctor34]

My last baby now , hes called Dipsey. He is probably around 20 and is a gremlin but I love him. He can be cute and cuddly one second and bite the next, he also doesn't like it if stop petting him because he will bite then. He didn't like sharing attention when had my other babies alive. Had him from a little baby tiel and he also has obsessions with yellow cloths. In past he wont let me have the cloth back. His favourite thing to do is sing the same tunes louder and louder right in my ears. IN short hes a brat hahah.

.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

My last baby now , hes called Dipsey. He is probably around 20 and is a gremlin but I love him. He can be cute and cuddly one second and bite the next, he also doesn't like it if stop petting him because he will bite then. He didn't like sharing attention when had my other babies alive. Had him from a little baby tiel and he also has obsessions with yellow cloths. In past he wont let me have the cloth back. His favourite thing to do is sing the same tunes louder and louder right in my ears. IN short hes a brat hahah.

View attachment 54392.

He's so cute!

 

[Free as a bird]

My last baby now , hes called Dipsey. He is probably around 20 and is a gremlin but I love him. He can be cute and cuddly one second and bite the next, he also doesn't like it if stop petting him because he will bite then. He didn't like sharing attention when had my other babies alive. Had him from a little baby tiel and he also has obsessions with yellow cloths. In past he wont let me have the cloth back. His favourite thing to do is sing the same tunes louder and louder right in my ears. IN short hes a brat hahah.

View attachment 54392.

Haha tiels can have such cheeky characteristics. Bird people must be the most forgiving people on the planet. Our birds bite us, poo everywhere, scream into our ears, make a mess, make demands and we still forgive these little souls... 🥰

 

[TenthDoctor34]

Haha tiels can have such cheeky characteristics. Bird people must be the most forgiving people on the planet. Our birds bite us, poo everywhere, scream into our ears, make a mess, make demands and we still forgive these little souls... 🥰

Haha yeah they do all my babies been different lol. Which the fun of it. Dipsey made me bleed over the years but always forgiven lol. He bit my grandma when he was young as he wanted her earrings lol she hasn't trusted him since o.o