Please can i have the good, bad and ugly

[Stitchthestitch]

Of owning a teil!

We have decided on adding one to our flock !!!! Wont be till later this year or early next year bit i need to learn !

What do i need to know and expect ?

 

[LaManuka]

Of owning a teil!

We have decided on adding one to our flock !!!! Wont be till later this year or early next year bit i need to learn !

What do i need to know and expect ?

My 'tiel Fang was once a flock mate with a GCC - they didn't hate each other but they weren't crazy about each other either. The GCC, Baci, was very much "my" bird, whereas Fang was and still is very much happy to accept affection and attention from both hubby and me. 'Tiels in general are lot less nippy than GCCs can be, but in my experience they can get a bit single-minded, in that once they get it into their head to chew on/land on/repeat a call or song over and over and over (and over and over and over) again, it can be difficult to redirect them. Nothing can ever be guaranteed, but having said that, I do think overall that 'tiels are a pretty good choice in a situation like yours.

 

[Stitchthestitch]

My 'tiel Fang was once a flock mate with a GCC - they didn't hate each other but they weren't crazy about each other either. The GCC, Baci, was very much "my" bird, whereas Fang was and still is very much happy to accept affection and attention from both hubby and me. 'Tiels in general are lot less nippy than GCCs can be, but in my experience they can get a bit single-minded, in that once they get it into their head to chew on/land on/repeat a call or song over and over and over (and over and over and over) again, it can be difficult to redirect them. Nothing can ever be guaranteed, but having said that, I do think overall that 'tiels are a pretty good choice in a situation like yours.

Thank you

Can i feed my new addition the same as Albie ? Shes on fresh chop , tropican pellets and fruit, seed mix as a treat ?

Are teils easily socialised with new people who want to interact with him/her ? I cant trust albie as she will bite ?

 

[LaManuka]

Thank you

Can i feed my new addition the same as Albie ? Shes on fresh chop , tropican pellets and fruit, seed mix as a treat ?

Are teils easily socialised with new people who want to interact with him/her ? I cant trust albie as she will bite ?

Yeah, 'tiels are pretty easy going with new people, both of mine LOVE visitors! And I used to feed Fang and Baci the same pellet mix, and Fang (and Jem) still gets seeds quite a few times a week, often as bribery, so no troubles there either

 

[Stitchthestitch]

Yeah, 'tiels are pretty easy going with new people, both of mine LOVE visitors! And I used to feed Fang and Baci the same pellet mix, and Fang (and Jem) still gets seeds quite a few times a week, often as bribery, so no troubles there either

Thats fantastic news thanks

 

[LaManuka]

Thats fantastic news thanks

You're most welcome, I hope other 'tiel/GCC combo parronts, like maybe @zERo, will weigh in for you too!

 

[Stitchthestitch]

I hope so as i want to be as prepared as possible so i can start off on the right foot

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

I have conures and tiels! Tiels are messier in my opinion, with the extra dust and they just seem to poop everywhere. My conures cage and toys all looks like it's brand new but my tiels destroy everything within five minutes of me cleaning. Tiels are a lot more laid back than conures though and like to chill most of the day, unlike conures who are always busy. I find my tiels like to shred things more and actually play with most of the toys I get them, but they like my company less.

 

[texsize]

The ugly.
NIGHT FRIGHTS
They aren’t just for nighttime anymore.
My Tiels freak out at any time of day and for nothing we mer humans can detect.
They can and do injure themselves flapping around in their cages for no reason.

That’s my #1 complaint with cockatiels.

The good.
They can be friendly and I find their chirping plesent compared to a lot of the screaming from my other bigger birds.

 

[Stitchthestitch]

I have conures and tiels! Tiels are messier in my opinion, with the extra dust and they just seem to poop everywhere. My conures cage and toys all looks like it's brand new but my tiels destroy everything within five minutes of me cleaning. Tiels are a lot more laid back than conures though and like to chill most of the day, unlike conures who are always busy. I find my tiels like to shred things more and actually play with most of the toys I get them, but they like my company less.

They are messier than a conure ? I mean ...Albie is pretty dang messy. I cleaned her cage out today and 5 minutes later it looks as though ive left it a week 🙃

The poop isnt much of an issue as we have mounds of wet wipes in every room.

Albie is definitely a shredder ..... her favorite is my hand written dnd notes .... card toys are definitely her favorite, she doesn't really chew wooden ones unless its the coffee table and shes gone off chewing that recently.

 

[Stitchthestitch]

The ugly.
NIGHT FRIGHTS
They aren’t just for nighttime anymore.
My Tiels freak out at any time of day and for nothing we mer humans can detect.
They can and do injure themselves flapping around in their cages for no reason.

That’s my #1 complaint with cockatiels.

The good.
They can be I find their chirping plesent compared to a lot of the screaming from my other bigger birds.

How do i mitigate frights ?

And is it like when albie had a couple of frights last year where she was so panicked she was throwing herself around her cage and i had to pull her out to calm her so she wouldnt hurt herself ? That was scary and upsetting seeing her so upset and distressed like that.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

They are messier than a conure ? I mean ...Albie is pretty dang messy. I cleaned her cage out today and 5 minutes later it looks as though ive left it a week 🙃

The poop isnt much of an issue as we have mounds of wet wipes in every room.

Albie is definitely a shredder ..... her favorite is my hand written dnd notes .... card toys are definitely her favorite, she doesn't really chew wooden ones unless its the coffee table and shes gone off chewing that recently.

All birds are messy. I just bought birdie bistro hulled millet for my budgie mix to cut back on shell debris. I hope they like it. Can't imagine why not.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

How do i mitigate frights ?

And is it like when albie had a couple of frights last year where she was so panicked she was throwing herself around her cage and i had to pull her out to calm her so she wouldnt hurt herself ? That was scary and upsetting seeing her so upset and distressed like that.

Don't completely cover the cage at night with a dark cloth. They panic when they wake up to a noise and cant see because it's very dark and they can't see what the noise is. I drape a small fleece blanket over the top 1/4 of the cage for security without blackening their cage. I also leave a dim nightlight in the room.

 

[Stitchthestitch]

Don't completely cover the cage at night with a dark cloth. They panic when they wake up to a noise and cant see because it's very dark and they can't see what the noise is. I drape a small fleece blanket over the top 1/4 of the cage for security without blackening their cage. I also leave a dim nightlight in the room.

Thats pretty much what i do with Albie , she likes 3 sides if her sleep cage to be covered with the front left uncovered so she can see us.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Thats pretty much what i do with Albie , she likes 3 sides if her sleep cage to be covered with the front left uncovered so she can see us.

I had a budgie that had a terrible night fright involving a rodent and he trashed around so hard he fractured his wing (a bleeding open fracture)! My avian vet in LA (one of the best nationwide) set it best he could on a budgie without killing him, but he was never able to extend his wing again and was disabled for the next 8 years of his 13 year life.

 

[Stitchthestitch]

I had a budgie that had a terrible night fright involving a rodent and he trashed around so hard he fractured his wing (a bleeding open fracture)! My avian vet in LA (one of the best nationwide) set it best he could on a budgie without killing him, but he was never able to extend his wing again and was disabled for the next 8 years of his 13 year life.

Oh gosh im sorry to hear that

 

[zERo]

Lots of good information has been given on tiels here!

I don’t really have much to add. My tiels don’t socialize with Tom my green cheek, they don’t love how energetic and overwhelming he is 😅

Diet is the same except the tiels get double the seed ration daily.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Oh gosh im sorry to hear that

Thanks. Charlie lead a good, long life despite his injury and disability.
I tell his story to emphasize how seriously a bird can be injured in a night fright.

 

[texsize]

How do i mitigate frights ?

And is it like when albie had a couple of frights last year where she was so panicked she was throwing herself around her cage and i had to pull her out to calm her so she wouldnt hurt herself ? That was scary and upsetting seeing her so upset and distressed like that.

Ya, that sounds about right.
mast of the time it takes us 20/30 seconds to get to them.
BY that time they usually have calmed down but we have to inspect their wings for damage/bleeding.
If I knew what was triggering it I sure would try to reduce the problem.
And often times if one bird gets spooked it triggers a chain reaction with the other birds.
I will say not all my Tiels are like this.
Baby (had him more than 20 years) is not prone to this.
Lucky, Baby’s long time partner (recently passed on) was not like that either.

 

[Stitchthestitch]

Thanks. Charlie lead a good, long life despite his injury and disability.
I tell his story to emphasize how seriously a bird can be injured in a night fright.

I appreciate the warning