My new cockatile

[era1]

I bought a new cockatile yesterday.its 4-5 weeks old, but i can't say its male or female,and he bite me an bite caze ,his leg,what does it means,and how i could stop it.he try to fly away from me when i take out of his caze.what should i do now.

 

[weco]

Four to five weeks old, he is just a fledgling and probably has not been socialized yet and is afraid of you. You will need to be patient, talk with him and let him get used to you before you can expect him to quit biting you.

Unless he is injured or has an illness, he should quit biting his feet. For some birds to do this, it is like you & me biting/chewing on our fingernails.

Do you have a veterinarian near you that sees birds? If your 'tiel keeps chewing his legs, you may need to take him to the vet doctor.

Congratulations on your new bird & welcome to the forum.....

 

[era1]

Thanks for your reply,yesterday he was not biting his leg but today he has started.and is it male or female how i can understand. thanks again.

 

[MikeyTN]

Is he cleaning or severely biting at his legs? They do clean them you know! Males will start singing right around 3-4 months old. Female can chirp but nothing like a male! Like weco says, he just needs to be socialized, he is still young so start socializing right now!

 

[era1]

he bite his caze too sometimes .and he bites his toy.By the way i can take him into my hand but when he comes out he fly away.

 

[MikeyTN]

They test their beak when they're young. Yes they bite their toys, that's what they are there for! It's nothing unusual!

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Congrats of your new cockatiel! It is adorable! 4-5 weeks, that's very young. It is pretty normal for parrot that bite (or nip) at this stage, they are learning to use their beak, and sometimes they can use it a bit hard. Tell him/her to be gentle.

Is it hand raised and tame?

 

[MikeyTN]

I just want to add, IF he was handfed, the breeder should train him well to begin with, but sometimes with new owners they need to get re-adjusted. NEVER roughhousing with them if they don't know you, take your time and be patient. Last month when a family came over and get one of my baby tiels her daughter was roughhousing with my baby and it got the baby irritated and the baby started mouthing off at her and she started complaining going she's nothing like the one we've had blah blah blah. I told her to stop numerous times until I took my baby from her and said I've told him countless times don't do that with her, she does not know you and she will mouth off at you. I held her and rub her on her head and back and held her close to show them as she did not mouth off at me, I said it's because I raised her and she knows me. Needless to say I did not let them have the baby nor will I keep them for future reference, they were recommended by a good friend and I had to tell my friend how they were at my house and I wasn't happy. So just be patient with your new baby and he will come around.

 

[MonicaMc]

One - that looks like an improper size/type of cage. I don't know where you are located, but are there bigger/better cages available? Something square or rectangle and larger?

Two - those are the incorrect type of perches. Are there any stores around you that sell natural wood perches and rope perches? Wooden dowels and plastic perches are not good for their feet.

Three - I don't see any toys. Again, I don't know where you are located, but are there any stores near you that sell a variety of toys ranging from toys that make noise to toys that can be destroyed? Preferably toys without mirrors. If you lack those resources, can you make safe toys for him or her?



Sex is unknown, and I can't even tell without knowing the parents genetics and even then I might not be able to tell, but I'd lean towards female.

She is probably afraid of you and you haven't given her a reason to trust you yet. Don't force her out of her cage until she trusts you. You can start gaining her trust by feeding her food by hand. If you have access to millet, you can use that! I'll provide some videos to show you what I mean, although you should start feeding from inside the cage.



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUx81WHTUwk]1 Bird in hand Leads to Many - YouTube[/ame]


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSm4uFZzVU]More Budgies!!!! - YouTube[/ame]



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9w9w8nMRmw]Hesitant Faye - YouTube[/ame]


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH9ZWxhCSAE]Not So Hesitant Faye - YouTube[/ame]

 

[MikeyTN]

Monica, I couldn't even tell what kind of cage it is by looking from the top, it's looks like a dome top. But I can't make accusation without seeing the whole picture. As far as I can see he is in a very small swing that's more made for a parakeet or a finch. I do hope the poster don't have him in a small parakeet or finch cage.

Poster, would you mind to post the whole picture of the cage?

 

[MonicaMc]

If you enlarge the image, you can see the base of the cage, that is, where the wire sits on top of plastic.

The cage may be wide enough, but it's not designed well, IMO, for birds. It's round, small and appears to have narrowing bars at the top of the cage (aka "/\" shaped)

 

[MikeyTN]

I do see what your saying, but give the poster a chance to post the whole cage picture.

 

[era1]

here is the full caze

 

[era1]

did lot of research,but still not clear about he is male/female.

 

[LoveMyParrots]

The cage is too small for your cockatiel! That's a cage made for finches and canaries!

Can you afford a bigger cage? A cage should double your parrots wingspan, so you'll be looking at cages that is at lease two times bigger than the cage you have now. Your parrot should at lease open it's wing up in the cage without any of the feathers touching the cage.

And your cockatiel will need lots of toys, 3 the minimum, right now it has none! But the problem is that since the cage is so small, it would be very hard to put toys in there. So I suggest you get a much bigger cage.

Personally, I would ignore any cage that is under $50 for a cockatiel, something like $80+ is more like it.

Also, your cockatiel will need lots of different perches to keep its feet healthy. Rope, wood, cement, natural branches, etc.

Here's a great cage to look at, it's very good for the price.
80018 HQ Play Top Parrot Cage for Small Birds 18x18 - Presented by My Bird Cage

 

[era1]

update...and going to buy new caze next week.

 

[MarciaLove]

thank goodness! that cage is waaay too small it should be double the birds wingspan! and high too. As for perches natural wood smooth and rough, rope perches, and a perch that has like gritty stuff only on the sides to file the beak and nails. Any kinds of bird safe toys and lots!!! It takes time to get a new bird adjusted let it get used to your home for a couple days and then let him/her out of the cage to play you can get his/her wings clipped by an avian vet or someone at a petstore with wing clipping experience. Wing clipping will calm the bird down and help him/her bond to you. You will probably get bit A LOT just ignore it and it will eventually stop. Also 4-5 weeks is very young and it may not be weaned yet! make sure your bird is gaining weight and eating drinking regularly.

 

[MonicaMc]

update...and going to buy new caze next week.

Glad to hear it! I hope you are able to find a suitable cage for your new companion! A cage with a larger door may make your tiel feel more comfortable going in and out of it.

I don't agree with the wing clipping and biting information given. Young birds will explore a lot with their beaks, so just make sure they have something other than your flesh to explore with! And teach them "easy" or "gentle". Clipping? Not required if your bird enjoys spending time with you and will fly to you for interaction!

Nice photo! Thanks for sharing!

 

[era1]

Now he wants to stay outside ,he sits my shoulder for long time.And if i don't want to let him sit into my shoulder he flies to fan and sit over there ,is it normal?

 

[LoveMyParrots]

It's great to hear that he likes you now! That's pretty normal, parrots feels safe when they are up high.