Story of an old cockatiel

Tate

New member
Aug 24, 2013
28
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NSW, Australia
Parrots
Pippa-Cockatiel, Yoshi-Eclectus
Hi all, new here. i have a few questions to ask about my cockatiel Pippa, but first want to share the whole story oh how we got to where are are so you can better understand it all. Hope you dont mind the extremely long novel im about to write :p

My parents bought me Pippa (he's a male, didnt know this when naming him :)) when i was 8, he was handreared and very tame always rushing to the side of his cage for a scritch on the head when anyway walked past.
Unfortunatly i was never really allowed to take him out of his cage, maybe once or twice i cant remember well (this was 18 years ago), so i never got to play with him much.
About 6 months later my parents bought another one so he could have a friend. We named it Charlie and well she turned out to be female so we had our names backwards lol. They then built a small aviary in the front yard for them and thats where our relationship with them started to take a turn.

They received less and less attention from us over the years, i would go in to feed and change their water daily and chat with them for a while but that was really all. They went wild, became very aggressive at any hands that invaded their personal space. They became the opposite of the cute little cuddlebugs young me had loved as pets. i was jealous all all the kids who had 'cool' pets (cats and dogs) that they could play with while all i could do with mine was look at them. as i didn't know anyone else with cuddly pet birds (small town) i grew up to believe that that sort of relationship couldn't exist. Just recently ive come to realise i couldnt have been more wrong.

As wild as they were, Pippa and Charlie had a good life together, they bonded really well together and we had 6 babies from them that we successfully handraised.

Pippa always was and still is a great talker. his best lines are 'pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pippa, gorgeous bird pippa, im a treasure, you're a real sweety, whatcha doing ey', as well as wolf whistles and a little tune my mum taught him, and alot of random jumbles of words we havent been able to work out.
Charlie hated when he talked and it was always fun to watch her trying to get as far away from pippa when he was trying to sing to her, and he would just follow her around, much to her disgust :D

Charlie never talked but she was still a real sweety, loved having the hose on the aviary, hanging upside down fanning out her wings to enjoy the shower (pippa would be hiding somewhere else), and was a massive guts, would eat anything put in front of her, and sadly i think this may have been her downfall.
Charlie fell ill earlier this year, possibly from something she ate, and by the time my mum realised something was seriously wrong it was too late. The vet was called out but when trying to tend to her she passed from the stress of human contact :(.

Even though they were both my birds, when i moved out of home some 5 years ago, mum continued looked after them in their aviary. Shortly after Charlie passed, my parents went on a 5 month holiday, so i brought Pippa home to live with me for that 5 months, and in that time he has become the much loved 'child' of my household (myself and my housemate, who is a little afraid of him).
No one can touch him, his fear of hands is very strong, and he gets extremely aggressive when they are in or around the sides of his cage. But socially he very much wants to be a part of any conversation going on around him, we have great little chats when i get ready for work in the morning, often wolf whistling back and forth amongst other chatter. whenever im having a conversation with my housemate he always has to put in his 5 cents :), and if we are trying to watch a movie, of course he feels the need to start singing or wolf whistling as LOUD as he possibly can to be heard over the tv (bless his little soul). Even now as i type we are chatting back and forth

I never let him out of his cage as i was afraid of how he'd react and worried i wouldn't be able to get him back in because of how aggressive he can be but as the weeks wore on and we became closer and i realised just how much i love my little featherball, aggression and all, i became determined to see if there were ways i could improve his life, and also decided i wanted another, bigger bird, one i could raise from a young age to be a lifetime companion.
im currently on a waiting list for an eclectus, but wont be bringing him home for another 4-5 months or so (not sure if he's even hatched yet), but thats another story.

Now ill get down to the questions. In the past couple of months ive been doing a TON of research into eclectus and raising/training parrots in general, and have come to learn so much and also realise myself and my family have been doing alot wrong by Pippa, as none of us really knew much at the time we first got him or Charlie, and never looked up anything in all these years, and from our ignorance he's missed out on so much and i feel really horrible, but im determined to fix up everything i can to ensure his remaining years are the best they can be (he's 18 this year i think, not sure how long they live in captivity but im amazed he's done so well with all im about to follow with).

So their entire lives out birds have been fed a seed only diet, the general cockatiel seed mix we'd buy from our local produce store. very rarely were they offered anything else, the occasional fruit, which only Charlie would really take too, and thats about it. Only recently have i come to learn i should be offering all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables, and pellets (i didnt even know pellets existed until 2 months ago) as well as seed, and in smaller amounts.
How Do i go about introducing this better diet to him, and in what amounts is recommended each daily. he doesnt take well to new foods so i know it will take him a few days, maybe weeks before he'd actually want to eat something new so i cant just go cold turkey with the seed.

Next is his cage. Im going to be ordering in a new cage hopefully tomorrow. His current cage is really not acceptable at all. its really old and dodgy with wide bars that he can easily fit his head through and im not even sure what its made from but its probably not safe. The door is really tiny (about 20cm high), im not sure the entire cage is an acceptable size for a cockatiel, probably the smallest anyone would want for one, so i'll be getting something alot bigger.
I had a big fright coming home from work the other day to find Pippa sitting on the back of my couch and his cage door still locked closed, after a brief inspection found one of the bars on top of the cage became caught on the handle and pulled back making a gap about 3-4cms wide, i have no idea how he managed to squeeze his way through it but its the only place he would have been able to get out. so definately need to invest in a safer cage.

and onto toys. He's never had toys, ever.. In the aviary it wasn't a big deal as he had Charlie and alot more room and things to climb around/chew on. His perches are all small branches from gum trees found in the bushes around where i live, and he loves to chew/shred the ones that have the flakier bark on them.
What kind of toys would he enjoy? it'd probably take him a good while to get used to anything new being in his cage, he doesnt take well to change.
someone in the family recommended giving him a mirror when we first transferred him out of the aviary into the cage to keep him company since he became rather lonely after losing Charlie, so he has a little one in the corner. Been reading alot on how this is not recommended as it can be confusing and can show aggression towards the reflection, however this hasnt been the case with Pippa. at first he was afraid of it and wouldnt go near it but after a day or 2 its become his best friend. he sleeps next to his mirror, loves to talk to his mirror. on occasion he will look at it then attack it for about 2 seconds, then usually starts talking to it right after.
Should i still remove it?
He discovered the big mirror i have on a wall in my lounge room on one time out of his cage, and sat in front of it fro a good 2hrs, first half hr was chatting and singing to it, doing his best to impress himself, then sat there in silent companionship for the next hr or 2. once he did try to fly into it though. If mirrors are bad for his health then i want to remove them but at the moment its his only companion, especially when no one is home and i feel bad taking that away from him.
All he does when he's not talking/eating/chewing perches is sit around sit around or sleep. i want to be able to provide him with things to keep him busy and not bored :(

I considered getting another cockatiel but im not sure how that would go seeing as he's 18 and id be bringing in a very young bird. its still something i may do down the track but probably not something ill seriously consider until next year, and until i get Pippa's needs fully met he's my first priority.

I also intend to get Pippa checked over by a vet soonish just to guage his general health, he's probably lacking alot of vitamins and things diet related. i dont think he's ever been vet checked in his life, and if im brigning another bird home i want to make sure both are 100% healthy before they are in the same room together.

Sorry for the massive post, its alot longer than i thought it would be :eek: and i have probably missed a few things too, but i wanted to share the whole story, and hope you guys can help me achieve the life my little guy deserves as he really is such a wonderful bundle of feathers with a huge personality.
 
Welcome, thank you for sharing your tiels story! I'm excited that your working so hard to changer his life.

Many birds don't realize how to use toys, so it's our job to be creative and offer many different types that may perk their interest.

Something my galah LOVES, and your tiel may also enjoy, is eucalyptus twigs and branches. Just make sure not to overwhelm his cage with it. Also paper is often very popular with parrots :)
 
You can offer sliced up, fresh veggies and fruit daily. Someone else here may have a web link for safe fruits and veggies for parrots.

Spring mix, carrots, broccoli, strawberries & blueberries are a few healthy choices. If you mix some slices of granny-smith apple with the veggies, then maybe Pippa will be more likely to try the new delicacies. Just offer a fresh bowl daily. It may take some time before he will try them. Keep offering him his regular seeds for now and millett can be a good treat for him.

Others here will be able to recommend healthy brands of seeds and pellets and adequate ratios for these foods. I give my conures Higgins Safflower Gold and Zu-Preem pellets and fresh veggies and fruit daily. They drink spring water not tap and their water is changed 1-2 times a day.

Pippa is a lucky bird to have you! Do you have any photos of him to share with us?
 
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I think the best thing you could have ever done for him so far is having him in that outside aviary!!!! Exercise can do a whole lot of good for birds, especially those on a crappy diet!

18 years, he's doing pretty darn good! They have the potential to reach 35/36 years in age, but not many make it to 25. I know my oldest cockatiel (at least, I think he's the oldest!) is over 15 years in age, but I suspect that he could be in his 20's.

Perhaps this post may help give you some ideas on getting him to eat better?
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/23367-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html


Toys... anything! You wont know until you try! Try leather, beads, yucca, bottle brush, soft pine, foraging toys, shiny toys, etc! You may want to try plain/undyed toys first before the bright colored ones?

Mirrors? Definitely don't recommend! I've seen one cockatiel so attached to his mirror that he wouldn't budge away from it... except to eat and drink. Otherwise, his entire day was spent next to it. What made the situation even sadder is the fact that this tiel hadn't had a bath in who knows how many years, and his mirror was just as grimy as he was. To feel a cockatiels feathers and have them feeling grimy is just horrendous... and that tiel only had his "mirror friend" to occupy his time with. "Some" time spent in front of mirrors may be ok, but it should not be a long term thing. Parrots don't often know that they are looking at their reflection and that's the problem. In fact, if they become too attached to their mirror buddy, they may no longer know how to properly interact with another bird.



Definitely get a blood panel at the vets office! This will tell you how healthy he is in a general sense! 18 years of life with seed, and he may have some organ failure and definitely could be low on vitamins and minerals!


I am very happy that you are interested in changing his life! I would suggest asking the a-vet what a recommended diet for him would be after you get the blood work back.




Until then, I think you may enjoy a few videos! :)


The first is Sunshine, a previously hand raised cockatiel that was handraised but then forgotten. When she first came to me she had no interest in human interaction.... that is, until she watched me hand feed budgies by hand for several weeks... and then she started following me around... and I couldn't figure out why until I offered her food!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q88bN30qOjo]Sunshine in the Morning - YouTube[/ame]



Next is Faye. She has had at least 3 homes prior to mine, history unknown but sweet bird, if not for her shy behavior. She learned quickly from Sunshine and this video really shows how uncomfortable she was with me... and yet how much she *wanted* it, too!

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


Faye is actually one of my quirky tiels. She came to me eating wild bird seed. Not wanting to starve her to death, I kept her on seeds until I introduced her to the rest of the flock. She made a b-line for the pellet dish, and has eaten a varied diet ever since! If you notice in the first video, I was feeding her seeds. This one is pellets!

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





And this one showcases two other tiels... most notably Pistachio - Sunshine's father. He's a very skittish bird and has a tendency to take flight whenever he feels threatened. Imagine my surprise when he grew comfortable enough to fly to me of his own accord! (and he's the one that is 15+ years old)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjKmHswgiHs]Cockatiel Feeding - April 24th - YouTube[/ame]



Casey is 12 years old, my very first cockatiel, hand raised and always sweet, if not a pest! LOL
 
My tiels are not big on fruits (they eat very few and not all of them, either) but they do eat the veggies in the gloop (corn, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli) and love their leafy greens (all kinds except for iceberg lettuce, spinach or parsley).
 
My tiels eat everything....they didn't before but I got them all to try it....when one does it the rest follows, monkey see monkey do....lol
 
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Thanks for all the great advice and encouragement!
Those are some beautiful tiels you have MonicaMc, and the thread on introducing a new diet will be very handy, thanks.

Ive ordered in a lovely new big cage (65x44x137cms), which is probably close to twice the size of what he's in now, hopefully get it delivered on wednesday, and a small variety of toys to try out.
Im very keen to get this cage, as theres been 2 escapes this past week through somehow squeezing through a gap in the top of the cage from dodgy bent bars (top is now always covered). Once when no one was home, which had me freaking out when i got home to an empty cage, and found him on the back of the couch looking at me with a look of 'whats up mum'.
The second time was just after i left for work, and my housemate got up shortly after to find him flying around the room. Thankfully she faced her fears (she's a bit scared of him due to his hand aggression) and got him to step on a perch, all the while threatening to bite the hand holding the stick but went back into his cage without too much trouble.

Ive found my nearest avian vet, 3 hours away >.< i'll be in touch with them soon to arrange all the necessary tests and diet advice, i can see it being a horrible experience for Pippa (and myself) but i'm sure he'll forgive me for the positive changes it'll bring him in the long run.

I havent done much to change his diet as of yet, i offered a few fruits/veggies the other day in his normal seed dish which he did not take to at all, kept going to it every minute looking at it as if hoping in the past minute it had magically morphed back into seed, i sprinkled a bit of seed over the top to encourage him, he did eat a bit of that but nothing else was touched.
I ate the remainder of the green apple that wasn't already offered to him, in front of him, made it look like the best damn apple ever, and boy did he want some of that apple, so i cut off tiny pieces which he eagerly took from my fingers, and i was happy for that small success (found 1 thing he likes yay).
He came out for a fly around later on and was eager to 'help' me make my sandwich at lunchtime, then sat on my lap while i was trying to eat it, picking at the crumbs.
Will definately be making some birdie bread for him as i think this will be one of the easiest ways to get him to try new things that i put in it.
Waiting on new cage though before i get too into new foods as it has 4 feed dishes to utilise and at the moment i only have one and dont want to starve him if he wont eat whats in that one dish (i did have seed in another dish on the floor of the cage if he really wanted it but he doesn't like the bottom of his cage so as much as he wanted it he wouldn't go for it either until i later removed the fresh stuff and put the seed back in its usual place).

Anyways baby steps. Im excited for next week to get the ball rolling on everything.

Here's a couple of pics i dug up, first is reeeaaaally old one of Charlie and Pippa in their aviary, and 2nd is a recentish one of Pippa.
LXkMT22.jpg

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Great story! I loved growing up with birds, too, and how some don't show their age (Pippa looks great!). My lovebird is 19 now and looking a little rough, but he still loves to eat and tweet!
 
Here's something you might find amusing!

I have a female cockatiel that looks pretty similar to Charlie! The hell-hole she came out of called her Tom... and due to her odd behavior, I just changed it to Tomi Girl!


4c6f61a2.jpg


9c3c75f9.jpg




She probably had a name before "Tom" but I don't know what it was, considering she escaped or was let go from the home before the one I took her out of.



Pippa looks and sounds like he's doing well! I hope he enjoys his new cage and you can get some information from the vet visit!
 

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