Can anyone answer some questions for me?

[brooke wikette]

Hey there! I plan to get very knowledgeable about cockatiels because I have one of my own, his name is Marty Mc Fly.
Anyways.. I was wondering if anyone could answer some questions (maybe a lot lol) because I never can find straight forward answers and you all seem very knowledgeable..
Any answers would be great! Thanks!!

 

[iamwhoiam]

What are the questions?

 

[Tiel Feathers]

We would be happy to answer your questions, ask away!

 

[Texas Tiel fan]

Sure! We're all waiting to help.

 

[zoo mom]

Welcome. I love your bird's name. Ask your questions we will do our best to answer.

 

[Yoshi&Raphi]

Ask away

 

[brooke wikette]

Ok thank you all so much!! Sorry it has taken me so long to respond, I will ask the questions here soon. I have some that I’ve been really wondering about but I need some more time to think of them, and write them down... So I will let all of you know soon!!

 

[brooke wikette]

Okay hey everyone! Can anyone relate> Sometimes my cockatiel, Marty, will just look down and raise his wings and chirp. I am not too sure if this is a good thing or not or if he is just highly excited lol. He will spread his wings all the way out and look down towards his cage. He has done it kinda a lot recently (like more than usual) and I am just so confused. I hope that this isn't bad...
Second question, do you think it's good to have a mirror in their cage. He has gotten really attached to it so I took it out and then I will hang out with him a lot in my room since he has nothing else to interract with. Like I think it is part of the reason why he has gotten so cage aggressive.
Third Question, When ever I am in my room, his face gets all fluffy and he starts to chirp or does this cute blinking thing (Which he does with both eyes so I don't think it is something wrong with his eye.. He just starts blinking VERY cutely if you know what I mean.) when I am hanging out with him. But when I were to stick my hand inside his cage, he will get cage territorial and hiss at me. He used to sit on my hand all the time inside his cage but now he does otherwise. And when I let him out of his cage, he will let me get really close and he looks really happy. So I hope he likes me and this isn't a sign of hate.
BTW, really sorry for all the long sentences and questions. I just never can get a straight forward response on the web, and I really want to get knowledgeable about cockatiels, like how I was with bearded dragons.. I love animals Plus this is my first ever bird..
Fourth Question, what are some signs a bird is calm, happy, or content?
Fifth Question, Marty will chirp a whole lot at night time which is generally the time that I can hang with him for hours straight and he will chirp like CRAZYYY. Is that bad? Also he chirps like crazy in the morning and I don't know if he just wants my attention or if he is trying to wake me up or if it's just natural for a bird to chirp like crazy in the morning... LOL don't think im crazy pls
Last but not least, Is it okay for my cockatiel to just "squawk" ?? He does it sometimes when I speak to him and he will try to overlap my words. For example, he will stop chirping, then as soon as I speak he trys to overrun my words.. I think it's funny but I hope its okayyy.
Anyways, sorry for so much and thank you all so much!!!! These are some of my broad questions I have and am wondering about.

 

[Texas Tiel fan]

First of all, you worry way too much. Everything you have mentioned is pretty natural for a cockatiel. While some people think mirrors are ok, I don't. Some birds will get attached to it and in a sense, fall in love with there own reflection rather than you! Many of your simple questions can be answered right here on this website. Check out the Good, the bad, and the ugly about cockatiels. If you REALLY want to learn about these birds, I highly recommend a book titled "The complete book of cockatiels" by Diane Grindol. It explains EVERYTHING ever wanted to know. You will have to Google it and order the book on-line. It is VERY cheap for the wealth of information it has. As for Marty chirping and squawking in the morning, that's very natural. He is not only greeting you, that's also when many birds expect breakfast!

 

[Khizz]

The chirps and actions you mentioned sound quite normal to me. It sounds like he likes you and is happy. If he chirps/squawks at specific times then it is most likely something to do with a set routine. Breakfast/usual interaction time etc. Generally they make a lot of different vocalisations and actions. Finding that out is half the fun!

I can't help with being cage territorial, but there are plenty of posts and people on here to help you out. I also think mirrors are not a great idea and can lead to being territorial.

 

[HolliDaze]

Mirrors are bad. Birds don’t understand that mirrors are a reflection and they think it’s another bird. They start to think the reflection is a mate and can get frustrated when their “mate” doesn’t react appropriately. They get hormonal and obsessed, best to take it away permanently. It will be better in the long run, for you and Marty. I love the name, by the way. I knew an American Kestrel named Marty McFly!

 

[Yoshi&Raphi]

Mirrors are bad. Birds don’t understand that mirrors are a reflection and they think it’s another bird. They start to think the reflection is a mate and can get frustrated when their “mate” doesn’t react appropriately. They get hormonal and obsessed, best to take it away permanently. It will be better in the long run, for you and Marty. I love the name, by the way. I knew an American Kestrel named Marty McFly!

​

 

[Cloud]

I am not too sure if this is a good thing or not or if he is just highly excited lol. He will spread his wings all the way out and look down towards his cage.

What do you guys think of this behavior? Is it stretching, hormonal thing, or claiming the territory? Several weeks ago, I was able to train one of my teils to do that when I say eagle. Then I realized I shouldn't be doing it, so I stopped telling her to do it because it might affect her behavior or her cagemate's behavior. For example, starting to be more nippy or something.

 

[brooke wikette]

I was wondering the same thing about him stretching his wings all the way out and looking down at the bottom of his cage. He does it when he is being “playful” with me I guess you can say when I’m talking to him. And his name is Marty McFly!!! haha, we have it short for marty but we named him after a movie but I can remember the name right now. It’s about a time traveler or something lol. Thanks for the information! I hope these are signs that he likes me!! And I took his mirror out because he was getting rly attached so I hope he bonds with me better now Thanks for the info!!!

 

[brooke wikette]

I do think my bird was getting obsessed and thinking it was his mate. He would kiss it and all kinds of things. Do you think it will make him depressed though without having the mirror so he has something to do when i’m not around??

 

[Deneen]

Its OK to remove the mirror and replace it with plenty of other toys. I foster for a rescue and fostered an Indian Ringneck that was bonded to the bird in the mirror. I've seen some sad thing and this was one of them. He was surrendered with a cage full of mirrors, he thought he was part of a flock. Its not mentally/emotionally healthy to many birds, others don't seem to care but most do. I don't believe having a single parrot strengthens the bond with the human, it may be easier because you are all he has but I've had plenty of bonded pairs that are happy to include us in their flock. It takes time, let his behavior dictate yours you'll both be fine.

 

[brooke wikette]

I’m just hoping that it won’t take years before he starts bonding with me more and let me handle him outside the cage. That’s what worries me.. And thanks for the response!

 

[brooke wikette]

Oh and do you recommend playing bird noises for your cockatiel? Is it good for them?

 

[Cat The Great]

Oh and do you recommend playing bird noises for your cockatiel? Is it good for them?

I would say that if you want to play bird noises for your bird, you can. I know that some members around play the same species noises for their bird and the bird is happy with it. I personally do not do it, as I can't tell if Georgie enjoys it or gets mad about it. I would say if you play it for your cockatiel to see if he enjoys or not.

 

[Khizz]

Jeff and Mabel seem to really shriek and get confused when they hear bird noises. It's neither a good nor bad thing. Depends on your bird's reaction.