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Cockatiel must haves?

JBosley

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Hello Everyone!
I am getting a Cockatiel soon, hopefully a few months, and would love to know what everyone here considers a must have for their Cockatiels.
Can be toys, food, or anything! I currently have a cage, and a few different types of perches. Still researching commercial foods!
Any advice is welcomed :bounce3:
 

cosmolove

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When I had a cockatiel as a foster she really liked shredable toys :)
 

datlamb

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yep! my cockatiels have shredded through the wooden ladder i bought them!
i also made them a simple shreddable toy out of cardboard and cupcake wrappers that they really enjoy.
another toy that they love is a hanging ladder like this one.

i made a big toy order that's on it's way so i'll update you when i find out what other sort of things they like :p


a treat that they love is sunflower seeds which i give them when they step up. and one of they favourite foods other than seeds is anything leafy. they looove sunflower sprouts with leaves and spinach. i'm planning on buying them some lettuce to see if they like it as well.
 

cosmolove

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I gave the one I had a lot of really thin snappy wood toys which she did seem to play with but not very often. I actually bought in bulk a bunch of chinese finger traps and filled them with crinkle paper from the dollar store and hook them in the cage bars. She LOVED those.
 

sunnysmom

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Most cockatiels adore millet spray. It can be a great training/reward treat. My tiel also liked the finger traps stuffed with crinkle paper to play with. And he also really liked the Higgins Worldly Cuisine mixes.
 

JBosley

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yep! my cockatiels have shredded through the wooden ladder i bought them!
i also made them a simple shreddable toy out of cardboard and cupcake wrappers that they really enjoy.
another toy that they love is a hanging ladder like this one.

i made a big toy order that's on it's way so i'll update you when i find out what other sort of things they like :p


a treat that they love is sunflower seeds which i give them when they step up. and one of they favourite foods other than seeds is anything leafy. they looove sunflower sprouts with leaves and spinach. i'm planning on buying them some lettuce to see if they like it as well.
Thoes are some great ideas! I always have lots of veggies for myself and my Bearded Dragon.
 

Tiel Feathers

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My tiels also like shreddable toys. Some of their favorites are balsa, sea grass, whicker and palm.

Their favorite treats are Avicakes, Nutriberries, and Vitakraft Mini popcorn.

Favorite training treat is millet.

Favorite fresh foods are broccoli, sprouts, leafy greens, green beans, and freeze dried chop.

For dry food they get Roudybush Crumbles and Goldenfeast Australian Blend.

Other foods they enjoy are Higgins Worldly Cuisines, Pheonix Foraging, and Herb Salad.

My tiels have several playstands around the house. They love their Wingdow and the PVC playstand that they use outside.
 

HolliDaze

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As far as food goes, Harrison's seems to be the best pellets I've used. It is on amazon, I fed my tiel the stuff and she loved it. She also loved to eat sprouted bird seed mix. I made my own nutriberries and USed them as a treat. I also shared my food with her. she was shy around strangers, but would jump on their laps if they had food. Make sure that you have cornstarch/flour/kwikstop, my tiel broke 5 blood feathers in her first year.
 

TikiMyn

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Congratulations with your soon to be little friend! Mine loved looking out the window, so Maybe a playstand near a window. He also loved little laces, leather strips might be a hit with your Guy as well:) straws with sunflower seeds in them were his all time favorite, soon followed by grass like plants and herbs he could chew, and he aldo loved a grass mat I have on the floor, I would sprinkle his seeds on it and he would be busy running around and eating a bit for quite while!

Is he a baby? Then you might not havr any trouble getting him to eat veggies, but if he is older one of the first veggies is would try is carrot! Both my seed junkies started to like this veggie pretty soon while they neglected the rest for quite a while!
 

Motherof'tiels

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Agreed^ My tiel goes nuts for carrots.
I suggest getting an activity mat with a lot of bells, buttons and strings for your tiel to fiddle around with. And make sure you have a lot of treats! In the wild, tiels forage from the ground, so you can place treats on the ground for him to find!
 

JBosley

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Wow! You guys are full of awesome information and suggestions.

The plan is to get a baby! I'm hoping to be able to introduce new foods, and a flight suit. Also planning to clicker train as well!
 

Motherof'tiels

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YES PLEASE CLICKER TRAIN!

Its a really good way to bond with your bird! My tiel loves mimicing the clicker to trick me into giving him treats.

Oh an advice for training treats:
Have all your treats that you have in your hand and watch what type of seed and or veggie he chooses. The first one he picks is the one he prefers. So when clicker training you can give him that treat when he does an amazing job, or you can set a number like if you do this trick 5 times in a row you will get what you want. It helps the bird want to work for his favorite food.


But dont instantly start clicker training. Wait for him to settle in and start clicker training in a few weeks. But place the clicker and (if you are target training) the target stick near his cage so he gets used to it. At first my bird was terrified of the clicker, and it took longer to train him, but once he learned he got treats whenever the clicker was around, he loved the clicker!

Here is a really good video:
 

JBosley

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YES PLEASE CLICKER TRAIN!

Its a really good way to bond with your bird! My tiel loves mimicing the clicker to trick me into giving him treats.

Oh an advice for training treats:
Have all your treats that you have in your hand and watch what type of seed and or veggie he chooses. The first one he picks is the one he prefers. So when clicker training you can give him that treat when he does an amazing job, or you can set a number like if you do this trick 5 times in a row you will get what you want. It helps the bird want to work for his favorite food.


But dont instantly start clicker training. Wait for him to settle in and start clicker training in a few weeks. But place the clicker and (if you are target training) the target stick near his cage so he gets used to it. At first my bird was terrified of the clicker, and it took longer to train him, but once he learned he got treats whenever the clicker was around, he loved the clicker!

Here is a really good video:
That is an awesome idea! I wouldn't have thought to see what he likes best.

I've been YouTubing like mad haha! Super excited, but still don't know when any babies will be ready for me.
 

Tara81

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So you want a cockatiel ? :) pellets, veges, frozen chop, seeds and sprouts are a great diet for them :). You can add boiled egg once a week, cooked quinoa and buckwheat with the frozen chop too!

Toys: sea grass play mat, yucca kabobs , balsa wood, leather, crinkled paper, crinkled cardboard, vine rings, balls, vine toys they love to chew. I also put some plastic toys , paper, shreddables in coconut bowl with seeds pellets on bottom for them to forage through to find the goodies.

Perches: rope perches must be watched for loose threads, cactus perch with holes is great hit with mine, she loves to eat the stuffed pellets I put inside.

Mine hates the flight suit but I'm adjusting her to an aviator harness instead, she puts her head inside for a treat so far :)

It took 2 weeks but she finally got the spread wings trick! I'm so proud :)

Remember cuttlebone and mineral block in cage.
 

JBosley

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So you want a cockatiel ? :) pellets, veges, frozen chop, seeds and sprouts are a great diet for them :). You can add boiled egg once a week, cooked quinoa and buckwheat with the frozen chop too!

Toys: sea grass play mat, yucca kabobs , balsa wood, leather, crinkled paper, crinkled cardboard, vine rings, balls, vine toys they love to chew. I also put some plastic toys , paper, shreddables in coconut bowl with seeds pellets on bottom for them to forage through to find the goodies.

Perches: rope perches must be watched for loose threads, cactus perch with holes is great hit with mine, she loves to eat the stuffed pellets I put inside.

Mine hates the flight suit but I'm adjusting her to an aviator harness instead, she puts her head inside for a treat so far :)

It took 2 weeks but she finally got the spread wings trick! I'm so proud :)

Remember cuttlebone and mineral block in cage.
Sounds great!
I definitely have cuttlebone on my list of things to get. I'll keep an eye on any rope toys/perches I buy!

I LOVE that wing trick! Congrats to you and your bird on getting that one haha.

I'm really hoping I can get my bird to wear the flight suit... patience and food to aid me.
 

Lwalker

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Okay...maybe this was just my crazy tiel but he absolutely loved his metal bell that hung from a chain over his perch. He would sing to it and then duck under it and stand up so that it sat on his head like a hat. He would take his "hat" on and off all day. Other times he would fight the bell like it was his mortal enemy!
 

Lady Jane

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Goldenfeast cockatiel blend. Best ingredients ever. Look on goldenfeasr direct and you will find it. Can be fed along with Harrison's pellets.
 
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