Hi there. I recently bought a 4 month old pearl cockatiel and even though I've researched as much as possible I was wondering if there are any tips when starting out that people tend to overlook or not find so easily on the internet. I have no experience owning birds in the past so this is my first time.
S/he's just settling in and has been eating okay but I don't know if s/he's slept yet. I don't sleep as well as other people tend to and because of that I noticed that s/he's just been watching me cautiously at night. Had two night frights but that's pretty normal and was all okay when I put on a brighter lamp. Also tends to blink slowly when I'm not looking which I can't help but worry about because upon searching that up the first result is about sickness symptoms. S/he came from a popular store with good reviews that specializes mainly in birds and the staff are knowledgeable and offer free checkups and s/he's been checked by vets. S/he's eating okay, droppings look normal, I haven't *seen* any drinking yet but I really do not want to overlook anything because I would be really upset if anything's up later. I could ask my family as they owned ringnecks when I was too young to remember but they're different species + I don't think they'd remember that well.
I'm not taking them out and I'm letting them settle in okay before I attempt to slowly tame. I have been feeding pellets with a little bit of seed mix made for cockatiels. I have also been feeding cucumber (mostly water, I know) and carrot and slowly I will introduce more foods. S/he takes it willingly after a bit if I don't feed it myself.
Sorry if this looks silly from an experienced owner's view, please correct me on anything if you feel the need to! And ask too, I'll be willing to answer. I just don't want to make any mistakes and want to raise a happy & healthy bird.
S/he's just settling in and has been eating okay but I don't know if s/he's slept yet. I don't sleep as well as other people tend to and because of that I noticed that s/he's just been watching me cautiously at night. Had two night frights but that's pretty normal and was all okay when I put on a brighter lamp. Also tends to blink slowly when I'm not looking which I can't help but worry about because upon searching that up the first result is about sickness symptoms. S/he came from a popular store with good reviews that specializes mainly in birds and the staff are knowledgeable and offer free checkups and s/he's been checked by vets. S/he's eating okay, droppings look normal, I haven't *seen* any drinking yet but I really do not want to overlook anything because I would be really upset if anything's up later. I could ask my family as they owned ringnecks when I was too young to remember but they're different species + I don't think they'd remember that well.
I'm not taking them out and I'm letting them settle in okay before I attempt to slowly tame. I have been feeding pellets with a little bit of seed mix made for cockatiels. I have also been feeding cucumber (mostly water, I know) and carrot and slowly I will introduce more foods. S/he takes it willingly after a bit if I don't feed it myself.
Sorry if this looks silly from an experienced owner's view, please correct me on anything if you feel the need to! And ask too, I'll be willing to answer. I just don't want to make any mistakes and want to raise a happy & healthy bird.