• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

A couple of questions from a beginner cockatiel owner!

Wureka

Moving in
Joined
4/6/20
Messages
8
Real Name
Oliver
Hello! I have just today got my 6-week-old cockatiel named Charlie. I have a couple of questions.
1: my cockatiel really likes to climb up the walls of their cage. That would be fine, but as they are a clumsy baby he slips a lot down the poles. Is there anything I can do to stop this? their feathers are getting a bit rough. Maybe I just need to let him get better at climbing?
2: I recently played a youtube clip of cockatiels chirping for him to warm up to his surroundings. He was hand weaned so he is used to a hand and I think that got him to put one of his feet on my finger! Would playing the clip make him lonely? I am home a lot due to online school so would it be better to not play the clip? He also got very loud chirping back at the birds in the clip and got a bit restless. Should I let him get used to his surroundings regularly or by playing the clip?
3: he would not eat and only pooped once. I tried to hand feed him after he almost stepped on to my hand but it seemed he didn’t like my hand. Is that normal? How long can they go without eating or drinking?
Thank you,
Oliver and Charlie.
 

Shezbug

ASK ME FOR PICTURES OF MY MACAW!
Super Moderator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
4/28/18
Messages
25,837
Location
Vic, Australia
Real Name
Shez
Welcome to the Avenue :hiya:
:congrats5: on your new baby!!

1: I am guessing many of your cage bars are vertical instead of horizontal?? If this is the case we have had members weave or fix cable ties through the vertical bars to give their birds something to grip and climb...... they need very strong muscles in the feet to be able to climb the vertical bars easy which most babies have not yet got. Even with strong muscles the vertical bars are never as easy for them as the horizontal ones.
2: A lot of people play bird videos for their birds..... you will need to judge from your individual birds behavior if the bird actually likes it or finds it stressful- most birds tend to enjoy it to some degree if not love it. Always give your bird all the time it needs to become accustomed to anything you want him/her to be ok with, some things will be a challenge and others not so much. The more your bird experiences good exposure to things and many different things, the better new things tend to be accepted by them.
3: They often do not eat for a little while once in a new place, give his some quite time without anyone staring at him and I bet you will find that food has been eaten. They are often a little more cautious of everything when they're first getting used to their new normal. Give plenty of space (and free from people) quiet time, keep check on poops. If you can not see evidence of poop or the bird actually pooping then be concerned about the food- you may not see them eat for a while but they can not hide the poop!
 

Wureka

Moving in
Joined
4/6/20
Messages
8
Real Name
Oliver
Welcome to the Avenue :hiya:
:congrats5: on your new baby!!

1: I am guessing many of your cage bars are vertical instead of horizontal?? If this is the case we have had members weave or fix cable ties through the vertical bars to give their birds something to grip and climb...... they need very strong muscles in the feet to be able to climb the vertical bars easy which most babies have not yet got. Even with strong muscles the vertical bars are never as easy for them as the horizontal ones.
2: A lot of people play bird videos for their birds..... you will need to judge from your individual birds behavior if the bird actually likes it or finds it stressful- most birds tend to enjoy it to some degree if not love it. Always give your bird all the time it needs to become accustomed to anything you want him/her to be ok with, some things will be a challenge and others not so much. The more your bird experiences good exposure to things and many different things, the better new things tend to be accepted by them.
3: They often do not eat for a little while once in a new place, give his some quite time without anyone staring at him and I bet you will find that food has been eaten. They are often a little more cautious of everything when they're first getting used to their new normal. Give plenty of space (and free from people) quiet time, keep check on poops. If you can not see evidence of poop or the bird actually pooping then be concerned about the food- you may not see them eat for a while but they can not hide the poop!
Thank you! I played a video and that actually encouraged them to eat! We just gave tgem a dark room with a small bit of light to get them to sleep.
 

greys4u

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
12/30/14
Messages
4,890
:hello: to you and Charlie, we have a forum here that has a great deal of information. Here's the link Avian Avenue Parrot Forum Take a look around.
 

vjneville

Moving in
Joined
4/2/20
Messages
5
I also have a 6 week old baby. How are you handfeeding Charlie? When I brought home Misty 3 weeks ago, he was afraid too and especially afraid of the syringe. He had never been handled before I got him though.
I tried using a spoon and he took right to that. Bought a feeding spoon from amazon but you could use a regular spoon if you can bend the sides up.
 

Wureka

Moving in
Joined
4/6/20
Messages
8
Real Name
Oliver
I also have a 6 week old baby. How are you handfeeding Charlie? When I brought home Misty 3 weeks ago, he was afraid too and especially afraid of the syringe. He had never been handled before I got him though.
I tried using a spoon and he took right to that. Bought a feeding spoon from amazon but you could use a regular spoon if you can bend the sides up.
he weaned early so I did not need to hand feed him. he is eating perfectly normal now.
 

finchly

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/16/14
Messages
12,708
Location
SW Florida
Real Name
Finchly
Are you sure?? That’s awful early for a tiel to wean. They also don’t eat that well, so offer warm mashed food like sweet potato or cooked quinoa. You can soak millet before giving it to them.

For the cage, just lower the perches. You can gradually raise them back up.
 

Monica

Cruising the avenue
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
5/18/10
Messages
11,253
Location
Hell, NV
Real Name
Monica
1: my cockatiel really likes to climb up the walls of their cage. That would be fine, but as they are a clumsy baby he slips a lot down the poles. Is there anything I can do to stop this? their feathers are getting a bit rough. Maybe I just need to let him get better at climbing?

You can either use a smaller cage (as in height) or raise the floor of the cage. It's natural for babies to be clumsy and destroy their feathers until they are at least 6-8 months old, or older.


2: I recently played a youtube clip of cockatiels chirping for him to warm up to his surroundings. He was hand weaned so he is used to a hand and I think that got him to put one of his feet on my finger! Would playing the clip make him lonely? I am home a lot due to online school so would it be better to not play the clip? He also got very loud chirping back at the birds in the clip and got a bit restless. Should I let him get used to his surroundings regularly or by playing the clip?

If you feel it's causing stress then play some calming music or white noise instead. Birds are flock creatures so it's only natural for them to want to be around other birds. Safety in numbers, after all.


3: he would not eat and only pooped once. I tried to hand feed him after he almost stepped on to my hand but it seemed he didn’t like my hand. Is that normal? How long can they go without eating or drinking?

Please don't assume that just because he weaned early that he'll eat fine on his own. Birds often regress and cockatiels shouldn't go home earlier than 8 weeks old anyway.... preferably 12-16 weeks in age, if not older. They should be weaned for at least 2 weeks to reduce the chances of them regressing (wanting to be fed by parent/breeder) and maybe, if they're lucky, learn about being a "bird" before going into a new home.

It's been nearly a week now. How's the little one doing?
 

Wureka

Moving in
Joined
4/6/20
Messages
8
Real Name
Oliver
1: my cockatiel really likes to climb up the walls of their cage. That would be fine, but as they are a clumsy baby he slips a lot down the poles. Is there anything I can do to stop this? their feathers are getting a bit rough. Maybe I just need to let him get better at climbing?

You can either use a smaller cage (as in height) or raise the floor of the cage. It's natural for babies to be clumsy and destroy their feathers until they are at least 6-8 months old, or older.


2: I recently played a youtube clip of cockatiels chirping for him to warm up to his surroundings. He was hand weaned so he is used to a hand and I think that got him to put one of his feet on my finger! Would playing the clip make him lonely? I am home a lot due to online school so would it be better to not play the clip? He also got very loud chirping back at the birds in the clip and got a bit restless. Should I let him get used to his surroundings regularly or by playing the clip?

If you feel it's causing stress then play some calming music or white noise instead. Birds are flock creatures so it's only natural for them to want to be around other birds. Safety in numbers, after all.


3: he would not eat and only pooped once. I tried to hand feed him after he almost stepped on to my hand but it seemed he didn’t like my hand. Is that normal? How long can they go without eating or drinking?

Please don't assume that just because he weaned early that he'll eat fine on his own. Birds often regress and cockatiels shouldn't go home earlier than 8 weeks old anyway.... preferably 12-16 weeks in age, if not older. They should be weaned for at least 2 weeks to reduce the chances of them regressing (wanting to be fed by parent/breeder) and maybe, if they're lucky, learn about being a "bird" before going into a new home.

It's been nearly a week now. How's the little one doing?
Sorry I couldn’t get back earlier, all of my problems are fixed. He is eating well, pooping alot, is calmed by the bird noises and isn’t as clumsy.
 
Top