Cage setup for new cockatiel

[oenomal]

Hi there,

Around Christmas time I will be adding a young male cockatiel to my home. I have quite a large cage for him, but I am only using the bottom portion for now as he will be young (a few months old), his wings will be clipped, and I want him to start out knowing that there is plenty to do on the bottom half of the cage. Eventually I will start adding perches and toys to the top half and let him enjoy the abundance of space.

My question to you all is, do you think this is a good idea and how does my current setup look?

I currently have a budgie but his cage is wider than it is tall and budgies are smaller than cockatiels, so I'm not quite sure how to go about setting up my first cockatiel cage. I have 3 more of the white food/water bowls and 2 single food (or water) bowls. I also have one more of the long wooden dowels. As for toys, I have many others set aside but only decided to put 3 in for his arrival so he isn't as stressed. The tiels bought from the breeder are almost always tame and sociable from the moment they arrive, but I still want to put as little stress on him as possible.

Any suggestions or advice is welcome.

Thank You!
-Sean

 

[sunnysmom]

Do you have to have his wings clipped? It's so much better for a bird both mentally and physically to be flighted. I think the cage set up is nice.

 

[oenomal]

Do you have to have his wings clipped? It's so much better for a bird both mentally and physically to be flighted. I think the cage set up is nice.

Thank You!

As for the wings, I do agree with you and I am going to try and persuade the breeder to not clip his. Being young, I want him to be able to continue learning how to fly.

 

[sunnysmom]

Thank You!

As for the wings, I do agree with you and I am going to try and persuade the breeder to not clip his. Being young, I want him to be able to continue learning how to fly.

That would be good if you could. It's important that baby birds fledge too before their wings are clipped (if they get clipped) or they may never properly learn.

 

[oenomal]

That would be good if you could. It's important that baby birds fledge too before their wings are clipped (if they get clipped) or they may never properly learn.

I didn't really think about it before. I'm glad you said something, I was simply going to let them grow back. I'll do what I can to make sure they aren't. That allows me a little bit more freedom with the cage too

 

[TikiMyn]

Congrats on the upcoming addition!
Personally this is what I would do, add more natural and rope perches. Then make a Nice ‘cosy corner’ at the highest perch by putting a few (soft/preening) toys around it so he has a place to feel secure and can hide is he chooses. And add a toy to at lest every perch. I feel it is better to get a new bird used to everything at once and introduce toys as early as possible

 

[Appolosmom]

I know someone that has a conure when he was young his wings were clipped so bad that today @ age 15 he has never been able to fly

 

[oenomal]

Congrats on the upcoming addition!
Personally this is what I would do, add more natural and rope perches. Then make a Nice ‘cosy corner’ at the highest perch by putting a few (soft/preening) toys around it so he has a place to feel secure and can hide is he chooses. And add a toy to at lest every perch. I feel it is better to get a new bird used to everything at once and introduce toys as early as possible

Thank You! I need more preening toys, most of what I currently have is either DIY forage/destroy toys or stuff with bells on it.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Congratulations on getting a new tiel, how exciting! I would also put in more of a verity of perches. A boing might be nice to help him get around. A nice thing to help with him feeling secure would be one of those big sea grass mats hung on the side of the cage. They are also really fun for tiels to play with.

 

[oenomal]

Congratulations on getting a new tiel, how exciting! I would also put in more of a verity of perches. A boing might be nice to help him get around. A nice thing to help with him feeling secure would be one of those big sea grass mats hung on the side of the cage. They are also really fun for tiels to play with.

I'll be getting a rope ladder and the spring rope perch for Christmas so I'll add them in before he comes home. I plan on buying more natural wood perches too. Thank you for the suggestions!

 

[Monica]

Personally, I don't believe that many birds should be clipped prior to the age of 6-12 months - longer for bigger species. A bird can learn to fly and be a great flyer for 1-2 weeks, but then you take that away and they kind of have to "start all over" again once they do get their wings in. Clipping a bird's wings is almost akin to spaying/neutering a young puppy... besides the physical alterations and what that does to their hormones, there are mental processes that change due to losing flight like there can be in dogs that are fixed at a young age vs being fixed as an adult. They really need months to fly, not weeks or even days...

As far as the dowel perches go... I'd recommend tossing them and replacing with natural wood perches and/or rope perches (as long as he doesn't chew them).

Make sure you have separate dishes for food and water (not one container!) so that they can easily be switched out/cleaned.

More toys that are easy to destroy, such as ones made out of balsa, yucca and popsicle/craft sticks. Cardboard, thin slats of wood and beads can also be enjoyed.

Maybe look into some "foot" toys, too?

And foraging opportunities!

 

[oenomal]

Personally, I don't believe that many birds should be clipped prior to the age of 6-12 months

Make sure you have separate dishes for food and water (not one container!) so that they can easily be switched out/cleaned.

More toys that are easy to destroy, such as ones made out of balsa, yucca and popsicle/craft sticks. Cardboard, thin slats of wood and beads can also be enjoyed.

And foraging opportunities!

I agree about clipping wings, Ive never liked the idea of clipping a birds wings and now I realize how much worse it can be if it's done at a young age. A bird is meant to fly. If someone can't deal with a bird flying around then perhaps it isn't the best pet for them.

I plan on adding a lot more perches soon. I'm currently buying stuff as I go and there's still a month to get things ready.

I have a bunch of DIY toys that are mostly cardboard, egg crate, straws, and beads. Lots of forage/destructive stuff. I'm scared to use them because I used cotton twine and I'm worried that if he manages to pull the cardboard off he might get caught in the twine. I ordered some Paulie rope instead.

I don't like buying destructive toys because they cost so much just to be ruined. Hopefully the Paulie rope will work just as well as the twine and still be safer.

I'll add another one of the food/water dishes and keep them exclusive to one or the other

Thank you for the suggestions!!
-Sean

 

[Monica]

Birds can't digest fibers, so if they do manage to chew and digest them (cotton, sisal or any other type), it can cause a crop impaction and slowly result in starvation.

Toys are meant to be destroyed. There's no way going around that! A bird that doesn't have enough things to chew may start chewing on other things that are not safe for them to chew on! Then again, a bird could have a cage *full* of toys and they'd still rather chew your wall, the window framing, a chair/table, etc! Best to encourage *safe* chewing over undesired!

I have a little plucker here and one thing I purchased her, which was on sale at one Petsmart (not the others?) in the small animal section was a woven mat. Haven't gotten her to stop chewing on herself, but at least the matt gives her something else to chew as well and she likes it. The grass plates or whatever they are can also be good options. Sometimes you can find cheaper chewables in small animal section or buy toy making parts online "in bulk". Just make sure that whatever you do get is still safe and doesn't encourage nesting behaviors.

 

[MauiWendy]

That would be good if you could. It's important that baby birds fledge too before their wings are clipped (if they get clipped) or they may never properly learn.

My breeder clipped Keoki’s wings. I had no idea, he didn’t even tell me he was clipped, and I didn’t think to ask until I saw them. My question to him was, if he is supposed to fledge, how is he going to do that now? His response was that they didn’t have the room to allow him to fledge. I didnt understand that, but getting mad wasn’t going to do anything.

 

[oenomal]

Birds can't digest fibers, so if they do manage to chew and digest them (cotton, sisal or any other type), it can cause a crop impaction and slowly result in starvation.

Toys are meant to be destroyed. There's no way going around that! A bird that doesn't have enough things to chew may start chewing on other things that are not safe for them to chew on! Then again, a bird could have a cage *full* of toys and they'd still rather chew your wall, the window framing, a chair/table, etc! Best to encourage *safe* chewing over undesired!

I have a little plucker here and one thing I purchased her, which was on sale at one Petsmart (not the others?) in the small animal section was a woven mat. Haven't gotten her to stop chewing on herself, but at least the matt gives her something else to chew as well and she likes it. The grass plates or whatever they are can also be good options. Sometimes you can find cheaper chewables in small animal section or buy toy making parts online "in bulk". Just make sure that whatever you do get is still safe and doesn't encourage nesting behaviors.

I got a bunch of wood and popsicle pieces to string onto the Paulie rope for chewable toys. I also got a "grape cluster chewable toy" which is just natural grapevine put on a chain. I'm just terrified of using anything with rope (even though I currently have a rope toy in his cage.... gonna keep a close eye on that one). Store bought twine is treated, cotton frays easy, etc etc. I'm excited to get the Paulie rope, hopefully it will be better for toy making. If not then I will try leather.

I get that toys are meant to be destroyed but I bought one that's nothing but thin cardboard boxes. A tiel could tear through that in minutes!! Those are the ones I try to avoid - the toys that they can destroy effortlessly. I like stuff that will give them something to chew on for days

 

[Monica]

It doesn't hurt to give them a variety, either!

My mitred conure should be able to rip through pine no problem! Except he's missing half of his lower beak... so I get him the yucca logs that even a finch could destroy! I had to put safflower seeds in the soft part to get him interested in even chewing them up.


Sounds like you've got things covered though!