Hi everyone, I have a gorgeous female cockatiel who is now about 4 months. We were searching for a friend for her because she's very attached to us and on days we can only give her 2-3 hours of outside time she can get a bit aggressive and obviously very upset so we wanted a friend so she wasn't so lonely. We found a gorgeous cockatiel at a breeder that we met and we're just waiting on them to be weaned. We were told the cockatiel was DNA sexed as a female and then we got a message saying actually that cockatiel hadn't been DNA sexed and won't be known till 2-3 weeks from now but is ready to go home this weekend. We were really after a female, we have housemates and although we're aware all cockatiels make noise, we didn't want a male as they are considered noisier. Our girl currently is noisy if she knows we are awake, at home, and active and yet she is not out of the cafe or sometimes when she's just chatting away to the birds outside (that's usually quite quiet though). When we met the unknown bird, they were very quiet and calm and docile. We were just wondering how much do males increase the noise level if they are not taught any particular songs? Should we bring the unsexed bird home this weekend or wait until it's sexed (not sure if they'd still be available) or just find another bird that is definitely female.
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May be getting an unsexed cockatiel for my female, worried it may be male.
- Thread starter Paris18
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Shezbug
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My concerns would be more with the person lying to you about dna sexed birds that weren’t even tested. Why would they do that? How can you trust anything else they say regarding this bird etc. You’re braver and more trusting than me- I’d not even consider a bird from a breeder who did that- it’s extremely unprofessional and comes across as someone who’s more like a backyard hack just after a quick dollar or who has no clue what they’re actually doing. How can you be sure after that lie that your possible bird will be properly weaned?
You also need to keep in mind that the bird you decide to bring home may not get along with your current bird- it’s quite common.
I personally don’t think insisting on a female will guarantee a quieter bird- it’s really an individual thing.
When you met the unknown sex new bird it was likely very quiet as that is stereotypical behaviour for birds when a stranger enters their space- they’ll usually go dead silent to not draw attention, I remember showing up to see my baby macaw and I could hear all the babies from quite a distance away and they just kept getting louder and louder till I stepped into their room and they saw a stranger stood there then there was dead silence and still birds. Not an indication of how my bird was really going to be once he knew his life was safe. I don’t think you can judge what you saw or think it will be that way at your house.
2x birds = 2x the noise usually.
You also need to keep in mind that the bird you decide to bring home may not get along with your current bird- it’s quite common.
I personally don’t think insisting on a female will guarantee a quieter bird- it’s really an individual thing.
When you met the unknown sex new bird it was likely very quiet as that is stereotypical behaviour for birds when a stranger enters their space- they’ll usually go dead silent to not draw attention, I remember showing up to see my baby macaw and I could hear all the babies from quite a distance away and they just kept getting louder and louder till I stepped into their room and they saw a stranger stood there then there was dead silence and still birds. Not an indication of how my bird was really going to be once he knew his life was safe. I don’t think you can judge what you saw or think it will be that way at your house.
2x birds = 2x the noise usually.
He had just sexed quite a few of his birds and only one came back male so I think he thought he had already sexed her as a female but then when looking at his files since we were getting ready to pick them up this weekend, saw that DNA hadn't actually been sent off. I did see his set up and although it may mean he's capable of lying, he is very adamant that although the bird should be ready this weekend, he's monitoring weight and behaviour to see if it isn't regressing, if so he will keep it until it properly weaned again. It is very possible they won't get along, which would be a bit hellish since we don't have the most space for two cages, we do have a pretty big cage though so if they're not aggressive and just tolerant they have heaps of space to avoid each other. If they're aggressive, obviously separate cages. Just not sure whether it's worth the risk but we just don't want her to be too bored or lonely when we're not there.
Shezbug
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If you are comfortable with this breeder then why not call and ask if you can take the baby on a trial run and if they do not get along can you maybe return it? I know of some people who have done this when looking for a partner for their Macaws. The breeder I got my Macaw from I do not think would do this as I do not believe he will chance having disease brought into his breeding birds area.
Why will they know the sex in 2 to 3 weeks? Did he just send the dna out. They took dna but did not send it out?
If it was a blood sample would the sample still be good?
I don't think any breeder no matter how nice will let you try out a bird to see if it gets along with yours.
Its not fair to the bird to be yo yo'd around & opens them up to catching illness or accidents.
So your main wish is to get a female as you think they will be more quiet & get along with your bird in the same cage?
You really can;t tell how a baby bird will grow up to be even if they are quiet now.
Never can tell if birds will get along. They could get along for a few months & then fight when they get older.
With any sex you always have the possibility the birds won't get along.
That being said cockatiels seem to love other tiel company & since they are both young it could work out well but no guarantees.
A male will whistle & if they end up being a pair you could have breeding. Still 2 females can have eggs & egg problems anyway.
Good luck with your decision.
If it was a blood sample would the sample still be good?
I don't think any breeder no matter how nice will let you try out a bird to see if it gets along with yours.
Its not fair to the bird to be yo yo'd around & opens them up to catching illness or accidents.
So your main wish is to get a female as you think they will be more quiet & get along with your bird in the same cage?
You really can;t tell how a baby bird will grow up to be even if they are quiet now.
Never can tell if birds will get along. They could get along for a few months & then fight when they get older.
With any sex you always have the possibility the birds won't get along.
That being said cockatiels seem to love other tiel company & since they are both young it could work out well but no guarantees.
A male will whistle & if they end up being a pair you could have breeding. Still 2 females can have eggs & egg problems anyway.
Good luck with your decision.
Shezbug
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There are a few macaw breeders here that will ask that if you ever have issues or do not want the bird you bought from them any longer that you call them and return the bird for a partial refund. I doubt very much they take them straight back to their breeding facilities without extensive disease testing done.
A friend bought a female macaw for his male in the hopes they would pair up and breed at some stage and they did not get along even after a week or so- he returned the bird to the people he got it from and found another female with the same conditions of the original owners taking it back if the two did not hit it off... not all breeders will do it but many do. I am not so sure the same thing would happen with the lesser priced birds but for the macaws it is definitely done here at a few places.
A friend bought a female macaw for his male in the hopes they would pair up and breed at some stage and they did not get along even after a week or so- he returned the bird to the people he got it from and found another female with the same conditions of the original owners taking it back if the two did not hit it off... not all breeders will do it but many do. I am not so sure the same thing would happen with the lesser priced birds but for the macaws it is definitely done here at a few places.
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I think you have to be prepared that the two birds might not want to share a cage. And I would definitely keep them in different cages initially. You actually should quarantine any new bird for at least 30 days before introducing him to your new bird. As for noise, it's not that males are any louder than females. It's that males tend to be more vocal. But each bird is different. I have only ever had males cockatiels. I never found them to be noisy. Other than some flock calls and some whistling throughout the day, mine aren't noisy birds.
