New 9 month old Cockatiel named Sunny!

[Drake7819]

So after the loss of my cockatiel Zazu Story Here, we got another cockatiel from a different pet store and we named the bird "Sunny". (I don't know if it is a he or a she so we are just gonna go with a he for now until proven otherwise) He is a little timid and doesn't like to be held yet but will step up on a hand held perch after some coaching and chasing around lol. He also does not like to be in his cage, he paces back in forth in front of the doors until I open it and then he jumps down and forages around in the living room. He has refused to eat any pellets as the store we got him from just fed him seeds (any advise would be appreciated). He also wont eat out of a cage mounted food bowl, I had to put it in a bowl and set it on the bottom of his cage.

At the moment he is in a cage that we got from the pet store (yes we sanitized it), but I did buy and outdoor cage that I plan to use indoors after I do some fixing up on it. Has anyone had any experiences using an outdoor cage inside, I would love to see your setup.

He was caged with another cockatiel at the pet store up until 4 days before we got him and they said that he has been acting fairly sad. Is there anything I can do to help this?

Hopefully Sunny will settle in nicely over time and be a good companion.

 

[Tyrion]

Very pretty

 

[Shezbug]

Can you post a pic of your outdoor cage?

 

[Drake7819]

Sure, I plan to cut the roof part off of it and replace it with just a wooden top as well as replace all the wire as it has some broken spots.

 

[Lady Jane]

Cute bird. About the cage in your photo you will fix up I suggest you enclose the lower part a it is exposed too low. In this way a critter or other predator will not be about to get to your bird.

Try mixing some pellets with the seeds. First use a small amount increasing as you go.

 

[sunnysmom]

He's very cute. Is the outdoor cage wood treated with anything? I would be concerned with him chewing on it. Also, do you know what the metal is? Birds can get metal toxicity if it's not the correct metal. Basically, I think I am saying I dont think I would use that cage but I hope others give opinions... @Mizzely @webchirp

I would try introducing vegetable to Sunny too. As for pellets, just keep trying. You can moisten them too to soften them up to get her to start eating them. What pellets are you using?

 

[Drake7819]

The wood on the cage is not treated it is natural wood and I believe it is Fir. As for what pellets I have, Zupreem Natural.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Is that galvanized steel? If so, that can cause metal toxicity in birds due zinc. Also, if it is safe to use, watch out for rust as time goes on, since rust is also bad for birds.

 

[webchirp]

I wouldn’t with that wire. Metal toxicity.