outmaww
Meeting neighbors
- Joined
- 6/7/22
- Messages
- 50
Hi! I've been perusing this site for a long time, but I just recently decided to create an account because I took home the sweetest little grey cockatiel about two weeks ago. He was hand-raised and weaned onto a seed diet, and he's already developed a bond to me especially, though he still tolerates other people around him (I say he, but he could easily be a girl; his underwing patterns look like a female's, but he's been very vocal and expressive. I guess we'll just have to see). I just want to know if he's settled in well. He loves biting and picking at everything around him, and he hates being inside his cage. Whenever I open it, he always runs for my hand. I don't exactly want this, because he only plays with toys when he's outside the cage and around people. I want him to be able to have fun in his cage as well. He's not that picky of an eater; he likes apple, eggs, and spinach so far. I've been introducing him to foods slowly away from food bowls in preparation for a transition to a chop and pellet diet. My biggest issue with him so far is that in the evenings, say around 7, he gets very nippy and annoyed and only wants to be on my shoulders, and it's hard to get him off without him screeching and occasionally lunging gently. This could be him being tired (which is what I'm guessing is happening), and he doesn't seem to care about being on my shoulder at any other time of day, so he usually just chills on my hand.
My questions are:
1) How long should he stay on a seed diet before I transition him? He's a very young baby, only about 12 weeks. I don't want to screw up his weight patterns, and information about it has been hard to find. I talked to two different people at the bird store I bought him at: one lady said about a month, and the other said half a year. I'd like other people's opinions too.
2) How much sleep each night should he be getting? I try to make sure it's at least 12 hours, but should it be more for a baby?
3) How can I get him to really enjoy being in his cage?
4) What pellets are the healthiest for birds? Harrisons seem to be a favorite.
Honestly, I've been researching birds for almost half my life, and I was planning on getting a conure as my first bird, not a cockatiel. But he was just so sweet in the bird store and bonded to me there, and I really couldn't say no to him. I'm so happy I got him, he is so exuberant and fun-loving, and I just want to make sure I'm doing the best I can with him.
Sorry this is such a long post!! Thanks to everyone who read this far down, lol.
And by the way, his name is G.B. (pronounced "jeebie"), acronym for Good Boy. If he turns out to be a girl, I'll just change it to Good Bird : )
My questions are:
1) How long should he stay on a seed diet before I transition him? He's a very young baby, only about 12 weeks. I don't want to screw up his weight patterns, and information about it has been hard to find. I talked to two different people at the bird store I bought him at: one lady said about a month, and the other said half a year. I'd like other people's opinions too.
2) How much sleep each night should he be getting? I try to make sure it's at least 12 hours, but should it be more for a baby?
3) How can I get him to really enjoy being in his cage?
4) What pellets are the healthiest for birds? Harrisons seem to be a favorite.
Honestly, I've been researching birds for almost half my life, and I was planning on getting a conure as my first bird, not a cockatiel. But he was just so sweet in the bird store and bonded to me there, and I really couldn't say no to him. I'm so happy I got him, he is so exuberant and fun-loving, and I just want to make sure I'm doing the best I can with him.
Sorry this is such a long post!! Thanks to everyone who read this far down, lol.
And by the way, his name is G.B. (pronounced "jeebie"), acronym for Good Boy. If he turns out to be a girl, I'll just change it to Good Bird : )