This morning I realized that, in about three months, it will have been two years since I became my cockatiels' caretaker. I feel like I can now,
finally, include a post in this thread and do it justice (although, as always, I'm sure I still have more to learn, so let's just plan for updates down the road? Haha).
The Good:
More like the the SO WONDERFULLY FANTASTIC!!! My cockatiels are both
very social birds. They truly love to be with my fiance and me all the time. When we have to leave, they flock call when they watch us go (breaks my heart every time), and when we come home, they fweep (when they screech loudly, my fiance and I call it fweeping. Haha) and fweep and fweep until we get the door unlocked and come over to their cage to greet them. Even if we come home late at night, and we wake them up by accident, they will often great us with a happy little "ba-deep." They will fly from their top of their cage to join us on the couch. When we have guests over, they
love the extra attention. Indy will easily step up for anyone (he likes to show off), and even Buckbeak has stepped up onto other guests (but only if my fiance is
right there next to him or if the guest is male. He likes men)
. Both of my cockatiels will put on a show for guests and sing their little hearts out. They will often try to outdo each other.
Both of my cockatiels are very affectionate in their own way. Indy
loves head scratches - he is my little cuddlebug. I could sit reading with Indy perched on my knee, reading a book in one hand and petting Indy with the other, and he could sit there with me for hours if possible. Buckbeak does
not like to be pet
at all - he used to be afraid of hands, and still is wary of them around his cage, but he has gotten
so good at stepping up for my fiance (who is his favorite human). Even though Buckbeak does not like hands, he
loves to sit on the couch between my fiance and I, and he
loves preening my fiance's beard. And even though they are super affectionate, they are still independent
enough to just chill or play on their play gym or on top of their cage while we sit in the same room as them. They just like being
with us, whatever that entails.
My cockatiels are super curious and inquisitive. They love to go on little expeditions together and walk around across the living room floor (with supervision, of course).
I know that usually the title of "clownish bird" usually goes to caiques and conures, but cockatiels, I've found, are also little clowns, but in their own quiet mischievous way. It's like they are walking around with little smirks on thier faces. They are total hams, but they are so quiet about it that sometimes this part of their personalities gets overlooked. At least once a day they somehow find a new way to make me laugh.
Cockatiels are
so smart. I've taught both of my cockatiels little "tricks," and they
love our little training sessions. They crest feathers just perk up every time I reach for the clicker. They both know how to target to a chop stick. Indy knows how to wave, spin and shake his head "no" (I usual a visual cue for this trick, but what I say as a verbal prompt is "Do you like cats?"). Indy has figured out that now he can "wave" to get my attention and ask me for head scratches. Buckbeak knows how to "flex" and lift his wings up. He's started understanding how to shake his head "no," but he's not quiet there yet. My next goal is to do flight training with both of them and teach them recall and stationing.
I also
love how expressive they are! Their crest feathers are like a little flag that reveals their mood. And their vocalizations also easily reflect their mood. Because they are so easy to read, my fiance and I
very, very rarely ever get bitten. I honestly can't remember the last time one of them bit me, but that's also because
I've learned to read their body language better.
The Bad:
Even though cockatiels are THE BEST (ehem, yes, there, I said it), there are a few downsides. They are often
very cautious when presented with something new. Their little crest flags will go straight up and they will stare at the new object for a long time before deciding to either a) acknowledge that it is harmless or b) fly away!!! I would love to harness train my cockatiels, but I know that it would be challenging for this very reason. Because my cockatiels are cautious, it is also important to note that it took them
both a
long time to learn to trust my fiance and me. Heck, they are
still learning to trust us. Every day that trust grows, but it's important that
you, the big scary human, take the time and energy to keep building that trust over time.
Cockatiels seem to startle easy. I drop something on the floor - PANIC! EVERYBODY FLY, FLY!!!! Loud or strange noise happens in a movie - PANIC!!! DEMONS ARE REAL AND THEY ARE HERE!!! I step on a pellet on the ground and it crumbles under my shoe - THE APOCALYPSE IS HERE! (Okay, that last one is a bit of an exaggeration, but they do look pretty darn wary when I accidentally step on a pellet). You get the idea.
Night frights are definitely one of the worst parts of living with cockatiels. It doesn't happen often with my tiels, but what's scary is that, when it does,
they don't scream like most tiels do. They just flap around their cage like crazy until I come "rescue" them and calm them down.
Make sure you have "birdy stations" in easy reach of your favorite places to sit and chill. Cockatiels are small, and so they poop more often than larger parrots (from what I've read). My fiance's half brother (who is twelve years old, now, I think?) was convinced he wanted a cockatiel, but it wasn't until I told him, "Well, cockatiels poop about every twenty minutes," that he hesitated and reconsidered. This is manageable though. If you're good about reading their body language and having birdy stations set up, you can probably get through a whole day with maybe one or two "accidents." And honestly, cleaning up bird poop is not that hard, and it doesn't smell so... whatever. We keep a roll of toilet paper nearby for quick clean ups.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is something to be aware of: cockatiels are ground foragers. On the one hand, this is great because it is SO EASY to make foraging toys for them. Get a pie dish or a planter dish or some other shallow dish, add either dried pasta noodles, pebbles, paper shreds, toys parts, anything bird safe, add either pellets or seeds or little bits of nuts. Put it on the bottom of the cage. HOURS of entertainment! BUT because they are ground foragers, during out of cage time, they like to fly on the floor and "forage" on your carpet. This means you should bird proof low areas too, such as putting electric cords in boxes or drawers. It is also
so, so, so important that you DO NOT allow any dogs, cats, or other predatory animals in the same room as your tiels!!! Cockatiels
will fly down onto the ground, which makes them more venerable to predatory animals than other parrot species that are more likely to stay up high in the "canopies," so to speak.
Um, also, cockatiels are loud!!! Those "fweeps" I was talking about can be heard from outside my apartment. "Apartment birds," yeah right! That being said, I am living in an apartment and have NOT heard any complaints from neighbors (most of my neighbors (and the superintendent) have actually met the tiels and think they are adorable), but I've also considered putting sound proofing panels on my doorway just in case... Luckily, they aren't loud for very long (they have short bursts of being loud, mostly when they are excited to see you). I personally
like the tonality and vocalizations of my tiels, and when I need to focus on something, it doesn't distract me, but my fiance often gets annoyed when they are loud in the morning. (Buckbeak has started fweeping at the wall in the direction of the bedroom while my fiance tries to sleep in... He knows where my fiance is and is actively trying to wake him up! Haha). I'll probably be sound proofing the bed room and investing in sound-canceling headphones for my fiance in the near future. The point is, every one is different, so meet some tiels and hear them at their worst before you bring some home.
And then there is the dust. So. much. dust. Don't underestimate their small size - get an air purifier
before bringing a cockatiel home. (I made this mistake. Trust me!!!)
The Ugly:
The
only thing I can think of is something that I have never personally dealt with, and that is chronic egg laying. I might never get a female cockatiel (partially because I wouldn't want to create a breeding situation with my boys YIIKES!), but also because I would be
so scared of egg laying issues. I'll probably always stick to boy cockatiels.
Okay, I thought of one more ugly thing... People always seems to associate plucking problems with the big birds: african greys, eclectus, macaws, cockatoos... But little birds such as cockatiels can develop plucking problems too. Indy started plucking when he was suffering from fatty liver disease, and even though the vet confirmed with blood work that his liver
has recovered (thank goodness!), he still plucks. Not as much as he used to, but still on a daily basis. I'm still trying to work out why and figure out what changes I could make to make little Indy feel better, but it's a problem that I know will take a lot of time, patience, vet bills, and attention, and even then, he may never
completely stop this plucking habit. Just know that, just because you're getting a small bird, does not mean you don't have to "worry" about plucking.
ALL of that being said, cockatiels are individuals, and so each one will be different.
I have to say I absolutely love having my two little bird friends in my life. I hope to always have cockatiels in my life. I know there is "no such thing as the perfect pet bird," but (in my completely biased opinion) cockatiels come pretty gosh darn close to being the "perfect" feathered friend. That being said, cockatiels, like all parrots, are still wild animals. They are not "starter" or "gateway" birds. They are not "cheap" birds that you can just "have on display" or "have as the kid's pet" or any of that nonsense. They are intelligent, attention-needy, affectionate, complex, emotional, loving little beings, and they deserve just as much respect and love as any other bird. The more you give them, the more love they give back. They make your their flock, and I am proud to be a part of their flock. I feel so blessed that I get to share that love with them each and every day.
Tiels are such a loving creature. But I have to think further before deciding to own one. 
