My son would like a cockatiel. Could someone answer some questions for me?

[marblerye]

I've never kept a bird before and I don't know anyone who does.

My son is 8 and loves animals and is very patient. He really wanted a huge parrot but i have managed to talk talk him down to a more manageable cockatiel but I'm not sure if we would be the right family for a cockatiel.

We have a cat and a toddler. Do cockatiels mind cats and toddlers?

When the bird is out of his/her cage will she immediately escape out of the cat flap? Should she be confined to one room for her out of cage time? If someone opens a door or window is it bye bye birdie?

Is it better to have a pair? There is usually someone in the house but obviously we do all go out for the day sometimes for a lot longer than I would be happy to leave a dog for.

Are they very loud? My husband works nights and I would generally rather the whole household wasn't awoken at silly o'clock.

Should they be kept in a family room with lots of activity or will they get too tired? Is it better to have the cage in a bedroom so they can get a good nights sleep or is that to dusty for the human occupant? My son seems to think she will just sleep on a perch next to his bed and hardly use the cage at all but I think he reads to many stories.

Thankyou if you have managed to read this far and sorry if these are really dumb questions.

[pixibubbles]

Welcome to the boards. Im glad you're researching this first- a lot of people wouldnt.

I think the smaller, easier going birds like teils and bugs, can make great pets for children- so long as there's adult supervision. I had budgies from a very young age- and at about 7- had one who was for me and my younger brother. Obviously mom and dad looked after him too, but we learnt to clean, feed, play with and look after him. i think they're much better suited than some of the bigger parrots (bites hurt less!) as the kids can take more responsibility for them, and frankly their toys are cheaper. At 7 i could save up and buy micky toys- which i loved doing, but if I'd had to save for 3 months for a macaw toy I'd've probably lost interest quicker lol

Plus I think bugs are more predictable and easier to work with than some of the other options like lovies, sennies and conures.


birds usually sleep when we sleep- so noise shouldn't be a big issue
cages are best. they really are the only option unless you can create a totally bird safe zone- and as you have a cat, you really can't. There are lots of ppl here with cats and birds, but you really can't change the cat's prey instincts. The bird will need to be in a cage, and let out in supervised playtimes. That said you could still have a smaller bedtime cage. Some birds i know have their big day cages, and a much smaller one at night. This can be due to lots of reasons: Like the owner wanting a cage they can grab easily if they had to evacuate for bad weather or something, or in the case of a couple of birds i know, coz they will stay up all night playing with their toys if not in a sleep cage lol

If a door or window gets opened, it's probably bye bye birdie- so you'd have to set rules for when the bird is out. But I don't think a teil could work a cat flap- at least not the ones I have seen.

teils will do alright on their own in the day, so long as they have a big cage, lots of good toys and plenty of attention and exercise when you are at home. That said, you can get more. You'll just need a bigger cage and a back up plan in case they chose not to get along. Plus it can be harder to tame them.

Teils can be pretty dusty.


And the only dumb question is the one that you dont ask

Have you thought about budgies? they make great first birdsd as well. They're usually pretty friendly, forgiving and resilient. I find that the american budgies (not english show ones) are really interactive too. Not saying the others and females aren't great pets- just that I've always had a soft spot for boy bugs. They're not as dusty as teils. Plus the record holder for most words and phrases learnt was a little budgie. They don't need quite so much room either, so might be a better option if your son really wants a bird who can share his room.

as to the toddler? they'll just have to learn not to touch the bird. First bird we had that i can remember, I couldn't have been more than 3 or 4, and my bro is two years younger. We just weren't allowed to open his cage, or play with him unsupervised. Worked fine. Especially as the bird was flighted. When he'd had enough, he'd just fly off, and then we'd have to leave him alone until he came back to play some more

[Marrie]

We have a cat and a toddler. Do cockatiels mind cats and toddlers?

Cats are predators. You would have to keep the bird in the cage if the cat was in the room and the cat out of the room while the bird was out. A cat can freak a bird out by tormenting it inside the cage, so if your cat has a high prey drive you'll want to keep an eye out for that. Toddlers can poke and be a bit rough if unsupervised, but with proper supervision of interaction they aren't a problem - birds are VERY fragile though, so be careful that your toddler wouldn't hurt a bird before you let them interact.

When the bird is out of his/her cage will she immediately escape out of the cat flap? Should she be confined to one room for her out of cage time? If someone opens a door or window is it bye bye birdie?

Cat doors can be closed and since you don't want the bird and cat together should be anyway, but yes it is possible a bird could escape through a cat door. You can open doors to go out, but never open them all the way and be very careful not to let the bird out - with kids going in and out, birdie should probably not be by the outside doors when out of the cage. Windows should never be left open with a bird around, unless there is a screen or the bird is in a cage. Also, you can clip the birds wings to help make it safer, but they can still fly a little outside so that doens't make it safe to leave things open, just safer in case of an accident. You would want to be extra careful with the cat if you did that though, as the bird could not get away if the cat went after it.

Is it better to have a pair? There is usually someone in the house but obviously we do all go out for the day sometimes for a lot longer than I would be happy to leave a dog for.

Birds do fine solo if they have proper time with their family. If you have 4+ hours a day to let them out and interact with them, one is fine. When you're out you can leave a radio or TV on for the bird and proper toys / cage size are needed. If you did want to get two, I would suggest a set of both males, two birds from a breeder who already are used to each other would be best. If you get two who aren't bonded already you have to go through introduction, with two cages, etc until they bond before you can house them together. A male/female pair would have babies if housed together and you do not want that (a lot of time / money / risk of death for breeding and takes a lot of knowledge about the birds to do it right).

Are they very loud? My husband works nights and I would generally rather the whole household wasn't awoken at silly o'clock.

My boyfriend used to come home at about 2am, but the bird never made a peep cause he wasn't in the same room as the noise, so didn't wake up. You can cover them for sleep and they tend to stay quiet while it's dark, then when you get up in the morning just uncover the bird. They sleep 12 hours a night (or should at least) so are pretty quiet as long as their sleep isn't disturbed at night. Mine goes to bed at 9pm and doesn't make a peep until 9am, though if we wake him up being too loud he'll softly call out "turkey bird?" then go back to sleep.

During the day they do make noise quite often though, flock calls, whistling, singing, some people find the flock calls loud and annoying but it's just them saying "Everything OK in the flock?"

Should they be kept in a family room with lots of activity or will they get too tired? Is it better to have the cage in a bedroom so they can get a good nights sleep or is that to dusty for the human occupant? My son seems to think she will just sleep on a perch next to his be and hardly use the cage at all but I think he reads to many stories.

They should be with the family during the day, but at night they should have undisturbed sleep. Since your husband works night, what you could do is have the "main cage" and playstand etc in the family room (protected from the cat with small enough bar spacing and not letting the bird and them together when cage isn't in the way) and a sleep cage in your sons room. If he's not allergic, it wouldn't be too dusty for him. You do NOT want him to let the bird stay out of the cage at night though - tiels are prone to night frights and my bird last time he had one out of the cage gave himself a black eye, because they fly blindly at top speed into walls and such. Also, they tend to want to sleep and cuddle on their person so it risks your son rolling over on the bird while he sleeps and no kid wants to hurt their pet accidentally.

Now - I will also add a few things you should consider before getting a bird that you may or may not have thought of:

Birds can sometimes bite. Would your son be OK with having the blood bitten out of him by a hormonal bird? Tiels are docile and usually pretty sweet, but when their mating hormonals surge, sometimes they can get moody and then if you don't read the body language right, you get a bite. My bird has only bitten me hard a few times, but he gets in his moods occasionally and you just have to take the bite calmly, then put the bird into time out.

The cage requires cleaning daily / weekly depending on the mess levels, water should be changed daily and food always available. If your son isn't willing to do it, you would need to step in or the bird would get sick.

Avians require a special vet, they are an exotic - before you get a bird, make sure you have a vet lined up who is experienced with them. A regular dog/cat vet doesn't work as they won't know what medicines to use, etc.

Thank you for researching before you get your son a pet. If all of this sounds doable for you, by all means get one. They are LOVELY animals and mine spends most his day on my shoulder asking me for kisses, scritches and nuzzles. He sleeps under my chin, or on my lap and he sings to me every morning and again before he goes to bed. They are very loving and special pets. A breeder bird will be more easily tamed usually than a pet store bird, but with patience any bird can bond with their owner. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.


And Helen - my tiel can open his sleep cage door (the kind that you push closed and it snaps into place) so certain cat flaps (the kind that you just push open) would be no problem for him

[maxollie]

Hi!, and welcome to the community! Birds are ideal pets for kids and family. I would agree with everything that has been shared by Marrie and Helen. I've homed both budgies and tiels for many years. Personally, if my family consisted of a two year old toddler, and a cat, and working parents, I would choose the budgie over the tiel. Both are fun pets to have. But I feel that tiels are a more complicated bird and require more care than a budgie. Tiels do love kids and people, but at times they can be hormonal, irregardless whether or not they have a partner, and males especially can be louder and more determined. Budgies are very hardy, have a loving personality, love to eat and play with their toys, and mirrors. And you can have one budgie that will adjust to its cage and environment quite easily. They are not loud, although they do chatter and sing most of the time, and they can be trained to step up, will sit on your shoulder, and even speak some words.

Of course you are the only one that can make the decision as to which you would like to have in your home, a budgie or a tiel. Good luck with whatever choice you make, and we would love to see pics and hear more about your new little friend when you get him/her.

[maxollie]

Hi!, and welcome to the community! Birds are ideal pets for kids and family. I would agree with everything that has been shared by Marrie and Helen. I've homed both budgies and tiels for many years. Personally, if my family consisted of a two year old toddler, and a cat, and working parents, I would choose the budgie over the tiel. Both are fun pets to have. But I feel that tiels are a more complicated bird and require more care than a budgie. Tiels do love kids and people, but at times they can be hormonal, irregardless whether or not they have a partner, and males especially can be louder and more determined. Budgies are very hardy, have a loving personality, love to eat and play with their toys, and mirrors. And you can have one budgie that will adjust to its cage and environment quite easily. They are not loud, although they do chatter and sing most of the time, and they can be trained to step up, will sit on your shoulder, and even speak some words.

Of course you are the only one that can make the decision as to which you would like to have in your home, a budgie or a tiel. Good luck with whatever choice you make, and we would love to see pics and hear more about your new little friend when you get him/her.

[marblerye]

Thanks everyone. I have a lot to think about. I will have to have a think about budgies but I thought I was doing well talking him down from a macaw. I like cockatiels better than budgies but that isn't based on any actual knowledge but just because I like larger animals generally (I don't like tiny dogs) and I like the crest. Budgies do should better from the pov of cage size, dust and noise but if he doesn't actually want one then those things don't really matter.

[Marrie]

Because budgies are so active, they still need about the same cage size as a tiel. And budgies require more toys, generally. And yes a macaw is not a good idea for a first time bird owner - nor someone who is out of the house a lot, they're like having a child and will pluck and go crazy if left alone, so good that you talked him down from that! But budgies are fine first time owner pets and they are very cute, playful and less dust (though, if you aren't allergic, the dust of a tiel isn't that bad as long as you bathe them regularly, I use spray showers or my tiel likes to actually join me in the shower).

Edit: You can get cages a lot cheaper online btw than you can in stores, on ebay you can get a very nice sized cage for about $100, at stores like petco you'd pay $250+ for the same thing. I used birdscomfort for my cage, though something with free shipping would be cheaper.

[marblerye]

I have found a tiel breeder not to far away who seems great and we have gone on her waiting list but I have just found out about the ptfe issue and it looks like I would have to replace every one of my pans. We don't have a single non coated pan in the house. I'm in 2 minds about whether we can go ahead. I cook a lot and my pans are really good quality and I would need to replace them with something decent so it is all ££££. I'm also worried what else I might have, like my iron, pannini press, waffle iron, popcorn maker, hair straighteners, hair dryer.

[marblerye]

Oh! and the rice cooker. We are chinese so rice is pretty much a major part of our diet, especially for the older generation. My mother in law will think I am crazy if I start cooking rice in a pan, plus I don't even know how to do it.

[marblerye]

My sons school trousers are teflon coated (in England) but I don't heat them up so maybe they are ok. I just don't know. i have visions of getting this lovely bird and my son loving it then I kill it with a pan.

[Marrie]

Hmm. I would be wary of putting a bird into a home with so much PTFE as well. It is dangerous for them.

Certain things I have are teflon, but I make sure to keep the bird well away and ventilate properly when I use them (hair dryer, etc) - with small appliances it isn't that hard, since they don't give off much in fumes and the most danger is when it heats up to 450F+. But, I did switch to stainless steel, which I didn't mind at all - teflon comes off in our food whenever we cook and it causes health issues in humans too from ingesting it. Plus, stainless steel cooks so much more evenly, food tastes better. And things like your oven (usually also teflon) can be kept safe by not using the "self clean" feature.

Not all "non-stick" are teflon however, you can get non-stick ceramic and other coatings. Check your stuff to make sure it is all teflon and not one of the other coatings. A lot of good quality cookware nowadays is PTFE free, because of how many human illnesses PTFE is linked to.