New tiel

[Stray_mind]

Hello everyone. New member here!

So i got a new tiel on monday morning from a pet store. It's not tamed and was living in a rather small box there (made out of glass). I bought him the largest cage possible there but it's still a bit too small..i am getting him a big and comfortable one today and some more toys.

He is pacing and doing a flock call all day. He lived next to a bunch of budgies in the other box. Could he be missing them?

He calms down for a bit if i put some classical music on (he seems to like Vivaldi haha!). I can't really understand his body language.... Sometimes he sits on his perch and lightly shaking, but simultaneously he grinds his beak with the feathers around it puffed up, which is supposed to be a good thing.
Yesterday evening he played around with his toy for a bit.

He sleeps quietly trough the night. He didn't seem to have any night frights yet, as my room isn't completely dark and is relatively quiet and away from busy street. I have some decorative lights hung above my window that shine troughout the night so i guess it's like a night light to him.
In the morning he keeps quiet for a few minutes before he completely wakes up. Then he gets a drink and starts his usual pacing and screeching.


I haven't attempted to put my hands on him yet, just change his water every day and make sure the cage is clean. Otherwise i just sort of hang around in the same room, occasionally talking to him. He seems to be interested in me. He comes up on the perch when i talk to him and looks at me. Of course when i am changing his food and water he runs to the far end of the cage. Poor thing.

I have seen him drinking water. He drinks in the morning and then in the middle of the day.

The problem is i haven't seen him eat anything yet. Not even the millet spray i have hung in his cage.
I am worried he might get weak.

I put a couple of goji berries and a raisin in his bowl as a snack. This morning i found both goji berries on the floor haha. Maybe he did eat a bit when i was out?...

The other question is, should i let him out to fly? I want him to have some excercize and explore the room but i am worried i will stress him out if i try to put him back in his cage.

What can i do to make him feel comfortable and welcome in my house and adapt better?

Thank you for reading.

[Pipers Mom]

Well first, Congratulations on your new cockatiel!!! They are awesome birds

You are doing the right thing by speaking to him/her each day. Speak softly and let the bird get to know you. I love the idea that you play classical music, your tiel is the first one that I know of likes Vivaldi.. LOL!!!

It's going to take time for your new addition to get adjusted to it's new environment, sounds and most importantly... You!!! Your tiel probably has eaten but you have not seen it yet. Just keep a close eye on his food cup. And you are doing the right thing by making sure his water is clean and changed daily. Be sure the cage is cleaned daily too!! As a suggestion, you can try placing romaine lettuce in his cage or even cilantro. Tiels also like carrots and peas too!! You can find recipes on line for the carrot/pea mash.

Before you let your bird out of it's cage to explore, please make sure that all doors and windows are closed. But I would suggest to give your tiel the time to acclimate to it's new surroundings.

It's not going to happen overnight. My little guy took over a month before he climbed to the top of his cage.. You need earn their trust and learn to be patient. In time, I am sure you will have a great feathered friend.

Once your tiel is more accustomed to it's surroundings, you can always go to youtube and look up training techniques for your cockatiel like step up.. that is usually the first one I have always taught my birds.

Congrats on the new addition.. Does your new baby have a name?

Please keep us updated

[Stray_mind]

Thanks for replying!
His name is Max. I picked sort of a gender neutral name, because i don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet.

I brought home a large flight cage today and put them together with doors open. I moved his water and food and his toys to the new cage. So far he hasn't attempted to enter it, but he has been looking over at the new cage.

I put some millet by the door. He also has a habit of going to drink water right after he wakes up, so i hope he might enter the new cage to look for his water bowl. If not, i guess i will move the water back to his old cage for now.

He pecked some of his food today and i also didn't find the raisin i put in when i was cleaning his bowl. I guess he at least likes raisins.

For now he is just pacing around like crazy and flock calling.
I will just be patient. Hoping things will go smoothly.

Edit to add:

Success! He entered his new cage about an hour before sundown. At first he sat at the entrance, looking around, unsure of what to do. Meanwhile I was holding my breath watching him. He finally took a leap of faith, flapped around a bit, climbed around, looked at the food bowl on the left (with pellets), then one on the right (with a high quality seed and fruit mix) and picked the one with seeds. I will allow it for now, then i think i will try to move him to a mostly pellet diet. He started eating really greedily and drank some water. He also chirped a bit, not like his usual flock calls. I think he liked the new sense of freedom, since he can fly around in his new cage.

Right now he is already asleep. I hope he'll sleep soundly.

Tomorrow i am off to work so he will have some alone time to accustom to his new home.

[boomer girl]

Ahhh, you must be so happy to see him eating and finally acting like he is going to be a happy bird with you. They sure know how to make us worry and thankfully your little one finally has decided it is going to be OK with you. I try to charm them with lots of happy sweet talking so that they know you are going to be around them and they get use to your voice. Sit next to the cage and talk a little bit to him and then just sit there and watch TV, read a book or anything so he gets use to you being near him. It takes lots of time for them to be fully comfortable and no doubt he has to miss his old cage buddies he use to have. Soon you will be his best buddy and he is going to charm you like no other animal ever has. Birds are the best pets.

[Stray_mind]

So a little update:

He has slept quietly for around 10 hours. After he woke up he ate a lot, and had a drink. He is much more quiet now, appart from occasional scream, he also isn't pacing a lot, just occasional movement from one side to the other.

He has been sneezing quite a lot though, so i am a bit worried (first bird!) though i have read it could be due to him just trying to clear out his airways. There is no discharge anywhere. He is Eating a lot.

He is still lightly shaking, but grinding his beak.

The other concern i have is that as it's cloudy, my room is a little dim. I moved his cage a bit closer to the window to get more light, but is it enough? Should i get him a UV light near his cage?

[Pipers Mom]

You have made incredible progress... One thing I do suggest is that don't make raisins a regular part of your birds diet. Raisins are high in sugar.
In regards to the sneezing, my tiel is sneezes each day. That's what these birds do. Their little bodies produce a lot of dander (white powder). As long as there is nothing discharging from it's nostrils, than you bird is okay.

Once Max is more settled, it will always seem you will find him in his food cups. Tiels like to eat. I sometimes tell my little guy "your not a bird, your a pig"!!!

Eventually, once Max gets more comfortable with his surroundings, the shakes will go away. If Max is grinding the beak, then Max is content.

From what you described, he is liking his flight cage. One thing is to be patient, you just brought him home. Like I mentioned, the bird need to get acclimated to it's new environment. It may take a week, two weeks or even longer, it all depends on the bird. Tango was home for almost 5 weeks before he started climbing to other perches.

In regards to the lighting, I usually do natural light during the day, but when the daylight starts to decrease, you could try putting a light near his cage. I have a LED system over my birds cage and I use it more during the winter months than the summer months.

[Stray_mind]

You have made incredible progress... One thing I do suggest is that don't make raisins a regular part of your birds diet. Raisins are high in sugar.
In regards to the sneezing, my tiel is sneezes each day. That's what these birds do. Their little bodies produce a lot of dander (white powder). As long as there is nothing discharging from it's nostrils, than you bird is okay.

Once Max is more settled, it will always seem you will find him in his food cups. Tiels like to eat. I sometimes tell my little guy "your not a bird, your a pig"!!!

Eventually, once Max gets more comfortable with his surroundings, the shakes will go away. If Max is grinding the beak, then Max is content.

From what you described, he is liking his flight cage. One thing is to be patient, you just brought him home. Like I mentioned, the bird need to get acclimated to it's new environment. It may take a week, two weeks or even longer, it all depends on the bird. Tango was home for almost 5 weeks before he started climbing to other perches.

In regards to the lighting, I usually do natural light during the day, but when the daylight starts to decrease, you could try putting a light near his cage. I have a LED system over my birds cage and I use it more during the winter months than the summer months.

Thank you for the advices and calming my anxiety over my first "baby" haha!

Of course i am not giving him a lot of raisins. I am going to give them only as an occasional snack.

I might install led lights too, as we don't have a lot of light in winter season.

[maxollie]

Hi, and welcome to the community. Congrats on bringing Max to your home. It sounds to me that he is doing great. It takes awhile for a baby to get used to you and his surroundings. You have provided him with a great cage, and he sure is settling in quite fast. Each day you will see him becoming more trusting of you. Tiels do love music and classical is one of their favorites. They also like to watch Seasame Street on YouTube, and my tiel loves the videos of Liberty Mutual Emu on YouTube, and he likes Daniel Tiger which is a children's video series on YouTube. Tiels really are like human two year old kids. They are very smart, inquisitive, and at times can be very stubborn. They like to have a daily routine and don't care much about changing it. The males can wolf whistle and learn songs, mimic words, and even learn to beak rhythms on the cage floor. All tiiels are very intelligent.

Enjoy Max every single day. In my view, tiels are people birds and make great pets. Good luck on your journey together. We will welcome your updates anytime.

[Stray_mind]

Day 5.

Max seems to be doing Okay. He only flock calls when he overhears some birds chirping outside or when i watch videos about other tiels and they make sounds in the video.

He has been eating and drinking well. He makes soft squeaks as he eats from time to time and has been making a few medium loud chirps occasionally. He's been picking out small seeds though, without touching the larger pieces. He doesn't seem to like sunflower seeds at all. I am going to buy him pellets for budgies. They are much smaller size so maybe he will like those more. I crushed his larger pellets and sprinkled some in his bowl. I think he ate some because there was less in the bowl.

Today i let him listen to some nature sounds on YT.
He has moved to his sleep spot on the perch and has been trying to nod off a bit, so i left the room for now to let him rest.

My dad was home all day yesterday while i was at work. He said Max is mostly quiet now.

I have been giving him space so far and am just hanging out in the same room where he can see me but not close enough to scare him, because he starts shaking when i approach too close.

[Pipers Mom]

Happy to hear the Max is settling in nicely for you. Sometimes tiels can be picky eaters so if he doesn't eat sunflower seeds, don't be disappointed. Actually, sunflower seeds are high in fat. My bird is a sunflower junkie, so his allowance of sunflower seeds is very limited.. If Max is eating the smaller seeds, than he is doing okay. As to pellets, make sure you mix it with seed.. 70% seed the other 30% pellet. If you do take that route, try an organic pellet like Harrison's. If Max doesn't like the Harrison's brand, then try Roudybush. Try to stay away with foods and pellets with artificial food color.

Most cockatiels sleep towards the top of the cage. In the wild, they do the same thing.

Maxollie (Ellen) gave you some excellent advice in regards to youtube children's videos, sesame street, etc. Tiels for some reason get attracted to the pitch from the video's. Deanna (Boomergirl) also suggested that you read nearby Max so the bird get's used to you. That to is some very solid advice.

You only had Max home for 5 days. Your doing excellent and it seems like you and Max are going to have a wonderful journey together.

[Stray_mind]

Happy to hear the Max is settling in nicely for you. Sometimes tiels can be picky eaters so if he doesn't eat sunflower seeds, don't be disappointed. Actually, sunflower seeds are high in fat. My bird is a sunflower junkie, so his allowance of sunflower seeds is very limited.. If Max is eating the smaller seeds, than he is doing okay. As to pellets, make sure you mix it with seed.. 70% seed the other 30% pellet. If you do take that route, try an organic pellet like Harrison's. If Max doesn't like the Harrison's brand, then try Roudybush. Try to stay away with foods and pellets with artificial food color.

Most cockatiels sleep towards the top of the cage. In the wild, they do the same thing.

Maxollie (Ellen) gave you some excellent advice in regards to youtube children's videos, sesame street, etc. Tiels for some reason get attracted to the pitch from the video's. Deanna (Boomergirl) also suggested that you read nearby Max so the bird get's used to you. That to is some very solid advice.

You only had Max home for 5 days. Your doing excellent and it seems like you and Max are going to have a wonderful journey together.

So it should be mostly seeds? I read a lot of sources that pellet diet is the best as seeds are usually old and not very nutritious, also high in fat. I am planning to offer him some various green foods that are non toxic to birds to try and figure out what he likes.
He isn't interested in spray millet either.

I will try some romaine salad today and see what he does.

Should i read out loud or just my presence near the cage is enough?

[Pipers Mom]

So it should be mostly seeds? I read a lot of sources that pellet diet is the best as seeds are usually old and not very nutritious, also high in fat. I am planning to offer him some various green foods that are non toxic to birds to try and figure out what he likes.
He isn't interested in spray millet either.

I will try some romaine salad today and see what he does.

Should i read out loud or just my presence near the cage is enough?

Seeds are more of a natural part of their diets. Pellets are more less used for other nutritional purposes that they don't get naturally. That is why it is so important to either get the Harrison's or Roudybush because both brands contain the nutrients that cockatiels need in their diets that they don't get from seeds. Spray millet should be used as a treat. Max may not be interested in it now, he may as he gets more settled in. Millet is also a high fat treat and it should be used as a treat instead of part of his diet.

Try giving him greens and only leave them in the cage for a couple of hours. I usually tied with a bread tie the romaine on the bar of my bird cage near his food cups. Romaine is preferred, iceberg has no nutritional value. Max may or may not eat it. Don't give up, continue placing the greens in your cage each day for a couple of hours at a time.

When you sit with your bird, read softly and in a calm tone. Just being there in the room with Max is an excellent start. Once Max recognizes you as it's sole care giver, Max is going to seek for you as a sense of security.

Food for thought... Search on this website for the carrot - pea mash.. It's an easy recipe and it's a good start on getting your tiel to eat veggies.

[Stray_mind]

Seeds are more of a natural part of their diets. Pellets are more less used for other nutritional purposes that they don't get naturally. That is why it is so important to either get the Harrison's or Roudybush because both brands contain the nutrients that cockatiels need in their diets that they don't get from seeds. Spray millet should be used as a treat. Max may not be interested in it now, he may as he gets more settled in. Millet is also a high fat treat and it should be used as a treat instead of part of his diet.

Try giving him greens and only leave them in the cage for a couple of hours. I usually tied with a bread tie the romaine on the bar of my bird cage near his food cups. Romaine is preferred, iceberg has no nutritional value. Max may or may not eat it. Don't give up, continue placing the greens in your cage each day for a couple of hours at a time.

When you sit with your bird, read softly and in a calm tone. Just being there in the room with Max is an excellent start. Once Max recognizes you as it's sole care giver, Max is going to seek for you as a sense of security.

Food for thought... Search on this website for the carrot - pea mash.. It's an easy recipe and it's a good start on getting your tiel to eat veggies.

Thanks for all the advices. I have been sitting with him for an hour and reading. He was looking at me, then started eating. He only runs to the middle of his perch, instead of the other end now as i am changing his water and food.

Another question is, i know he isn't bonded to me now, but i have work from 9am to 9pm two days in a row and then two days off (my schedule is like that). So i will have 3 or 4 times a week where i will be at home all day. What should i do to keep him entertained when i am away so he doesn't get too lonely? My parents come home earlier, like 5 pm.. so i guess they can play with him a bit while i am at work..
Should i think about getting him a friend or just try to give him something to forage and play with and leave some music on?

[Pipers Mom]

These birds do well by themselves. But what I recommend is to leave a radio on for Max. Not to loud and easy listening.

[Stray_mind]

These birds do well by themselves. But what I recommend is to leave a radio on for Max. Not to loud and easy listening.

Thank you! I have read all kinds of horror stories and was thinking maybe i made a mistake by bringing him home without a companion. I want to give him the best life i can possibly give. I have a radio that's run on batteries..i will make sure to put some music on when i leave for work.

Today he has been eating a lot. He is on his bowl like every hour...He tried some bigger grains from and the bigger pieces of cuttlefish bone that i put in, because he didn't want to eat it while it was hung on the cage bars whole. He crushes them against the bars. He also ate a few pieces of millet from the branch i hung in his cage.

He wandered around the cage a bit about an hour ago while earlier he was just sitting on his middle perch. He landed to the bottom, walked around and then tried to find a way up again. He flew around the cage for a bit too.

I put my hand inside the cage and placed it in the middle of his perch this afternoon.. He didn't do anything, only looked at it. Will repeat the process tomorrow in the morning.

Now when i whistle at him he shakes his head and grinds his beak.
We watched some harry potter together. He started preening in the middle of it. He is having a long preening session.

I might get a mist bottle and give him a bath in few days.

I ordered some foraging toys and various branch perches to add to his cage that right now only has some rope perches and a plain wood one that eas added to his cage set, which i heard is the worst one for them.