Birds Anyone?

Tiramisu · 01-09-2009, 08:40 AM

I'm not a birdwatcher, but do enjoy watching and listening to birds. I've had Parakeets before, but they're too chirpy for me. Judy, I know you have or had Parakeets. I'm thinking about getting a couple of Cockatiels. Does anybody have information or experience for me?

A few years back, we bought 4 gray Doves for outside and kept them in a big (4' wide x 8' long x 8' tall) fully enclosed cage Hubby built. We think a snake got in and killed them all. We replaced those with 4 more and the same thing happened. We didn't replace those. I really enjoyed having them.

Are Cockatiles are chirpy as Parakeets? Do they carry any diseases that would bother my g-kids or doggies?

Marilyn · 01-09-2009, 10:01 AM

We had a cockatile, and she was a sweetie, except when she wanted attention or sometimes when certain sounds were on the TV. She would get very loud. Not just chirpy. She would sound like she was yelling at us. More like squalks. I tried covering her cage, and she would still make noise. I would put her cage outside sometimes on nice evenings and let her get some fresh air and give us a break. One night I forgot to bring her in, and we think a cat got to her and pulled off one of her wings. The vet tried to save her, but she died. We did not get another. She escaped once when we had her out flying around inside the house. She flew out an open door, but was found by some people at a nearby apartment complex who had birds.

Her beak was very strong. One time when I had her on my shoulder she was nibbling at my earring. I noticed later that she had crushed the gold balls on my earring. Maybe she thought they were shiny seeds or something.

She put off a lot of feather dust, too and was a bit messy. If we'd had a screened in porch to put her cage in sometimes, I think it would have worked better for us. We had friends who raised cockatiles and love birds, and they had some on perches on their screened in porch. They seemed very happy there.

Marilyn · 01-09-2009, 10:02 AM

Oh, also, we bought ours from a home breeder who hand fed them, so she was well socialized. Would not recommend buying from a pet store. Kinda like buying a puppy. Good luck!!

Janet · 01-09-2009, 11:20 AM

Can't help you with the birds Sandy. I've been afraid of them since I was in the crib. I do have feeders up for Hummingbirds and I did have some up for the yellow/gold Finches. Long as they can't get too close to me...I do alright.

Tiramisu · 01-09-2009, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janet

Can't help you with the birds Sandy. I've been afraid of them since I was in the crib. I do have feeders up for Hummingbirds and I did have some up for the yellow/gold Finches. Long as they can't get too close to me...I do alright.

What's the story?

Tiramisu · 01-09-2009, 11:28 AM

I'm sure Hubby will be against the idea and it's probably not a good idea with the kids and doggies around.

judy · 01-09-2009, 03:03 PM

Don't ask him! It's much easier to say you're sorry than to ask for permission.

All kidding aside, I hope you find a wonderful bird. I don't know about cockatiels.
Google it and see what people have to say. I think they're very popular.

I still want to get more parakeets or canaries. Not yet though. Annie is too young and needs much more spoiling.

Janet · 01-09-2009, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiramisu

What's the story?

When I was a toddler, I saw them cut the heads off chickens and they chased me. We only had a two bedroom home and Mom and Dad had one room, us 3 kids (younger brother hadn't been born yet) had the other. I slept in my crib and had a dream there were chickens all over it pecking at me. My mother remembers this night too. Everysince, I've been afraid of birds.

I've tried to get over it, but it hasn't happened.

Emmsmom · 01-10-2009, 09:24 AM

We have a male and female cockatiel. Elvis(the male) can get rather vocal at times but how annoying it can be depends on what you teach him to sing. LOL Last fall Elvis use to listen to a bird outside while we had the windows open. Well it took him all of 2 weeks to learn the song and now he won't stop. It is kinda of annoying at times because he sounds just like a siren. He will also make the "cat call" whistle too.

Memphis(the female) is very quiet. Females don't normally sing they just kinda chirp. Now when she hears my husband come home she will start screaming until he comes in and says hi. THen she will calm down.

The bad side to owning them is the mess they can make. They do produce a lot of dust from cleaning themselves so much. You also CAN NOT let them near ANYTHING shiny and delicate because they are very curious and they will pick at it. Their wings and toenails need to be clipped on regular basis. We use to have a male parakeet and we had to find him a new home. He was driving me crazy. He didn't sing he just screamed ALL the time. If you plan on getting 2 birds you need to try and get 2 siblings or a male and female that have already bonded. It is much easier that way. We didn't go this route and it took a while for Elvis and Memphis to get use to each other. We had to keep them seperated a lot. Now they clean each other but they still haven't bonded. So NO babies for us! A male a female will only mate if the bond so I am just fine with not having any babies. We just wanted a male that would sing. We are still trying to teach him other songs it just takes a while.

01-09-2009, 08:40 AM	#1
Tiramisu Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New Caney, Texas (outside Houston) Posts: 1,776	Birds Anyone? I'm not a birdwatcher, but do enjoy watching and listening to birds. I've had Parakeets before, but they're too chirpy for me. Judy, I know you have or had Parakeets. I'm thinking about getting a couple of Cockatiels. Does anybody have information or experience for me? A few years back, we bought 4 gray Doves for outside and kept them in a big (4' wide x 8' long x 8' tall) fully enclosed cage Hubby built. We think a snake got in and killed them all. We replaced those with 4 more and the same thing happened. We didn't replace those. I really enjoyed having them. Are Cockatiles are chirpy as Parakeets? Do they carry any diseases that would bother my g-kids or doggies? __________________ SANDY

01-09-2009, 10:01 AM	#2
Marilyn Donating 4WT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 4,907	We had a cockatile, and she was a sweetie, except when she wanted attention or sometimes when certain sounds were on the TV. She would get very loud. Not just chirpy. She would sound like she was yelling at us. More like squalks. I tried covering her cage, and she would still make noise. I would put her cage outside sometimes on nice evenings and let her get some fresh air and give us a break. One night I forgot to bring her in, and we think a cat got to her and pulled off one of her wings. The vet tried to save her, but she died. We did not get another. She escaped once when we had her out flying around inside the house. She flew out an open door, but was found by some people at a nearby apartment complex who had birds. Her beak was very strong. One time when I had her on my shoulder she was nibbling at my earring. I noticed later that she had crushed the gold balls on my earring. Maybe she thought they were shiny seeds or something. She put off a lot of feather dust, too and was a bit messy. If we'd had a screened in porch to put her cage in sometimes, I think it would have worked better for us. We had friends who raised cockatiles and love birds, and they had some on perches on their screened in porch. They seemed very happy there. __________________ Marilyn If anyone would like a free Bible Study CD or book entitled "Searching for Truth", PM me with your mailing address and I'll send you one. "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." John 8:32 Last edited by Marilyn; 01-09-2009 at 10:03 AM.

01-09-2009, 10:02 AM	#3
Marilyn Donating 4WT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 4,907	Oh, also, we bought ours from a home breeder who hand fed them, so she was well socialized. Would not recommend buying from a pet store. Kinda like buying a puppy. Good luck!! __________________ Marilyn If anyone would like a free Bible Study CD or book entitled "Searching for Truth", PM me with your mailing address and I'll send you one. "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." John 8:32

01-09-2009, 11:20 AM	#4
Janet Moderator Donating 4WT 18K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: INDIANA Posts: 21,624	Can't help you with the birds Sandy. I've been afraid of them since I was in the crib. I do have feeders up for Hummingbirds and I did have some up for the yellow/gold Finches. Long as they can't get too close to me...I do alright. __________________ To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. ECCLESIASTES 3:1

01-09-2009, 11:28 AM	#6
Tiramisu Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New Caney, Texas (outside Houston) Posts: 1,776	I'm sure Hubby will be against the idea and it's probably not a good idea with the kids and doggies around. __________________ SANDY

01-09-2009, 03:03 PM	#7
judy Donating 4WT Yakker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Denver, NY Posts: 8,097	Don't ask him! It's much easier to say you're sorry than to ask for permission. All kidding aside, I hope you find a wonderful bird. I don't know about cockatiels. Google it and see what people have to say. I think they're very popular. I still want to get more parakeets or canaries. Not yet though. Annie is too young and needs much more spoiling. __________________ *Judy*

01-10-2009, 09:24 AM	#9
Emmsmom Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 612	We have a male and female cockatiel. Elvis(the male) can get rather vocal at times but how annoying it can be depends on what you teach him to sing. LOL Last fall Elvis use to listen to a bird outside while we had the windows open. Well it took him all of 2 weeks to learn the song and now he won't stop. It is kinda of annoying at times because he sounds just like a siren. He will also make the "cat call" whistle too. Memphis(the female) is very quiet. Females don't normally sing they just kinda chirp. Now when she hears my husband come home she will start screaming until he comes in and says hi. THen she will calm down. The bad side to owning them is the mess they can make. They do produce a lot of dust from cleaning themselves so much. You also CAN NOT let them near ANYTHING shiny and delicate because they are very curious and they will pick at it. Their wings and toenails need to be clipped on regular basis. We use to have a male parakeet and we had to find him a new home. He was driving me crazy. He didn't sing he just screamed ALL the time. If you plan on getting 2 birds you need to try and get 2 siblings or a male and female that have already bonded. It is much easier that way. We didn't go this route and it took a while for Elvis and Memphis to get use to each other. We had to keep them seperated a lot. Now they clean each other but they still haven't bonded. So NO babies for us! A male a female will only mate if the bond so I am just fine with not having any babies. We just wanted a male that would sing. We are still trying to teach him other songs it just takes a while. __________________ MICHELLE

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