Cockatiels

I have a little story.

My wife and I bought a cockatiel for our son who was three at the time. He got to name it. He called it 'Sausage'. So sausage was having his cage cleaned one time and he escaped, flew away. I went to the shop and got another one before our son knew he had gone. 'Sausage 2' was another escape artist and I went back to the shop. 'Sausage 3' was getting some rays one day when a stray dog thought it was a good thing to knock over the cage and partake in a feathery snack. That was it for us. We told our boy the truth and although he missed 'Sausage' for a couple of days, he got over it.

Other then that, they were good birds that learnt quickly (obvious from the ones who escaped).

JJ

I loved my cockatiels. I had six at one time that turned into eight. You guessed it: babies. That was a fun crash course. I found new homes for all the birds except for my original two. I had six adults and two babies. I had the original two CJ and Scruffy for almost nine years.

I never did clip their wings because we had three cats. One was an active hunter and I wanted my birds to be able to get away in case the cats got loose while the birds were out of the cage. I moved to Florida and I had no cats. Never did get my birds wings clipped. They escaped. One got out when I was coming in the house. The other one got out when my brother came in the house a month later.

My poor brother searched for over an hour walking around outside calling for my bird. I wasn't at home when it happened. He called me up crying and that he was so sorry. My brother was 24 at the time and doesn't cry easily. I told him that it was okay and that it was bound to happen since their wings weren't clipped. I told him that I wasn't mad at him and reminded him that the other bird got away when I came in the house.

My suggestion: If or when you get a cockatiel keep their wings clipped.

Re: Cats and Birds.

Keep your cats away from your bird's cage. Whether that means closing a door, or keeping the bird cage high AND secure, depends on the situation

Keep your cats away from your birds. One sudden flutter from your bird may result in a predatory leap from even the quietest of cats. Locking the cat out of the bird room, or into his own room is important when you are letting your bird fly around, or when opening the cage door!

And, most importantly- Cats (and dogs) carry Pasturella (bacteria) in their mouths (and claws for cats- all that grooming). One break of the skin on the bird from a cat usually results in septicemia and a bird that dies suddenly a few days later (or sooner if the injury and stress is severe.) This is especially important if you know your bird and cat were near eachother and don't know if the cat injured the bird- wounds are very hard to see, especially tiny scratches. The bird would need immediate prescription antibiotics from a vet to be safe.

Sorry if I sound paranoid but I've heard too many horror stories. Although in one story it was the cat that got the nasty bite (but that involved a large parrot and the cat's tail. The cat liked to sit on top of the parrot's cage. I won't add the gore-y details, but the point is these guys don't mix )
And of course, there are stories of birds and cats that do fine together, it's just not worth the risk imho.

Cheers,
Christina

My husband and I had a cockatiel named Brutus. He had the run of the apartment, and learned to whistle songs. He even learned how to say 'hello' in a squinky kind of way.

We had a cat, too, but she came later and Brutus was the boss. He taunted her from the chair arm and she stared at him with a look that said, "You'll get yours, bastard."

Well, one day while we were at work, she managed to slide the glass door open to the balcony and Brutus got away. We searched and heard him calling us from tall trees in the dark, but he wouldn't have been able to come down to us because cockatiels apparently have poor night vision.

A few years later, we got a pair, and the male was too aggressive so we sold him. The female survived many bouts of pneumonia (watch the cold drafts, they're very susceptible) and lived to about fifteen. Toward the end, she couldn't fly.

We had dogs and cats both times, no predatory problems.

They all liked beer.

Did I mention bathrooms? They are great for putting a bird up (or taking the bird cage there to take the bird out), and equally great for locking cats up, lol
Good luck!
Christina

Bathrooms are not a good place for birds.

I had a cockatiel named Zeppelin, who loved to sing "Rock and Roll" by Led Zeppelin. I got him when I was 16. I'm now 37 and Zeppelin lives on, but at my mother's house.

I gave him up to mum when I was living in a roomate situation that wasn't good for the bird (let's just say there was some blood involved, and I was in my late 20's), and haven't been able to get him back. Meh, she loves him, and takes good care of him, and he probably wouldn't be great with my kids.

Just be warned: the decision you make today can still be with you many years later, unless you find another home for the bird or somehow neglect it to death. Ole Zep is soon to celebrate his 22nd birthday, a longevity I was not aware of when I got him at age 16.