Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got a Cockatiel for Christmas from my husband. We both went and picked it out from local pet store. It was in the cage with 2 other cockatiels. The lady at the pet store thanked me for taking the one I did because she is so loud and when I got her home I realized what she was talking about. After a couple days Sparky really calmed down and was quite pleasant to talk to and whistle to with the occasional screaming incident. The last few days she has been screaming like crazy. She has never been tamed so I haven't attempted to take her out of her cage. I sit beside her and talk to her, read to her and whistle. She doesn't really calm down. She will come to her perch which is right beside my head and look right at me and scream - it is ear piercing! But I still sit. I cover her up when she gets really bad and ignore her and eventually she gets quiet. When I remove the cover she starts up again. I am wondering if she could be lonely or just stressed. Now that you have my lengthly background I have a couple questions.

If you were to introduce a new bird, would you get another female or a male?
Would you get another one from a pet store or would you get one from a breeder (I have since located a breeder about 3 hours from where I live)?
Is another cockatiel in a neighboring cage (side by side) enough or should they be in the cage together?
I don't want my little birdie to be stressed or lonely - I want her to be comfortable and content.

Again, sorry this is so long. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thank you.

How much time are you able to spend with your cockatiel? Are you both away from the home alot so your cockatiel is left alone? If you are away a lot then the cockatiel may be feeling stress from this. You could first try using a radio or tv in the same room for noise level and see if this helps.

If you are set on getting another cockatiel first realize this may not get rid of the screaming but instead magnify it x2!! If you still want one then I would definitely suggest separate cages especially since they will need to be quarantined for the first 30-60 days. Then they could be moved to the same room and eventually side by side. I didn't see if you mentioned what sex your other bird was. Since you are not housing them together it wouldn't matter as much which sex bird you got. Just the flock mate would give them company. As far as breeder or pet store. I have found on an average that breeders care for their birds more, tend to know more about them individually, and are more helpful when acquiring a new one. So if possible go through a breeder but do check them out first, make sure they are trustworthy and use good, clean breeding conditions for their birds instead of having a "bird mill" feeling to it.

If you can spend plenty of time with your bird and are wanting to tame it I would suggest not buying another one at least to start with. Let the one you have get used to you. Make sure why it is screaming see if it is just social behavior etc. Then after you have gotten it used to you, you can decide if you want ot add an additional flock member or not.

I am going to hold off on getting another for awhile - I want to see how it will go with her on her own. I have put one of those machines that mimic natures sounds and she likes "woods" which is a combination of birds, crickets, etc. She likes that one. I am home until about 3 in the afternoon (I work evenings) and I get home around midnight. I would go by way of a breeder though I have been talking to one in particular and checking out another just in case! I am going to wait and see how it goes. thank you for suggestions. I have 5 dogs (all rescued) and 5 cats as we live on an acreage. So I love my animals. My one dog loves to watch the bird so I have to pick him up to see her. Although I would never let the bird out with the other animals in the room!!! They can only visit through the cage! I don't know what they would do - however, I am not going to put my birds life in jeopardy - it is just not worth the risk.