Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My cockatiel seems to be lonely and or bored. She has a multitude of toys and is never locked in her cage. She has the ability to move from her cage to her play gym whenever she wants. She isn't like most cockatiels that I have had in the sense that she does not chew things up and she doens't play with any of her toys. She does play with my necklace and earrings when she is on my shoulder but other than that she does not seem interested in anything. I really would like for her to be happy. Does anyone have any suggestions? I really don't have the space for another bird so I would like to avoid that unless absolutely necessary. Any suggestions are welcome.

It's good that she spends majority of her time out of the cage & around your home. Try interacting with her a little more. Interaction is often better for tiels than just toys. Tiels need to interact with their owners just as you & I need to interact with other people. Play games with her, teach her a few simple tricks, take her everywhere you go in the house, let her watch what you do, even just talk to her. If she still seems uninterested then she's more likely to be very content the way things are. Some females are generally quieter than males but I believe that ALL males & females will let you know if they're unhappy or bored.

Good luck

Some birds also have to be "taught" to play with and chew on toys. I don't know what the birds circumstances were before coming to live with you but if it is either a young bird or an older bird that has not had much experience with toys it may actually not know what to do with a toy! You can use a reward system to reward your bird with a treat or praise when it first "touches" a toy. Then move up to rewarding if it actually "mouthes" the toy. Then if it "plays" with the toy. If you get your bird to actually touch the toys, ring the bells etc and it still doesn't show much interest then it just doesn't want the toys and wants interaction instead. This does not mean don't provide toys but also don't worry if it doesn't show interest after showing and rewarding for knowing what the toys are for. Also make sure to try a large variety of toys, some with bells, some with rope, some wood, some plastic, some that move, some foot toys like balls with bells in them etc. If after having choices and "knowing" what they are for it is still not interested then at least you know you have tried.

As long as you are giving plenty of interaction to your cockatiel you shouldn't need to get it a companion. IF you are gone for extremely long periods or are not able to provide much time for it then a buddy might be an idea but you would have to have a separate cage for at least the first 30 days if not forever because there is no guarantee that your first one would get along with the next one.