Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! I am new to this board and this is my first time posting. I am planning to buy a Cockatiel but I am not sure if I should buy a tamed or untamed one. Time is not a problem and even though I have done all kinds of research on the web for information on Cockatiels I have not found anything to tell me which one would be better for me.

I never owned a Cockatiel but I have had parakeets. My last parakeet (Pretty Birdy) could even say its name and she could mimic all the sounds I made to her. We lost her about 3 months ago and she is missed. We had the pleasure of having her for 9 yrs.

If you are thinking of purchasing a young cockatiel then a tamer socialized one is definitely the way to go. Even if it has started to bond with one person it is much easier to get it to fit in to your life style if it is already tamed and used to handling by people. Althougn you can of course tame a cockatiel it does cause more stress on both you and the bird and takes much longer before you can both enjoy each others company. Now if you are trying to decide between a tame young bird or a rescue untame bird then I am all for rescues but will say that a rescued bird is not for everyone. Many already have temperment problems and possibly even health problems. If you do decide on the rescue be sure to check out the rescue and the bird fully before making your decision. There are many wonderful rescue that take very good care of their birds but their are also very many that keep popping up that are either in it hoping to make money or who care about the birds but don't really know what they are getting into with both the taming or socializing and the medical care of the rescued birds.

Either way take your time to meet the birds and where they are at to see which one seems better for you personally as a bird that fits in well with one person won't necessarily with a different one.

Thank you for your reply. I have visited several Pet Shops and will visit some more today before I actually purchase one. Although I am all for rescuing any animal I don't believe that it would be in a tiel's best interest if I adopted one with special needs since I have never owned a tiel. However when I do get a tiel if I can take care of it properly (which I believe I can) than I might consider getting one that has been rescued and needs a good home.
Again thank you.

That's amazing! My parakeet learned to say your parakeets' name!
I lost my budgie (literally) last fall after 7 or 8 years. We were buddies, she was rescued from my mother's birdfeeder. While putting out another round of lost budgie signs, I saw someone else's found cockatiel sign. A week or 2 later, they called. They hadn't found the owner, saw my sign, and wondered if I wanted her. So I "rescued" a second bird. She's healthy, and after she got used to the new home, is more tame then the budgie ever was, in some ways. I guess I'm saying that a rescue bird needn't be "special needs" at all (and saying "hi" to someone who seems to be on the same pet bird path through life).
Avian Advice

Hi! Well Pretty Birdy was not suppose to be her name. You see we thought she was a boy...(she was a very young bird...) and we were going to call her Polly but she was very shy and we even had to coach her to eat! Soo we kept calling her Pretty Birdy and the name kind of stuck.

Well I did buy a Tiel and I don't know if she is male/female so we decided to refer to her as a female until we know otherwise. She is an Albino Lutino (I think!) She has a yellow crest and head, her wings are totally white but her tail is yellow and she has a nice bright orange spot on each cheek. She is a beautiful bird so we decided to call her Preasures! That way if she turns out to be a boy (which I am starting to believe she is) the name will still fit.

She is eating and she even looks at me when I talk to her. Sometimes she is eating and I aproach the cage and talk to her and she will just keep on eating while watching me. I have not heard a sound of any kind out of her. Is this normal? The only thing she has on her cage is food, water and millet seed treat. I am afraid to place the toy or cuttle bone that I have for her in case I scare her. She is suppose to be tamed and she is around 6 months old.
I talk to her a lot and my husband whistles to her every time he goes by her cage. Should I be doing any thing else?

Also I read that if their crest is straight up that they need reassurance. Well as far as I can tell her crest is up ALL THE TIME! Should I be concerned?

Thank you all for your replies I really apprecite it.

Since you are a new home for this cockatiel it will show some signs of stress until it fully settles in. This of course could mean the extended crest and being nippy or shy. The extended crest does not always mean stress or unhappiness though as our Stormy does it any time he wants to show off.

Just make sure you are feeding a good diet. Keep up the talking and whistling. After a few days of settling in try showing more attention by sitting outside the cage for longer periods of time while talking and even with the door open to try to coax her out to visit. Are her wings clipped? Although clipped wings are not for everytone it does help make the taming/training process much easier if she can't fly away every time you go to mess with her.

there is no such thing as an albino cockatiel, yours is lutino a pure white 'tiel would be a white face lutino.
lutino is sex linked meaning for a chick to show it's father would have to atleast carry the gene.