Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have never owned a bird befor and am thinking about getting a cockatiel. i have read up on them some. but how much attention do they need from me cause i work full time and am going to the gym after work. and i have 2 dog and 4 cats so i would like to keep him in a seperate room away from the dogs and cats would he be ok by himself at night and while im at work??

Well here you are on a cockatiel site, so most of us here LOVE this breed of bird. They are the best. I have found cockatiels loving, easily trainable, beautiful to look at, with a pleasant voice and, in nearly every way, a wonderful bird to own. You have done your homework, now you just have to decide which type to get (latino, pearl, etc.). My advice is to make sure you get one who seems to like you in the store and who is hand-fed from birth. Do NOT go to some department store and get a bird of questionable age or origin. You can get a wonderful baby for (probably) under $100. Good luck and stay in touch on this site!

I forgot to answer your questions--my bird has adapted fine to my varied amounts of attention. Sometimes I have an hour or two to spend with her, other times I have very little time. I keep two cages in the house-- a day and an evening cage--so she gets different stimuli. We have a dog and they ignore each other, but I keep my bird in a cage when the dog is in the room. I also take her into the shower with me and I have a couple perches around the house so she can be in different environments with me while I go about my business. However, she is never left alone (uncaged) at any time unless the door is closed and there is no dog in the room.

Birds can adjust to varying amounts of attention just try to give it as much attention as possible. If you are wanting a tame handleable bird then buy a young well socialized one. They don't necessarily have to be handfed as long as they have been handled from a very young age. We have had many non-handfed babies that have done quite well and been very tame. I would suggest buying one from a breeder if possible instead of a pet store as your breeders are usually better able to answer the questions you have and do spend more time caring for and handling their birds than in a pet store.

I am always leary of suggesting a bird in a home with cats. We won't adopt birds into cat homes because there is such a potential for devestating problems. Even tame wonderful cats can be sneaky and get into rooms where they are not supposed to be. On another board I just heard a story about a woman who has a bird room and also has cats. Her bird room is secure and the cats are not allowed in. But last night when she went into the bird room she didn't see her cat right behind her who came into the room at the same time. She closed the door as always before letting one of her birds out but the cat was in their and jumped at the bird. Luckily the bird was able to get away with only the loss of a few tail feathers and the cat was put out into another room but it could have been much worse!! If you do decide to bring a bird into your home make sure you DO NOT clip the wings and that it is fully flighted. That way on the possibility your cat did get into the room with the bird cage open that your bird would at least have a chance of escaping.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

well i think it would be ok cause ,when im home the dogs are mostly out side cause they can irritate me and my nose(the dog hair) and i have 2 cats that are 13 years old and they never payed any attention to the existance of my hamsters. but i do have 2 kittins about a year old and at the age were every thing needs to be pounced on. they are the only two that im really worried about but they are indoor, outdoor cats. so if i would bring the bird out i couse just kick the kittins out.

the only problem is that my mother is being comlicating and saying NO!! but i think if she met a baby tiel she would fall in love just like i did.

Sorry but I don't think you should be getting any sort of bird if you work & go to the gym so much that you have no time. You need to make time for him/her, the more time, the more socail/frinedly /tame etc they are. They are certainly not something you can put in a cage & admire. They need brain stimulation, they need to release energy, they need time with their owners, they need space for toys etc...
Without all this they can be hostile, develope behaviours & can pluck feathers.

Wow, I'm suprised that there is support from buying at a pet store! I would HIGHLY suggest finding a local breeder, they are much cheaper, and the babies are almost always more tame!

A personal example...my boyfriend's mom bought her second cockatiel at a pet store. He is pretty wild and doesn't like to be touched at all. Not only that, but she paid $100 for a normal colored cockatiel.

Definitely consider looking around your newspaper or even online. I bought mine from a very sweet breeder in Phoenix. All her babies are very tame, and she sold me a cinnamon-pied for only $50 (normals were only $35). Plus, she let me play with three different babies so that I could pick what personality I liked and made sure the bird liked me.

I couldn't have been luckier. Opy is a sweetheart! He love his head scratched, is attempting to talk, and stays on my shoulder all the time (even while I'm typing this). If you or anyone reading this happens to live near Phoenix and wants the name of the breeder, I'd be happy to help (ralstonka@yahoo.com). She just had five babies born. I'm getting my second one soon from her

You are right about pets hops BUT it also depends on where you are & what's available.

I personally don't like pet shops either (for the same reasons) but I would never tell someone not to buy from a pet shop as they may have there own reasons for doing so & really it is upto them what they choose & we have no right to critisize that.

As I said everyone has there own reasons for what they've chosen.