Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone. I'm sure threads like this have popped up many times...time for mine

I am a stay at home mom with a 1 yr old son and a 6 yr old daughter with Down Syndrome. My husband is an over the road truck driver, so he's not home very often. We are home bodies, but we do take the occasional 1-3 day trip to Grandma's house.

I just got the OK from my landlord to get a bird or two...now what kind of bird, where to get it, and how many?? We don't have an entire room to dedicate to the birds, but we have a large, open living room/dining room/kitchen area where we hang out the most. I'm not too concerned with the level of noise they make. We don't have any light sleepers that might be bothered, but we don't really want LOUD constant noise. I have a lot of time here at home to spend with a bird or two, we would love the companionship.

My first thought was a parakeet(budgie) because they are relatively cheap to purchase. I've done tons of reading over the past few weeks and have talked to people at pet stores. We are kind of stuck on the "should we get one or two" question.

Recently someone suggested a cockatiel...Now, I didn't consider them before because out of a pet store they are rather pricey. But, I just found a pair for sale in my local paper for a decent price, cage included. I haven't done much reading on them, so any info you have would be greatly appreciated! Is it better to get one bird or two? I worry they won't bond with us as well if we have two. But I'm worried one would get lonely when we're gone for a day or two.

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions or advice? We had a parakeet when I was a kid, but I don't remember much of it. We are looking for something that will be a good companion for me and my family. A bird that will get to know my kids, but probably won't be handled by them until they are older.

In your opinion...
Which one is more social with their human family?
Is there much difference in care and maintenance?

Thanks so much!!

Hi

Apart from their size, there is very little care & maintenance that differs between the 2 species. Both are desert dwellers. Both do great on a rich colourful, dark green veg, sprouts, grassy & seed food diets. Both should only be offered fruit as a treat as it is not a natural food for them in the wild & too high in sugar. Both can be as noisy or as quiet as one another. The noise level can be an individual thing. I have a male cockatiel who picks his moments of being rather noisy. A noisy household or noise outdoors can also impact on the noise level of your bird.

There is no bird more or less social than the other. It depends on the social up bringing you & your family give the bird. They're the ones who learn to live & learn behaviours from us.

(IMO) as a first bird with young kids you should start with one. Learn as you go along with this one & then if you want to extend the family you can. If you have a lot of time your bird won't get bored. Shop around in local papers etc...I'm not sure what price you have seen them at but they shouldn't be pricey, looking around & looking through breeders you might find them cheaper.

I believe it is also important to have your kids interact (with strict supervision) as it will give them a lot of experience & understanding of how they should be handled & cared for.

The 2 for sale could come at risks. You don't know a lot about their background, how they've been cared for, if they will come with 'baggage'. How bonded they are to one another. It is very possible you may not have them bond to anyone in the family. If you're prepared to take the chance that is great. But as long as you're aware 'second hand' or re homed birds may not be so easy to care for & reluctant to be friends with you.

Thank you SO much!!

I think we are leaning towards one bird for now. We're still teetering on which bird to get...I'm getting more and more attached to the idea of a cockatiel the more I think about it.

What age should the bird be?? How young or old? I didn't ask too many questions at the pet stores because cockatiels weren't what I was looking at, but the budgies were a few months old. There is a cockatiel in the paper that is 7 months old. I haven't checked out breeders in the area yet, that's next on my list, along with checking out cockatiel books from the library

Well, I found a local gal who breeds cockatiels and should have a batch ready in a week or two!! They are cheaper than the pet store ones, and it sounds like they are raised in a family/home environment.

She said the next batch coming up are a darker grey with yellow/greenish heads. She is willing to let us come check them out before we pick one! I guess we'll be gathering our supplies over the next week or so!!

Is there anything anyone can think of the we should have that most books don't list. Or maybe something books recommend that a person doesn't really need??

We are getting so excited!!

Dark grey with yellowish heads sounds like a normal grey cockatiel. I have one of those. Males have bright yellow heads when mature, females a washed yellow/grey head when mature. Greenish??? there is no such thing in a cockatiel so not sure what she means.

Most books these days pretty much list everything you need to know. Internet is also good for searching about them. You can check out my 1 page on cockatiels here:
http://eclectusparrots.net/cockatiels.html
It has a little basic info on cockatiels that isn't often brought up anywhere else.

They're ready to go home at about 2 months of age.

By 7 months thye're already maturing. I would check the 7 month old is friendly.... If he's this age & in a pet shop, he may not be getting sold because he's not used to human contact so could be bity.

Sorry, I misread the ad the first time, they are 7 weeks old, not 7 months. This batch was all sold, but they have some ready to go in a week or two. Thanks though

Good luck with your new soon to be feathered friend. Most books should cover the basics of what you need. Cage, food (fresh and pelleted/seeds) perch sizes, fresh water and don't forget the importance of toys. Foraging toys, chewing toys, shredding toys etc to keep your new friend happy even when playing alone in his cage, and of course while outside of the cage playing with you or your family as well foot toys can be used.

Don't opt for a smaller cage go for as big as you can afford and that has the correct bar spacing for a cockatiel. Many cages pet stores sell as being for a certain size bird are way to small or at best are the very minimum required. Provide plenty of perches of different textures and sizes, swings, rope perches, boings always make interesting perches as well.

Find a local avian vet. If the breeder you have talked with gets the birds a first health check at the vet then great and ask for copies of paperwork, otherwise I would strongly recommend getting one yourself. Many breeders are "good" but don't always have their birds checked regularly with new breeders coming in or going out and people coming to meet new birds, bacteria and viruses can be spread amongst birds or carried in by the people so a vet visit is always a good first step.