Cockatiel Question

[Bullet]

I have a baby cockatiel, and she is getting lonely I spend alot of time with her but she seems lonely in her cage. is there another breed of bird I can get for her as a buddy other than another tiel?

Thanks

 

[Nambroth]

I hate to give you an answer that is not definite, but truly, it is all about the individual personalities of the two birds. Some cockatiels are happy with a cage mate, some are not. Sometimes it's dangerous, sometimes not!
For example, I have seen people that house a cockatiel with a budgie and they are as happy as can be. I've seen other people try it and the budgie (generally a much more active and outgoing species than a cockatiel) harassed the cockatiel so much that the cockatiel suffered serious health problems.

Even housing two cockatiels together is not a perfect science, though usually most birds are okay with it.

An option is to house the two birds in different cages, but close enough that they can 'talk' and have company. This prevents any harassment or injury. And if they take a shine to one another and you feel it's safe, they can always move in together.

Can you tell us a bit more about your situation, and what your cockatiel's personality is like?

 

[Bullet]

Well, she's reserved I get her out constantly not sure of the sex she's just a baby and was hand fed from the lady I got her from. she climbs up on me and every thing, but she hisses. The lady said it is just her saying she's hungry and wants food. but if you talk to her through her cage which is a converted reptile cage it's like 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide she sings when we talk to her. but hisses when she sets on my hand or shoulder she also does that with my husband and two sons. she isn't aggressive in anyway and she has plenty of toys. I don't quite know if she has developed her own personality yet. I thought she was scared when I brought her out of the bedroom when she hissed. we have cats too. but she does it in the bedroom also. she did have a litter mate so I thought maybe she was getting lonely. Somebody told me to put a small stuffed animal in with her. I did she shoved it off her shelf. She's eating and drinking well. she doesn't play with her toys much yet. so I thought maybe a buddy would help her not feel so lonely when I can't handle her.

 

[mammat]

If your going to get a buddy do it soon. If you get her a friend it is likely she will attach to it and not you. We have our teil in the family room and our lovebird in the kitchen where we spend most of our time. I think it helps with the lonelys.

 

[Sarah54341]

I kept two cockatiels and four budgies in an aviary. They all got along wonderfully. It's always a bit risky introducing a new bird though, sometimes they just don't work together, no matter what species.

 

[BorderKelpie]

Don't forget the quarantine period.

I felt sorry for a cockatiel once, got her a friend, put them together and lost them both tho a fungal infection that I didn't know the new bird had.

 

[ILOVELEGHORNS]

Hmmmm....cocketiels have a tendancy to become aggressive with other speicies of birds.....I would say a young Budgie myself....but depends on how many weeks your baby is and how you integrate the new bird(s) to your baby..

 

[ILOVELEGHORNS]

Quote:
So true! I have had many extreemly tame psitticines, ones i even hand reared from hatchlings. Once they get a new freind, they either don't care about anything else but their new buddy, or they completely reject the new bird! Sometimes those intellegent birds think they are human! Yes, if you don't want to go that route of getting your cockatiel a new bird freind, keep your bird in a high traffic area in your home.