New Cockatiel! Any name suggestions? About 8 weeks old. What color?

[silkiechicken]

This is the little guy I just got. Well, don't know if it's a guy yet, but it does chirp a bit and still cries sometimes. Picky as all get out, I am mixing seed with pellets (I'm switching to the plain Katee exact pellets, previous humans had them all on just seed) and he is picking out only the white millet to eat. At least he's tried to take a bite of red lettuce, a bit of pepper, basil, and a cheerio, despite his complete disinterest in millet sprays. I need to get the sucker to eat the pellets and to eat a more varied diet. He's something like 8 weeks old and I do have his hand feeding formula just in case. Little guy is so funny because he hasn't figured out how to turn around on his top perch without going to the edge, and using the wire as a stepping stone to rotate. He can sure fly though, so since it seemed to have somewhat decent motor control of his wings, I went ahead and did a light trim so all he can do now is fly forward instead of up onto the cabinets again.... He is less flighty than the two parakeets, that's for sure!

Any idea on what color it is? I think it's perl mix of some sort. Any guesses on gender? It does not have bars on it's tail feathers or under it's wings, but it does have a rather scaloped feathering everywhere so it might be hiding any "normal" traits, plus it's a juvenile.

 

[theoldchick]

What a cutie! Maybe a pied pearl? Could be a male with those flaming cheek patches.

 

[silkiechicken]

Thanks!

It would be cool to have a boy who could whistle things, but if it's a girl, that's cool too as it's pretty neat. It sits on my monitor and has so far not pooped on the keyboard like the parakeets.

 

[MonkeyZero]

Its a boy. Bright cheeks and a lack of barring on the tail, as well as the fact that the pearling hasnt gone away. He is very cute!

But at eight weeks, anything can happen. But Im sticking to boy.
As for feeding:
Stick to seeds then gradually incorporate the pellets. Soon there will be less seeds and he will eat the pellets.
Good Luck and have fun!

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Whistle?? They can TALK! LOL..
They are in the Cockatoo family..
Boys are supposed to be better talkers than the girls...
I'd TALK to him.. not whistle.. because then he wont talk much.
Just keep repeating the same sentence/words..over and over and over and over....

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Whistle?? They can TALK! LOL..
They are in the Cockatoo family..
Boys are supposed to be better talkers than the girls...
I'd TALK to him.. not whistle.. because then he wont talk much.
Just keep repeating the same sentence/words..over and over and over and over....

I'm saying boy too. They are neat birds. Mine, Ozzie, is 17 years old now. They can learn quite a few words and phrases. Mine also does the woody woodpecker laugh and the "wolf" whistle........and laughs along with the laugh track on TV shows.

 

[VioletandBodie]

that baby is to young to be weened please when he beggs feed him baby food or oatmeal

 

[ra]

I worked a few years with an avian vet in HI, he always told people to mix in the pellets that they will just not eat and wait for what they want to eat! He said they are the one animal that will starve than eat when they get hungry! Please make sure you keep giving him what he likes and a different bowl with the good stuff we want them to eat!
He is so cute you are blessed!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

My male cockatiel BADBIRD says "Feed the bird', Pretty bird ', does the "wolf whistle", & what sounds like a car alarm.
My female Rabirda does nothing but lay eggs. None fertile yet.

 

[crtrlovr]

Pretty baby! At this stage it does look more like a male, but sometimes the girlies can have some brighter cheek patches, too -- just depends... Eight weeks is still a bit early to be COMPLETELY off handfeeding formula (IMO). I'd keep some on hand and mix it a little thicker into more of a paste than a think gruel. Keep offering different veggies ('tiels are generally more fond of veggies than fruits) and eventually your little one may get bold enough to try them. Eat some of them yourself as your bird watches. Make a REALLY big deal of it -- smack your lips, talk about how "yum yum!" it is, etc. (I know, it sounds really stupid -- but your bird will pick up on it. Just do it when no one else is watching!

) One woman said she offered her bird matchstick carrot pieces for YEARS and one day out of the blue the bird decided to try them, and now eats them like they're going out of style! My guys like corn on the cob, broccoli (always a big hit), chunks of squash, rice, parsley, etc. and of course they LOVE scrambled eggs! I don't give them the eggs very often b/c too much protein can be hard on their kidneys. Enjoy your new sweetie! Some of the names for mine are: Rowdy (male) mated to SugarBaby, Skipper (who just recently lost his Lutino mate Cuddlebug), Casper, Freckles, Dot, Spot, Taiyo (Lutino male, his name is Japanese for "sun"), SweetiePie, Gabby, Peppy, Sunny, BabyDarlin', Baby Dumplin', Apple, Cherry, WeeMan, Homer (NOT named by me; was a rescue of sorts -- the woman who had him was threatening to just turn him loose to fend for himself b/c he didn't like her -- imagine that...

) Andrew, Perdida (means "lost" -- she came down and landed on a man's shoulder as he was taking his lunch break. He gave her to my neighbor (his grandmother) and she gave her to me. The bird is banded, but I can't find the owners), and Spike (spike is a girl

. The peach-front conure is named Pichi-Pichi (which means 'lively" in Japanese).