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| macglade |
We are fairly new cockatiel owners (2+ months) of a now 5 month old white
faced pied and first time bird owners. I'm concerned about a couple of
things and wonder if they are "normal":
- he has lost all but 3 or 4 tail feathers (1 of which is loose). Most of
the ones that fell out were loosened when he tried to fly from our shoulders
(wings are clipped) and banged his tail against tables, etc.. How quickly
do these grow back? I assume they are important for balance, etc. Should
he be loosing them this easily? It does not seem to be molting as that is
described in our bird books.
- he has a habit of rapidly bobbing/pecking (not the pecking he does as he
feeds--it's much more exaggerated) at things in his cage--plastic feeding
dish for example; I have read that rapid up and down tail movement is
indicative of illness and wonder if this head motion is "normal."
Otherwise: how much millet is too much millet? We use what seems to be the
standard 8" to 10" sprays. Also: he is very aggressive sometimes and will
peck and bite aggressively at us as we try to take him from our shoulders.
Is this normal (within the acceptable range of behaviors)?
Background: bird was at the avian vets after we had him a week--had an
infection (don't remember what) that required anti-biotics. He SEEMS
healthy--active, clear-eyed.
Thanks in advance
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| oldmolly |
"macglade" <macglade@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:PpcOb.12941$1e.11248@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> We are fairly new cockatiel owners (2+ months) of a now 5 month old white
> faced pied and first time bird owners. I'm concerned about a couple of
> things and wonder if they are "normal":
>
> - he has lost all but 3 or 4 tail feathers (1 of which is loose). Most of
> the ones that fell out were loosened when he tried to fly from our
shoulders
> (wings are clipped) and banged his tail against tables, etc.. How quickly
> do these grow back? I assume they are important for balance, etc. Should
> he be loosing them this easily? It does not seem to be molting as that is
> described in our bird books.
>
> - he has a habit of rapidly bobbing/pecking (not the pecking he does as
he
> feeds--it's much more exaggerated) at things in his cage--plastic feeding
> dish for example; I have read that rapid up and down tail movement is
> indicative of illness and wonder if this head motion is "normal."
>
> Otherwise: how much millet is too much millet? We use what seems to be
the
> standard 8" to 10" sprays. Also: he is very aggressive sometimes and
will
> peck and bite aggressively at us as we try to take him from our shoulders.
> Is this normal (within the acceptable range of behaviors)?
>
> Background: bird was at the avian vets after we had him a week--had an
> infection (don't remember what) that required anti-biotics. He SEEMS
> healthy--active, clear-eyed.
>
> Thanks in advance
I heartily recommend you buy yourself a book called 'cockatiels for
dummies' as it will help explain many aspects of keeping cockatiels for the
novice.
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| John Hines |
"macglade" <macglade@yahoo.com> wrote:
>- he has a habit of rapidly bobbing/pecking (not the pecking he does as he
>feeds--it's much more exaggerated) at things in his cage--plastic feeding
>dish for example; I have read that rapid up and down tail movement is
>indicative of illness and wonder if this head motion is "normal."
The head bobbing thing is their way of getting attention.
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| Kimberlee |
Please read on:
> We are fairly new cockatiel owners (2+ months) of a now 5 month old white
> faced pied and first time bird owners. I'm concerned about a couple of
> things and wonder if they are "normal":
Join the club! Glad to hear you have some new companions.
> - he has lost all but 3 or 4 tail feathers (1 of which is loose). Most of
> the ones that fell out were loosened when he tried to fly from our shoulders
> (wings are clipped) and banged his tail against tables, etc.. How quickly
> do these grow back? I assume they are important for balance, etc. Should
> he be loosing them this easily? It does not seem to be molting as that is
> described in our bird books.
You may want to give some serious thought to letting him fledge out
again, get used to flying and landing for a week or two, then having a
vet re-clip *both* wings. Another question is, is the cage perhaps at
fault? Is it deep and wide enough for him? Are your perches too
close to the edges of the cage?
> - he has a habit of rapidly bobbing/pecking (not the pecking he does as he
> feeds--it's much more exaggerated) at things in his cage--plastic feeding
> dish for example; I have read that rapid up and down tail movement is
> indicative of illness and wonder if this head motion is "normal."
Head bobbing is his way of talking to you. Quincy bobs all the
time...especially to people's toes! 'Tiels have a thing about toes!
> Otherwise: how much millet is too much millet? We use what seems to be the
> standard 8" to 10" sprays.
Millet is something that you'll notice in a lot of bird seed. It is
very, *very* nutritious. One sprig a day is fine. Are you also
giving your bird wet food, such as Beak Appetit? Birds need better
nutrition than a seed diet; lots of veggies and foods. Look for info
on nutrition toward the bottom of this link:
http://www.geocities.com/parrotletc...andwellness.htm
> Also: he is very aggressive sometimes and will
> peck and bite aggressively at us as we try to take him from our shoulders.
> Is this normal (within the acceptable range of behaviors)?
Keep him off your shoulder. He'll throw a real snit at first, but if
you make life off your shoulder interesting and fun, he'll adapt.
Also, when your bird bites, tell him "No Bites" in a firm voice and
immediately take him away. If you have a "time out" cage to put him
in when he bites you, he'll soon get the message that biting is not
good behavior. Never leave him in his time-out cage for more than 5
minutes; put him in a room, where he's secure but isolated, or move to
a different room yourself.
> Background: bird was at the avian vets after we had him a week--had an
> infection (don't remember what) that required anti-biotics. He SEEMS
> healthy--active, clear-eyed.
That's good news! It sounds like the behavior is just typical
boundary testing. I would be concerned about losing the feathers,
though. Make sure your little guy is getting a good diet. Also, how
much sunlight does your bird get (no...don't put him directly into a
window at 80 degrees), but you may want to check into getting a full
spectrum bulb. I believe the URL I gave you above has info on birds
and their need for light.
HTH~Kimberlee
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| NaDeana |
"macglade" <macglade@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:PpcOb.12941$1e.11248@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> We are fairly new cockatiel owners (2+ months) of a now 5 month old white
> faced pied and first time bird owners. I'm concerned about a couple of
> things and wonder if they are "normal":
>
> - he has lost all but 3 or 4 tail feathers (1 of which is loose). Most of
> the ones that fell out were loosened when he tried to fly from our
shoulders
> (wings are clipped) and banged his tail against tables, etc.. How quickly
> do these grow back? I assume they are important for balance, etc. Should
> he be loosing them this easily? It does not seem to be molting as that is
> described in our bird books.
When birds molt they will molt certain areas of the body, so he's just at
the tail area now! Nothing to worry about. You should get yourself some
cockatiel books like "The Complete Book of Cockatiels" by Diane Grindol, or
"The Cockatiel Handbook" by Matthew M. Vriends, or visit some cockatiel
websites.
http://www.cockatiels.org/
http://www.cockatiel.org/
Different websites, just vary by the "S".
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/9510/
http://www.cockatielsociety.org.au/
>
> - he has a habit of rapidly bobbing/pecking (not the pecking he does as
he
> feeds--it's much more exaggerated) at things in his cage--plastic feeding
> dish for example; I have read that rapid up and down tail movement is
> indicative of illness and wonder if this head motion is "normal."
>
This is a MALE behaviour. All of my male birds do it, either to attract a
mate or to get me to scritch them.
> Otherwise: how much millet is too much millet? We use what seems to be
the
> standard 8" to 10" sprays. Also: he is very aggressive sometimes and
will
> peck and bite aggressively at us as we try to take him from our shoulders.
> Is this normal (within the acceptable range of behaviors)?
>
Millet alone is not a very nutritional food. You should have him on a high
quality seed diet (NO SUNFLOWER SEEDS!), and get him to eat fruit and
veggies. Broccoli, mashed potatoes, grated carrot are just a few favorites
of my 8 tiels. They also love cheerios, whole wheat 12 grain bread, any kind
of noodles and cooked brown rice. Also add some pellets in there for them to
chew on. If you get a tray and spread the food all over the tray, it gives
them the sense that they are foraging. I give them sunflower seeds as treats
only. Sunflower seeds are really high in fat and cause major liver problems
in cockatiels. (Fatty liver disease)
When your tiel is getting aggressive like this, it means that he does not
want to do what you want him to do! They do have little minds of their own,
and can get quite spoiled (all mine are victims of that! :) ). Be
patient, never scold for this behaviour as it enforces it. Act as if he is
doing NOTHING. If they think that they can control you by biting, then they
will do it more and more often. When he gets bity, take him off your
shoulder, without reacting, and play the ladder game where you put your
finger touching his belly and tell him to "step up". Keep doing this over
and over so that it looks like he is going up a ladder. This is the best
method to combat the terrible teenage years or bity moods.
> Background: bird was at the avian vets after we had him a week--had an
> infection (don't remember what) that required anti-biotics. He SEEMS
> healthy--active, clear-eyed.
If he was on antibiotics I would suggest adding some lactobacillus,
probiotics, to get his digestive system back on track. You can get this at
any food store, grind it up (or they come in capsules in power form) and add
to some mashed potatoes or sprinkle over rice.
If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me at any time!
Enjoy your new fid.
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| oldmolly |
"John Hines" <jbhines@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:b0ti00dmfihk2fdbsheec1nf8urdhdktkd@4ax.com...
> "macglade" <macglade@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >- he has a habit of rapidly bobbing/pecking (not the pecking he does as
he
> >feeds--it's much more exaggerated) at things in his cage--plastic feeding
> >dish for example; I have read that rapid up and down tail movement is
> >indicative of illness and wonder if this head motion is "normal."
>
> The head bobbing thing is their way of getting attention.
It is? Where did you read that?
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| John Hines |
"oldmolly" <oldmolly@members.v21.com> wrote:
>
>"John Hines" <jbhines@newsguy.com> wrote in message
>news:b0ti00dmfihk2fdbsheec1nf8urdhdktkd@4ax.com...
>> "macglade" <macglade@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> >- he has a habit of rapidly bobbing/pecking (not the pecking he does as
>he
>> >feeds--it's much more exaggerated) at things in his cage--plastic feeding
>> >dish for example; I have read that rapid up and down tail movement is
>> >indicative of illness and wonder if this head motion is "normal."
>>
>> The head bobbing thing is their way of getting attention.
>
> It is? Where did you read that?
The behavior of the cockatiels I've had.
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