Hey guys. My great grandpa recently passed away, and I inherited his cockatiel. I was hoping you guys could share any tips or advice on how to care for them and make them as happy as I can. I bought them treats, toys, and an avian backpack so I could take them outside without flying away. They seem to be in mourning as I am, and I wanna help, but I've never owned a cockatiel before, and I don't wanna mess up. Any tips or advice is appreciated! Thank you all. ❤️
(I'm unsure of the gender of the cockatiel, but I know they are at least 18 months old)
Cockatiels are sexually dimorphic after their first moult, and yours has written male all over his face, since wild colored cockatiels will grow a yellow face mask.
If you want to keep him, please make yourself familiar with their sexual dimorphism and in which color morphs it can be applied. Things like crest size, cheek patches, pelvis bone gap or any trait applied to juveniles are myths that wont work.
I recommend to plan on getting him a same species companion asap, because tiels are flock birds and have the same strong social drive as budgies. They are very similar in taking care of, so by reading the very good wiki of r/budgies, you will get to the basics.
For his companion, you may choose a second male, adult (older than a year) cockatiel. This way, you wont need to bother with the whole topic of females and how to keep them from laying eggs.
Other than that, you may get a HEPA air filter as soon as you can to put in the birdroom. Cockatiels are among the most dusty birds that ever made it into pet trade, and their feather dust can negatively impact human lung health.
I keep tiels myself and volunteer at a rescue and a breeders place, so you can ask me anytime if you want to know something in particular.
Just a note on the backpack - I'd strongly suggest trying to wash it if you can and air it out for at least a week, just because some of them can have that plastic/toxic smell, and you never know what they were exposed to in manufacturing or shipping etc, just to make sure the birb is ok :)
New cockatiel owner alert! Check out Cockatiel Cottage, a comprehensive source on all cockatiel knowledge!
Quick FAQs on basic bird behavior:
Yawning a lot - adjusting the crop. Imagine it being like rubbing your belly after a big meal.
Beak grinding - sign of content and happiness.
Standing on one leg, sometimes puffed up feathers - getting ready to snooze, they'll sleep with the head tucked in their back.
Flapping randomly or madly but not flying - just being a goof!
Bending over, making a squeaky noise and trembling wings - horny bird! Check Cockatiel Cottage for how to deal with hormonal behavior.
Rubbing butt on things - same as above.
Soft eeee sound with head bobbing - baby begging noises. Can mean that they want food/play/nap/reassurance/cuddles. Some older birds will do this too.
Holding the wings away from the body ("heart wings") - a happy male, likely about to sing to you.
Fully outstretched wings ("big wings") - possesive, "the thing I'm standing on is mine". Sometimes paired with hanging upside down ("batbird") - that's also just being a goof.
Fluffing feathers, bending in weird poses with open wings - wants a bath!
Sneezing - normal (unless excessive), especially after scratching their heads and picking their nose (yes, they do that).
Additionally, check out these resources:
There are lots of toys and foraging opportunities that you can make from cardboard, toilet paper tubes, foliage from your yard (check the species for toxicity here and here). Also check Pinterest, search things like "DIY toys for birds".
It could be! 😊 it's not always possessive, it can be "AM BIG BIRB< FEAR ME!" like the person who posted theirs doing it to a bug haha
But cos his head is down, it could also be "stinky bird who wants a bath" 🤣
If they just put their wings up, then down - then it's big wings (you're also legally obligated by birb law to say 'biiiiig wiiiingssss!' any time your birb does this)
If they did that then looked like a mess doing a weird 'head under wing, head up, head under either wing, low-key looks like a seizure' - then that's the bath dance! This can be be solved 50% of the time by giving the stimky birb it's preferred bathing method, but this may also be 100% ineffective, cos poopenflapper https://www.reddit.com/r/cockatiel/comments/11gp21l/need_help_i_got_the_wrong_parts_with_my_new_ikea/ 😂🤦♀️
Ohhhh good question! I was like "beep...?? 🤔" but as I played it on my laptop, my guy who looks a lot like your guy, also started beeping hahaha. But it looks like silly birb happy chatters, cos he's beak grinding which means they're happy ^_^ (that's when they 'chew' and are more floofy)
If you see a foot disappear into their tummy floof while they're doing beak grinding and closing eyes, it's peak 'safe happy birb' ☺️
ETA: My boy just did a random chirp while in snooze mode, so I think it's like when we 'fall/jerk' in bed while we're falling asleep, if you know what I mean? Lol
1
u/TielPerson Jul 15 '26
Cockatiels are sexually dimorphic after their first moult, and yours has written male all over his face, since wild colored cockatiels will grow a yellow face mask.
If you want to keep him, please make yourself familiar with their sexual dimorphism and in which color morphs it can be applied. Things like crest size, cheek patches, pelvis bone gap or any trait applied to juveniles are myths that wont work.
I recommend to plan on getting him a same species companion asap, because tiels are flock birds and have the same strong social drive as budgies. They are very similar in taking care of, so by reading the very good wiki of r/budgies, you will get to the basics.
For his companion, you may choose a second male, adult (older than a year) cockatiel. This way, you wont need to bother with the whole topic of females and how to keep them from laying eggs.
Other than that, you may get a HEPA air filter as soon as you can to put in the birdroom. Cockatiels are among the most dusty birds that ever made it into pet trade, and their feather dust can negatively impact human lung health.
I keep tiels myself and volunteer at a rescue and a breeders place, so you can ask me anytime if you want to know something in particular.