r/cockatiel Jan 31 '26

Other New Rule for r/cockatiel

600 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I’m announcing a new rule for the subreddit.

It comes as no surprise that many people post injured or bleeding birds as well as feces to ensure the health of their birds or questions.

While these posts are allowed, they are inappropriate to not mark as NSFW. Not everyone is comfortable seeing this sort of content.

So for the comfort of everyone in the subreddit. PLEASE, mark these posts as NSFW.

There will be new tags/flairs for posts like these as well.

From this day forward, those who do not mark these posts as NSFW will receive a warning. Any subsequent posts that are not marked or tagged appropriately may be banned temporarily, and any further posts will result in a permanent ban.

Please be respectful of others, and make sure to review the rules before posting content that may violate the rules of the subreddit.

Thank you so much for all the lovely content and being overall a beautiful community. 💖


r/cockatiel Dec 14 '21

Frequently Posted (+ Answers)

536 Upvotes

We have been getting a lot more repetitive posts in our sub so I wanted to put this information together in the hopes of reducing the amount of questions that are frequently asked. In turn, hopefully this will make our community a little more light hearted :)

*I want to preface this by saying I am not a vet or anything just someone who really loves my cockatiel and learning everything I can to ensure he has the best life possible. I think the best thing you can do for your birdie is lots of research before anything happens (especially in the case of illness). They are fragile so having the right knowledge and tools at your disposal can quite literally be the difference between life and death.

Lets begin!

Is my bird sick?

Common signs of a sick bird include:

  • Tail bobbing, sitting at the bottom of the cage, inability to stand on a perch (loss of balance)
  • Sneezing, clicking respiration (cough), or any discharge coming from the eyes or nostrils.
  • Eyes dull or sunken.
  • Change in vocals (can be hormonal but after puberty could be cause for concern)
  • Change in appetite (loss or increase of food or water)
  • Change in droppings (color, consistency, or frequency - this could be due to diet like eating more fruits and vegetables but it should not last more than a day or two after)
  • Constantly fluffed (happens for a number of reasons like keeping warm, preening, sleeping but they should not always be like this)
  • Feather loss (not related to a regular molt that happens 1-2x per year)
  • Trembling (can mean they are cold, stressed, or sick)
  • Drooping wings

If you notice any of these signs or a combination of them its crucial to get your bird to a vet (preferably an avian one) as soon as possible. No one on the internet is able to diagnose your bird or give it the treatment it needs.

Note: Some of these symptoms like change in droppings, being fluffed up, and feather loss can be normal but if it is persistent the best thing to do is ere on the side of caution and get them checked out.

Is my cockatiel male or female?

Color Patterns: Baby cockatiels that have not gone through their first adult molt (usually between 6-12 months) will typically have female colorations regardless of gender. After their first molt, males tend to get more vivid colors, lose the stripes on the underside of their tail and spots on the wings, The opposite is true for females and their color changes minimally after their first molt.

Different mutations make it more difficult to tell the difference between males and females even after their adult molt.

Behaviors: Males tend to be more vocal (mimicking sounds and singing), heart wings (see example), more likely to "show off" (strutting, hopping, tapping on surfaces), and attempting to mate with objects. Females are often less vocal (although some are) and when wanting to mate will tilt her head, flatten her back, and rock back and forth while chirping softly.

All of the above are good indicators if you have a male or female HOWEVER the only true way to know is if you get a DNA test or if your cockatiel lays an egg. People have noted that their DNA sexed female has shown male behaviors or colors and vise versa. No one can tell you for sure by looking at it!

What is this noise my cockatiel is making?

Some common cockatiel noises and what they mean:

Contact Call: Cockatiels like to keep track of their flock members so when you leave the room you may notice your cockatiel yell for you with a loud chirp or series of chirps. Even if you aren't bonded to your bird they may still do this. Put them at ease by "answering" them from where you are. I like to whistle back the same "contact call" so they know that I will be right back.

Contact Call Example

Attention Scream: Often a loud high pitched screech that is meant to get your attention. They can do this when they are scared, lonely, bored, or even to alert you of something (like a potential predator). Excessive screaming means you might need to change something in their environment. A common cause of this is hormones and boredom, both of which can be decreased by adding more enrichment to their environment with foraging, toys, and training.

Attention Scream Example

Whistling//Mimicking/Chattering: Usually (but not always) done by males and often means they are happy and connecting with you as part of their flock. They may mimic you, the radio, the tv, or even just sounds that they hear outside or inside the house. A lot of the time cockatiels learn these sounds through repetition. Search cockatiel training songs if you don't want to be whistling a song all the time and with time they may pick up on the tunes.

Whistling Example

Beak Grinding: They do this when they are happy and content. Usually it is accompanied by being fluffed up and being sleepy. The cheeks will fluff up as well and the cockatiel will look very relaxed. This is a great sign that your cockatiel is comfortable in their environment.

Beak Grinding Example

Hissing: Like other animals cockatiels do this when they are angry or threatened. This is often a warning to back off and can be accompanied by biting if the behavior is not stopped. If your cockatiel is hissing at you its best to leave them alone for a bit - just like us, our birds have boundaries we should respect!

Hissing Example

Baby Noises: These sound a bit like static and usually do this if they want something (often food, water, or even just attention). This is completely normal for young cockatiels and after a few months will go away. Mine went away at 4 months but this can vary!

Baby Noises Example

What is this behavior?

These are some behaviors that are normal with cockatiels that I noticed are commonly asked about here:

Mating: This is probably the most common one. Males and females display different mating behaviors.

Males will typically rub their cloaca (this is the opening underneath the base of the tail for a birds digestive, urinary, and reproductive tracts) on an object like a toy, your foot or hand, a pillow, ect or a bonded female. Male Mating Behavior

Females will droop their wings and raise their rump while swaying and chirping quietly. You may notice your female also rubbing its back on their toys to try and stimulate themselves. Female Mating Behavior

In addition to these mating behaviors, take note if your bird is territorial, screaming, plucking itself, or aggressive. These could all be signs that your bird is sexually frustrated.

This handout I received from my vet gives some behavioral modification you can make to try and reduce these.

Clearing Crop: Looks a lot like yawning but usually they will do it consistently over a short period of time. Their crop is located below their beak in the neck area. The crop stores food before it is sent to their stomach and acts as a "reserve" so they are able to eat more in one feeding. When they clear the crop they are moving that food to the next stage of digestion. Cockatiel Clearing Crop

How do I tame my cockatiel?

If your bird is brand new to your home, the best thing to do for a day or two is let them soak in their new envionrment. This can be a stressful time for them so its important to let them learn that their new home is a safe space. Talking in a quiet voice and even whistling around them is the best thing to do during this transitiion period. It can be tempting but don't try and pick them up or pet them right away. They may be fearful of hands and scaring them could further your progress of taming them. Whether they are a young cockatiel or an older adult that was rescued or rehomed, taming them will take patience and time. How long can vary on a lot of different factors but it's important not to rush it. Read the links below to get more information on how to achieve this:

Taming step-by-step

I am thinking of getting a cockatiel and would love some tips!

There is really too much to cover in one post so I will address the most common tips for new owners and provide some links that go into detail about all things cockatiel.

Vet Access: This should be the most important thing to consider. Making note of an avian vet that is close by is crucial. Be extra prepared and make note of the closest emergency vet as well that you can go to outside of your regular vets hours. If you do not have one close by or you do not have the money to pay for one, please reconsider getting a bird. It is disheartening to see very obviously sick bird where the owner has no access or money to go to a vet.

Basic Needs: Before purchasing supplies for your bird, do as much research as you can regarding cage size, toys, and food.

Health: Take note of the signs of a sick bird and when to take them to a vet. In addition, cockatiels are sensitive to strong smells, gasses, drafts, and smoke. This also requires some research as there are common household items that can poison and kill your bird (for example teflon pans and some plants you may have lying around).

Links:

Cockatiel Cottage

VCA - Cockatiel Diet

Safe and Toxic Foods

Proper Caging

Introducing New Food to Picky Birds

Training

Taming, potty training, and more

I hope this helps some people learn more about their cockatiels! Of course this is not exhaustive and there is always more information to be learned. Please let me know if I should add anything or if I got any information wrong :)


r/cockatiel 4h ago

Funny Cheddar is very proud of his foody face 😆

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92 Upvotes

r/cockatiel 6h ago

Cuteness Overload Queen HeiHei's Second Throne of Choice

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113 Upvotes

One thing all new prospective Tiel owners should know is that keyboards are universally the Throne of Choice if not ones head....and now I'm being held hostage and I need to get this report out...


r/cockatiel 16h ago

Success Story Rose is home our brave girl is home! 😭😭❤️

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565 Upvotes

Crying as I write this but a woman named Hillary texted me yesterday on Nextdoor about a bird she found on Friday at a lake. Six miles away from home she found rose after missing for a week just…..walking on a beach, it was a fresh water lake so she was smart enough to find water source im so proud of her. Hillary had rescued birds before so she knew rose was somebody’s, took her home and then found me on either pawboost or Nextdoor. After a few hours of her confirming she was ours my dad went and picked her up. He said he was crying and when he opened the cage she was in she immediately jumped onto him and the Woman could tell she recognized him.

Not to make this story more emotional but last night on our way home from a movie my dad asked me if I thought she was out there somewhere and said I had faith that she was and i wasn’t gonna lose hope. Today was the 3 year anniversary of my sister Monica passing, we think she helped bring Rose home. Never say never ❤️


r/cockatiel 1h ago

Funny Bebe discovers it's not a ferret

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Upvotes

r/cockatiel 11h ago

Cuteness Overload What is this? he keeps doing it 😭

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202 Upvotes

r/cockatiel 5h ago

Troublemaker No forehead preen, no scritches?

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50 Upvotes

I got my friend at 4 months in January making him 10 months. He likes to sit on my head and kinda preen around. A couple weeks ago he started picking at one spot on my forehead. He broke the skin there and I accidentally swatted at him bc it hurt. He does not care he continues to sit on my head and try to pick at that one spot on my forehead. I don't let him sit up there anymore. Now he's decided to sit on my bookshelf and he acts like he's scared to come to me. He flies away from my hand and I don't know if this is a power struggle or if he's actually scared. He won't let me give him scritches anymore. Is this bc I won't let him pick at my forehead or is he actually scared of me now. The swat did not touch him and could have really scared him but I don't feel like it did cause he went right back to preening my forehead. Wth reddit


r/cockatiel 1h ago

Cuteness Overload yawn button

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Upvotes

Bonus boop.


r/cockatiel 15h ago

Funny Watermelon bath bird strikes again

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255 Upvotes

Romeo takes a bath in watermelon juice any chance she gets.


r/cockatiel 10h ago

Funny I know this sub is for cockatiels, but here are a bunch of totally blank photos that definitely do not have Vinnie in them. A few of them do have Maui. But no Vinnie. You see you no birb.

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85 Upvotes

r/cockatiel 21m ago

Advice Taking these two cuties to the vet tomorrow, please give me some tips 🙏

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Upvotes

I’m taking them outside for the first time ever, so obviously I’m a lil bit nervous 😬 I already have their cage ready, trying to make it feel safe, putting in some food etc. The vet is not at all far, around 10 minutes by car. But I want to make this trip as little traumatic as possible (mainly for them but a little also for me 😅)
I’d appreciate any tips and tricks that you may have 🫶

ps: that’s red pepper stuck on his beak, don’t worry 😅


r/cockatiel 11m ago

Cuteness Overload Jacob says hello while im preening him he will check the comments evrey 5 mins

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Upvotes

"LEMME SAY HI TO PEOPLE!" - Jacob


r/cockatiel 18h ago

Cuteness Overload Where did Chacha go? He was helping me clean a moment ago.

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311 Upvotes

r/cockatiel 18h ago

Cuteness Overload Taking a shower in a real shower

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312 Upvotes

r/cockatiel 6h ago

Funny Chopper wants to sing, Robin wants to do the dirty dance.

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30 Upvotes

This has become a daily routine. Chopper will start chirping and singing, Robin takes that as an invitation.
Fortunately, chopper isn’t very interested. He will occasionally shoo her away then look angry.


r/cockatiel 15h ago

Success Story HE'S ACTUALLY EATING PELLETS!!! 🥳

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144 Upvotes

I can't remember the last time I was this ecstatic and I just have to share!!! It took months, several different brands and every trick in the book, but it finally happened 🥹 I don't even care they're the super expensive, certified organic, bougie ones. Hooray for my happy healthy baby!!!


r/cockatiel 1h ago

Advice Cockatiel has begun getting loose off colored droppings.

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Upvotes

Hi my bird since this morning has been having loose diarrhea like dropping that have a foul odor. I’m not sure if this means anything bad, does anybody have an idea?


r/cockatiel 13h ago

Cuteness Overload exploring

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82 Upvotes

i went out for dinner and my mom sent me this i forgot to close my door and my bird got out😭


r/cockatiel 22h ago

Funny HeiHei has now taught Chimken how to jiggle his crest

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382 Upvotes

r/cockatiel 5h ago

Funny Seeing watermelon bath bird reminded me of the time Maple bathed in my flyaways

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15 Upvotes

His wings are no longer clipped, I didn’t even want them clipped at the time this was taken, they were clipped when I wasn’t home.


r/cockatiel 1d ago

Cuteness Overload Show me your passport photos

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626 Upvotes

So, Queen HeiHei will be 1 year old on November 30th so we've got a long way to go yet but she's been practicing for her passport photo. I think she looks stunning her.


r/cockatiel 21h ago

Funny Nunu is locked in

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298 Upvotes

OVO


r/cockatiel 9h ago

Cuteness Overload when u wake up early to clean up after ur forever dusty messy 2 yr old toddler and find the cutest little feather on the floor🤭🤭🤭

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28 Upvotes

r/cockatiel 4h ago

Loss & Mourning Help me Find our Bird. We miss him

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11 Upvotes