northland chic Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 I have a young male cockatiel and would one day like to get him a bigger cage and a friend maybe. Would he be able to live with another male cockatiel or would they fight? Could he live with a ringneck or a lorikeet? If I get him a friend will he stop trying to talk? Thanks NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 possibly, no, no, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 No guarantee with any of the ? asked. Some pet birds are happy to have a friend; some hate them and the time you spend with the new guy. Ringnecks and lories are not good pets. Every bird is different and you may be able to bred them and still have a great bond with both birds. Some people say that its better to have 2 birds together as you see more natural behavior and they are happier, but you can still pet them. The only things that I would suggest is to get the second birds as soon as possible and I would recommend another teil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northland chic Posted May 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 I think Hyperion (the teil) would like a friend sometimes but I think he would get jealous of the new comer. At the moment he gets all the attention. They keep all the tiels in one cage at the shop and they always only seem to have males. But I suppose its not meant to be long term and the birds don't really whistle or say anything, they try to stay away from each other so they don't really look happy. I wouldnt mind getting him a girlfriend if another boy is not suitable but I would worry about egg binding and all the girly problems I read about. I think he does mating behaviour but I'm not sure. He will chat with me and then walks around the floor of his cage with his wings just held of his body and does a particular whistle. Hes very entertaining! Mimicks our puppies fighting and calls them with me. We have had him three months now and I must say the whole family loves him. Thanks for the answers NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 The other thing I would recommend is clipping his wings. It may seem mean but he will be much happier if he can walk around with you etc. My birds get down off their cages and walk down to the bathroom when I'm having a shower and want to get in. Teil's are very smart, from what you say about walking around with his wings out a bit sounds like he wants to play. Give him some sawdust in a tray and some straw as well to play in and hide. The only limit to what he can do is the amount of time you spend with him. Feel free to ask as many? As you like. The other thing that he will love is gum branches with flower head etc and its good for his health as well. I could talk for hours about parrots. Being egg bond is usually just outside birds problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel1708 Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 Hi there, I faced this dilemma about six months ago. We got Joey our Lutino cockatiel in November 07, he is handraised and basically thinks he is a small human. We thought he might like a friend so we got another cockatiel but he hated this other cockatiel and would hiss at him if it came near. Eventually we returned the second cockatiel as it was pretty miserable being constantly rejected. Then we got a budgie, they lived together for around three months and got along really well but the budgie started to pull the cockatiels feathers when it was grooming him (he is a cheeky little fella). So we seperated the two birds and they live next door to each other in seperate cages very happily and are the best of friends. Now the budgie can talk to the cockatiel and keep him company but not hurt or tease him. They are a really funny pair because the budgie copies every cockatiel noise and calls to Joey from the other end of the house. We often tell Joey off for being a 'noisy boy' when its actually the budgie (Alvin). I think if you do want to get him any kind of bird friend you will need a spare cage ready in case they don't get along for any reason. HTH Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 Hi northland chic Has it been DNA'd, otherwise very hard to sex. He might really be a she. You can't go by the orange on the checks. What colour is it? and what age? Like us females, girls can talk just like the males. Our 3 year old inside boy does not like other tiels but is in love with our crimson wing, whose cage is next to his during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumzy50 Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 My ten year old has a hand tamed cockatiel,we dont have its wings clipped and would never get another one.The friendship that they have is special.They share cereal in the mornning together watch tv,this bird follows her around.And it talks,copys the phone.And to tell you the truth drives me crazy.Its spoilt.I was told if you want to keep them friendly only keep the one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 sexing cockatiels, underneath of middle tail feather has barring on hens, clear on males lutinos have yellow barring albinos dna them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 Yeah that sounds real familiar living art, a bird lady out in Hastings told me the same thing about sexing cockateils... I had a cockateil at one stage but gee whizz, our Alexandrine just mimicked the cockateil something chronic, but many knotchs louder... :lol: :lol: We just have our Alexandrine now and love him to bits, hes much better on his own, when there are others around, he tries to compete too much Good luck with whatever you decide to do and hope things work out perfectly 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 But all grey babies have bars until the first moult at about 8 months old, don't they? Then only the hen has the bars and males grey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 bk's advice is spot on don't get another one if you are going to until the other one is talking clearly, about 9 to 12 months to be sure of sexing get it dna'ed i sex all our young just as they get pin feathers and mainly take the males out as that is what most pet owners want afrikan alexandrines are the bomb as a pet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumzy50 Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 Female cockateils have white dots under their flight feathers.Males dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northland chic Posted May 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 Hyperion, I think when we got him we were told he was pied or cinnamon pied or something similar. My partner wants to clip his wings so we become better friends. Hes chatty and likes to interact but is still abit wary of our hands. I think my 5yr old is to blame for this sometimes he comes home when we have gone out and plays with him we think. We had him out the other night and he was alright but I worry he will get stuck somewhere or fall in the fishtank. He doesnt want to sit with us he wants to fly. So maybe one day we might get him a friend but for now it's just him. I will do as suggested and if we do get another one I will wait for him to be talking really well first. I want to get him another bigger cage before the friend so they can get used to each other first in seperate cages. Thanks for all the answers, it has been awesome to hear from other bird people. Sorry if my photo is too big or the wrong size (just delete it if its wrong) I just got confused but photobucket, thought I had clipped it but I dont know what I did. Thanks NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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