Cockatiel Guide | Tips For New Bird Owners | Cockatiel Care, Diet, Training & Behaviour

Hello cockatiel fans,
Here is my long awaited updated cockatiel care guide. Many of you have been asking for it and I know my old one needed an update/spruce up.
This guide covers tips for cockatiel diet, cage set up, behaviour, husbandry and training to help any new owner get started. It may also be useful to existing owners who just want a refresh.
Cockatiels are amazing little parrots and super popular, so it's really important to get things right!
As usual, any comments feel free!
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[@NightOwl052]

A relative got a cockatiel for a child and he lost interest after a couple of years. I took the bird and tried to rehome it. But I ended up with her and I just kept her. My Shirley bird was my friend and I miss her. She was 16 years old when she passed.

[@TheParrotTeacher]

At least she had a good long life with you and lots of fun!

[@NightOwl052]

@@TheParrotTeacher thank you and I didn't realize how much joy I got from spending time with her until she was gone. I am seriously considering getting a pair of cockatiels

[@fionapeterson4867]

Just wanted to thank you for the idea of using substrate on the cage floor, an absolutely game changer!

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Glad it’s had a good impact!

[@momac9748]

Fish and Chip on top of David's hand while he's talking is so funny hahaha had to rewind to really listen 😅 got distracted by the cuteness 😊

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Lol they do like to sit up there!

[@shivsnorman]

There is something SO endearing about a sleepy-looking bird 🤗❤️

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Totally agree!

[@pixiedustandstars]

You deserve sooo much more credit

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Thank you, very kind of you to say! Sadly KZbin doesn’t agree lol

[@Lothris_]

I have to try that stick training. Your channel is great! Thank You!

[@TheParrotTeacher]

You can do it, it’s really useful!

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Tiels are the best 💙🦜

[@momac9748]

Agreed!

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Sure are!

[@lindagarcia7788]

Hello David just found your channel, I found a cockatiel about a week ago, He seems to be a picky eater or whoever had b4 was feeding him parakeet food. He only eats the small seeds and leaves the rest in cup or throws it out. Not sure what to do I given him fresh fruit and vegetables he eats a little not much. Ant recommendations

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Hey Linda check out my partners channel @birdnerdsophie for a video with 20 tips to encourage a bird to try veggies! Lots of useful info there!

[@barii._]

Great vid dude

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@sandrarekker585]

LMAO...lol Let's start the video about cockatiels with a pile of cockatiel dust on David's shoulder!! Yeap, life with cockatiel summed up in the first few seconds of the video!! elite

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Isn’t that the truth!

[@ItsForTheDogs]

Jolly has been doing something different lately. He has a playstand with a stainless steel bowl attached and he will sometimes sit in the bowl and start making a low chirping sound and I can't tell if he is just playing or if it's a nesting behavior. He does get 12 hours of sleep time, btw.

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Sounds like it could be hormonal for sure!

[@doortjegerrits2542]

Woah I'm early

[@TheParrotTeacher]

You are!

[@cindyarriaga8479]

I am very excited to currently be preparing for my cocktiel purchase! I would love to know, what do you feel are the main differences between owning 1 cocktiel and owning 2? What would you need to do differently? I'm torn on which I would want. Thank you!

[@TheParrotTeacher]

So the major benefit to having a pair is same species company for them both! It means they will have each other if you need to go to work or are busy! If they are from the same clutch or flock then they’ll likely get on too, although if they aren’t you may need to put in bonding work! Generally if you have a pair they will still get on well with you, especially if you do training and interact with them plenty (it’s a myth that having pairs impacts bonds) Downsides are potentially them getting hormonal and mating (which can be dealt with by hormone management), double the work when training and also more mess!

[@cindyarriaga8479]

@@TheParrotTeacher right, definitely a benefit! What as the owner would I be doing differently? (I'm home 95% of the time so that's not an issue)

[@TheParrotTeacher]

If you had two you’d need a bigger cage and two water bowls and food bowls. If you got them separately you may need to do more bonding work between them. You’d also need to ensure both get training and potentially have duplicate sets of toys. Also ensure both birds gets equal attention! If you have a solo bird you may need to put it more work to encourage independence and foraging. You also need to ensure you put in plenty of time for them as you’ll be their flock!

[@svetlanashchukina1793]

My cockatiel eats only pellets. I tried several veggies, raw or cooked, but he is not interested. How can I change his diet?

[@TheParrotTeacher]

I have a video on getting your cockatiel to eat veggies but my partner at @birdnerdsophie has an excellent one too with lots of tips!

[@Fatma-mx6cc]

The only thing mine will it is seeds and sunflower seeds, I’ve tried everything with them and they wont eat it.

[@TheParrotTeacher]

My partner @birdnerdsophie has an excellent guide on encourage birds to try different things!

[@selinamularz9194]

I recently got a young cockatiel (about 3-5 months old) , and her (just assuming, not sure about the actual gender yet) wings and tail were clipped. I want her to be able to fly if possible. She hasn't had her first molt yet. Do you think she she'll still be able to learn once her feathers are grown back?

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Yup she certainly will. You may need to help her though and encourage/ train her

[@MsSingingsinger]

Hi there again, thank you for your advice on diet. I was just wondering if I could get your opinion. I have had my cockatiels for three weeks now and they are still reluctant to come near me, I feed them by hand every morning and night to bond with them, and I often put them on my shoulders. It is difficult trying to train them when they are so hesitant with me. What can I do? I feel really bad because everywhere online people seem to have a close bond with their birds. Sorry for the long message.

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Everywhere online is often distorted or the time scales lied about. It takes time and it varies from bird to bird! Keep working on bonding

[@datingissuchadrag8461]

Thank you for this. Questions for you. I've got an 8 month old male cocktatiel. Bowie is hand tame and loves me and my husband. We're careful to only scratch his head, and he's out of the cage most of the day and interacts with us a lot. 1) Lately he gets close like he wants to cuddle and pinches our skin. Sometimes it morphs into what seems like gentle love biting and bowing of the head. We're trying to discourage the pinching and wonder your thoughts. 2) You recommended having another cocktatiel but we've heard that will interfere with their bond with you. What do you think? Is it better to get another male or female?

[@TheParrotTeacher]

The love biting is fairly normal he’s either asking to be petted or you’ve given him attention after it so he does it more often to get more of it! If it’s gentle I wouldn’t worry too much but if it gets too hard I’d work on soft targeting (target training videos) and potentially biting protocol. Regarding another bird the myth about it interfering with bonds is mostly due to hormonal behaviour being ignored to the point the birds get nesty or the people not putting much effort in! Male or female is upto you! But if you do decide to get another bird there is the possiblilty they may not get on!

[@datingissuchadrag8461]

@@TheParrotTeacher thank you so much

[@datingissuchadrag8461]

@@TheParrotTeacher if we were to get another hand reared male is it better to get a younger one (ours is 8 months) or try and get a similar age. Does it matter?

[@NATY2811]

We just got ours and he has made no sounds he did almost hiss at me when I went to put it in the cage 😢

[@TheParrotTeacher]

It’s very early days though! So give him time to settle and he will likely become more vocal!

[@nikovaude]

cockatiels 💛🤍🧡❤️

[@TheParrotTeacher]

They are awesome

[@adityajha4013]

can i keep a single cockatiel i have a 2ft by 2ft cage

[@TheParrotTeacher]

I’d look at our cages as examples and go from there

[@TravZ27]

Hello, why is it when i whistle my cockatiel twicthes their head whereas the other doesnt seem bothered, ive asked google but dont get a good answer

[@TheParrotTeacher]

Some cockatiels find certain tones irritating or mildly intrusive. Due to this they shake their heads!

[@TravZ27]

Oh great to know, thanks, I really appreciate a response ❤.

[@silvermist8984]

I am getting a cockatiel for the first time and my parents think they should be in a pair like male and female is that necessary like won't it cause hormonal issues

[@TheParrotTeacher]

So it generally is better to keep them with another of their own species! Potentially it could, but if you manage hormones you can reduce the risk of problems! You could go for a same sex pair and if possible from the same clutch!

[@silvermist8984]

@@TheParrotTeacher I am getting from the same clutch but if I get 2 males would they like fight. Because alot of male birds are territorial

[@TheParrotTeacher]

We have two males and while they have their moments they get on fine. Territorial behaviour may occur but if you provide a large cage and actively train plus give them the right environment it shouldn’t be an issue

[@silvermist8984]

@@TheParrotTeacher okay so I ended up with one cockatiel and one budgie they were bonded and lived in the same cage before I even got them so I could not separate them. For the taming process should I keep them in the same cage or separate cages

[@TheParrotTeacher]

If they are used to living together and have a very big cage then I wouldn’t separate them!

[@k.daydreams_]

The broccoli that you feed to your cockatiels isn't cooked, right? I can't quite tell from the video, it looks uncooked to me

[@TheParrotTeacher]

That’s right, uncooked! We try to avoid cooked foods for our birds as a rule as they aren’t the best for them!

[@yesidtac7863]

Cacatuas son de australia no

[@TheParrotTeacher]

They are also yes!

[@tigergirl2897]

Mines literally driving me insane !! Separate anxiety! No peace in the home. I can't even leave the room. He or she makes only feeding noises won't eat anything else. I'm looking to rehome. ;( for a bird to hurt himself looking for me for 4 hours while I'm gone Isn't healthy and I feel bad. I spent over 400 on cage and items. I tried chop foods on a plate on top on cage for independence but nope. I can't even get a minute.

[@TheParrotTeacher]

It sounds like there’s a lot to unpick here to be honest and a bit much to respond to in a comment reply. There could be lots going on but if it’s a solo cockatiel and young then it will want attention as you are it’s flock! I have further videos that discuss anxiety, diet conversion etc but for this kind of issue we would usually recommend a consultation. The one thing I will say is these kinds of things can be worked through with training, a bit of time and patience.

[@kwiiin_]

I want to adress the "it's okay to only have one bird". Really, it is not. Human beings are a different animal species and can never, ever replace an actual bird of the same species. I know it's cute when a bird hangs out with you since you're its only playmate, but it is cruel to do so. You'd rather have two happy, not cuddly birds than one instagrammable. The fact that birds must be kept at minimum two is also in German law, showing how important that is. Sorry that I always rant about that, I'm sick of people putting their needs over a helpless other animal just because they can.

[@TheParrotTeacher]

So I do agree with you that birds are best kept in at least pair preferably of the same species and we encourage people to do so where possible too! But there are situations where people will end up with a solo bird for various reasons or other scenarios may occur. Is it ideal no, can it work sometimes I feel that yes. People keeping solo birds is unlikely to change anytime soon so I try to provide everyone the most/best info I can to help those birds and people do well together.