Cockatiels

Hi! It’s great to see people asking questions about owning a cockatiel before getting one. I was planning to make a resources megapost on this topic, but sadly have been too busy recently to do it. So here’s a quick TL;DR on some things to consider!

Lifestyle considerations:

• Make sure there is a specialized avian vet near where you live. Emergencies can happen at any time and parrots tend to hide their illnesses very well until things get severe.

• Cockatiels ideally need at least 2 hours of out-of-cage interaction/bonding time per day.

• Bird lungs are very sensitive. You will need to stop using any Teflon cookware, candles, aerosols, and diffusing scents. Teflon fumes have been known to kill parrots.

• Cockatiels shed a lot of feather dust. If you have pet dander allergies, it might be better to choose a different bird.

• Cleaning: Like all parrots, cockatiels poop everywhere and are messy eaters, so cleaning up bird food and poop is a daily occurrence. Cages also need to be cleaned every few days.

Cost considerations:

• The bird itself.

• A variety of food (Pellets, seeds, treats, fresh fruits/veggies)

• Large rectangular cage for home

• Travel cage and/or carrier for vet trips and short road trips

• Vet costs: Annual checkups and emergency visits

• Toys (need to be replaced/rotated every so often to avoid your bird getting bored)

• Bird-sitting/boarding fees if you travel

That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Hope this helps!

I’m a fairly new tiel owner here’s my take:

• time: they need a lot of time uncaged. Basically whenever I’m home she’s out and about.

• food: there are lots of opinions on this. I feed mine about 1.5 tea spoons of pellets, just under a teaspoon of seeds, a couple teaspoons of veg (broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, basically whatever we had for vegetables that’s safe for her I chop a bit extra for the bird). She seems to be doing very well on this.

• light: we have a full spectrum led light that I turn on during the day. They need the light for…vitamins or something? I’m not 100% but the vet said to do it, lol.

• toys: my bird isn’t super in to toys so I don’t have many, some birds are right in to them though so you may need a pile you can rotate through.

• cage: get the biggest one you can afford/fit in your space. Your bird will live in it for 20+ years so buy once cry once. I’d advise not getting the minimum recommended sizes you see online. Get a giant one if you can

• clipping: lots of debate here too. My take is to not listen to the folks that scream CRUELTY at clipped birds. It may not be ideal to have to clip but if it means your bird is safer then do it. There’s also a way to partially clip so talk to an avian vet about the best options for your situation.

Those are my thoughts for now. If you like birds tiels seem like an excellent choice. Be prepared to spend $500-700 getting set up. After that it’s a fairly inexpensive ongoing cost (unless you need lots of vet visits)

Get two, preferably a already bonded pair.

They live a long time, not 70 years but longer than a dog or a cat.

They need constant attention, hence why a companion is good for them, but you are signing up for a loud toddler for a couple decades.

Thank you everyone for your help! I've already got my cockatiel almost two weeks ago. I believe she is a girl because of her behavior. I've spent all these days with her thanks to home office. And she already likes to be on my shoulders or my arms whenever I'm working on my computer, event though she got a bit of a temperament.