Caring for Your Cockatiel

So you have a new cockatiel! Well, I used to breed parakeets, then cockatiels and then lovebirds and have learned a few things about having birds as pets. Whenever someone bought one of my cockatiel babies, I gave him or her a handout similar to what I’ve written below. I hope this info helps you raise a healthy and happy cockatiel!

Health and Safety

• Keep a night light on for your bird. Cockatiels may “thrash” in the dark. That is, they flap their wings and fly into the sides of their cages. This can result in broken blood feathers, which can be very serious. (The experts don’t know what sets the birds off, but it can be as insignificant as a shadow from an outside light or even an insect, like a spider.)

• If your bird breaks a blood feather, use styptic powder (brand name: Qwik Stop) to stop the bleeding. If you’re unable to stop the bleeding, you’ll have to identify the broken feather and use tweezers or needle-nose pliers, depending on the size of the bird, to pull the feather shaft out from as close to the base as possible. Then put styptic powder on the wound. (Although I’m not aware of other birds that thrash like cockatiels do, any bird can break a blood feather. So you should always have styptic powder on hand.)

• As with all pet birds, keep yours out of any drafts and avoid severe temperature changes.

• All birds spend a good part of their day sleeping off and on. However, if your bird is “fluffed up” with its eyes closed most of the time, it is ill, and you should see an avian veterinarian. In the Detroit metro area, I recommend Dr. Julie Cappel of Warren Woods Veterinary Hospital (586-751-3350). (Most vets recommend an annual check-up for pet birds.)

• If you use non-stick cookware (Teflon, T-Fal, Silverstone, etc.), do not keep your bird in the kitchen! If any of these surfaces becomes very hot or burns in the process of cooking, the fumes could kill your bird instantly. The safest thing is to not use that kind of cookware.

• Many plants are toxic to birds, so it’s best to keep all plants away from them.

• Many fumes and the accelerant in aerosol sprays are toxic to birds, as well. Air fresheners, cleaning solutions and combustion fumes to name a few, can kill your bird. It’s best to remove the bird from the house, or at least put it a few rooms away, when using chemicals.


Nutrition

You can contribute to your bird’s longevity by feeding it properly. In the wild, cockatiels eat insects, grasses and other greens, seed, fruits and vegetables. When we feed our birds only seed, they become malnourished. The following are some of the recommended foods:

• Vegetables – just about anything is fine – broccoli, celery leaves, beans (all types), squash, carrots, sprouts. Avoid onions.

• Fruits – apples, grapes, pears, bananas, kiwi, most berries, including cranberries, oranges (infrequently, because of the acidity), raisins, etc. Avoid avocado, since parts of it are toxic to birds.

• Grains – whole wheat bread, pasta, rice (preferably brown rice, which is more nutritious), cornbread, cereals (Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Cream of Wheat, Oatmeal). Avoid sweet cereals.

• Protein – eggs (hard-boiled or scrambled with very little fat), chicken (not fried), fish.

• Of course, change your bird’s water daily or more often, if necessary. They may put food in the water or get droppings in it, which could lead to bacterial growth and illness. Also, always keep seed or pellets available to your bird.

Since cockatiels don’t eat much, put only small amounts of fresh food in the cage, and remove it within a few hours to prevent bacterial growth.

The “people” food choices are practically endless (avoid fried foods). Your cockatiel may seem uninterested in what you put in its cage, but keep trying. Eventually, the bird will play with the food and taste some in the process. Then it just might decide to eat more of it.

There are also many excellent pelleted bird foods available, including Zupreem, Harrison’s, and Roudybush. Check with an avian vet for a recommendation. Pellets provide much more nutrition than seed, so I encourage you to provide them.

Seed is like the “McDonalds” of bird food. Still, some experts recommend feeding limited amounts of seed, along with pellets and fresh foods. For my rescue birds, who were fed only seed before they came to me, I buy Kaytee or Sun Seed mixes that have little or no sunflower seeds, which are high in fat. I do sprout sunflower seeds, however, by soaking them overnight, draining the next day and leaving them in a collander for a day or two to sprout. In this form, sunflower seeds are nutritious. I also soak soft wheat (available at feed and health food stores) the same way. They love this.

Do NOT give your bird – any bird – chocolate! It can be deadly.

Many bird owners supplement their pets’ diets with vitamins. If your bird eats soft foods, such as rice or vegetables, you can buy powdered vitamins and mineral supplements to sprinkle on that food. If it becomes strictly a seed-eater, you can buy liquid vitamins to add to its water. But if the bird eats a variety of fresh fruits, veggies and some protein, it won’t necessarily need vitamins. An avian vet can check the bird’s vitamin levels.

Training

Many cockatiels can be taught to talk. Usually, males learn to talk more easily and quickly than females. However, many females do talk, and many males don’t. If you want to teach your bird to talk, it’s important that you begin when it is very young.

Start with a simple two- or three-word phrase. Consonants are easier for birds to pronounce, so phrases like “Pretty bird” are good first words. Begin by putting your pet on your finger or a perch held at about your chest level and softly repeating the words over and over again for about 15 minutes.

Do this twice a day, if possible, making the session pleasant for the bird by speaking in a soothing voice and petting it occasionally. Many cockatiels will begin repeating your words within a few weeks; however, some take longer, so don’t give up. If your bird doesn’t talk after months of training, it may never learn. So just enjoy it for the great pet it has become and consider teaching it to whistle.

Cockatiels are excellent at imitating our whistling. Whistle a favorite song repeatedly when you’re around your bird, and it will start imitating the tune. One of mine whistled “Jingle Bells,” and another did “Sweet Georgia Brown.”

Miscellaneous

Birds, like any animals, can become challenging or frustrating at times. For example, sometimes during the spring, sexually mature birds may be “nippy” with their owners. This is natural and will usually pass within a few weeks. Never strike or in any way hurt a pet bird, because it’s not only cruel and ineffective – they also never forget it.

If your bird develops an attitude, the first thing to do is clip its wings, if they’ve grown out. Have a veterinarian show you how to clip the flight feathers. I recommend keeping the wings clipped at all times for both behavior and safety reasons. Full-flighted birds tend to be more independent, because they don’t need you to help them get around. Clipping the flight feathers usually makes them a little less likely to act up.

Also, a full-flighted bird can fly out an open door or window or off your shoulder, if you forget it’s there and walk outside. Or it could fly into a window, ceiling fan or something cooking on the stove, with disastrous results.

If the aggressive behavior persists after the wings have been clipped, you’ll need to try some corrective measures. Immediately after any unacceptable behavior, say “NO!” firmly, but not too loudly, and return the bird to its cage. After about 10 minutes, let it out again. If the behavior continues, repeat the process. Don’t shout or scream at the bird, because that will just make it become more riled. Plus, they tend to repeat behavior that results in a dramatic response, especially if they don’t get much regular attention.

With some of my birds, I used a “time-out” box. Save a box that’s just large enough so that the bird can flap its wings without touching the sides, and its head doesn’t hit the top. When the bird misbehaves, say “NO!” and tell it that it’s going in the box. Then place the bird on some paper or paper towel on the floor or other flat surface, and put the box on top of it. Birds don’t like being confined in a dark place and will usually straighten out to avoid it. Never leave your bird in the box for more than a few minutes – I limited it to five minutes. And I did this with only one bird, an Eclectus parrot that was going through the “terrible twos” and was biting. So this is something I used only in a severe case of misbehavior.

These are just suggestions. Hopefully, you won’t ever need to use any of them. Cockatiels are people-oriented and get very attached to their owners. If properly cared for, they don’t usually exhibit behavior problems.

There is a wealth of information available from breeders, in books on cockatiels and on the internet. I recommend that every bird owner purchase a book on the breed they’ve chosen. And if you have questions on anything not covered here, feel free to email me at: SLaurence50@gmail.com.

Photo by: hddod©
Title: Cockatiel
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hddod/69054930/

Caring for Your Cockatiel

Crime Doesn't Pay - Stealing Wild Flowers

A former employer owns a large piece of wooded land that lies adjacent to its facility. The acreage is completely wild, with a river running through it and all kinds of animals and beautiful wild flowers. Fortunately for the employees, the Company had three walking paths made through the area, so that we could get some exercise and fresh air on lunch hours. I absolutely loved those woods, because once I hit the gravel, the tension from work just evaporated. On nice days, there were lots of people walking, running or eating lunch on the benches that were placed in scenic areas. And for a couple of years, I walked those paths two or three times a week through spring, summer and fall.

Part of the attraction for me was the abundance of beautiful shade-loving wild flowers, including Jack-in-the-pulpit, Mayapple, Tiger Lily, Trillium, Trout Lily, Lily-of-the-Valley and more. Oh, how I wanted some of those flowers in my yard. Unfortunately, in Michigan, it’s illegal to dig up wild flowers. But, I’m ashamed to say, I packed a brown lunch bag with a trowel and a Ziplock bag with a wet paper towel inside it to keep the roots happy. And my walking partner and I hit the woods, looking like we were going to have lunch out there.

When we got to the various areas where we wanted to dig up flowers, we’d listen for other walkers, as I dug up what I wanted. Every few minutes, I’d have to stop, hurry over to the bench and act like I was getting ready to pull a sandwich out of my lunch bag. When the coast was clear again, I’d resume my covert operation. I rationalized that I was just moving them to another wooded area, as our yard backs up to woods that separate our sub from the one north of us. And I knew that I’d take excellent care of those plants. So what harm would come from my crime?

That evening, after work, I lovingly planted those wild flowers in my yard, in the shade just beyond the trees at the edge of the woods. And by the next morning, most of the Trillium flowers had been chopped off by sharp little teeth. I don’t know for sure if it was the deer or the groundhog family that we suspected lived under our deck. By the next day, the rest of the Trillium flowers were gone, as well as some of the other transplants. All that remain today, more than 10 years later, are the Lilies of the Valley.

Forget about turning me in – I’m sure the statute of limitations on wild flower theft has run out. And I learned my lesson. I’ll never do it again. But I think I’ll sneak back into those woods again this spring, because I’d like to see that spectacular wild flower show just one more time.

Photo by: yuki_september©
Title: Lily of the valley
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yuki_sept/4580512369/

Crime Doesn't Pay - Stealing Wild Flowers

Babysitting a King Charles Cavalier Puppy

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of babysitting a friend’s King Charles Cavalier puppy. Lilli’s absolutely adorable, and I was SO excited to have her here. Her mom dropped her off on Thursday evening and would be picking her up sometime on Sunday. I’d initially planned to do some writing and to start decorating the house for Christmas, thinking my husband would be there to help with Lilli. But he ending up going out of town on business until Saturday evening, so I was on my own.

Let me start by saying that no writing took place, and I didn’t do any Christmas decorating, either. Somehow, I’d forgotten what it’s like to have a puppy around. She got into everything. And she put it all into her mouth. I must have pulled at least five forbidden items from her mouth, including a paperclip and part of a golf shoe cleat. I don’t even know how a golf shoe cleat came to be in the house.

By the end of the day, after Lilli had been here only six hours, I was wiped out and decided to go to sleep early. Her mom had told me that Lilli slept with her and that she loves to cuddle. Well, Lilli ended up sleeping on my pillow, wrapped around the top of my head. I kept moving her, but she kept coming back. I ended up getting less than three hours of sleep that first night. And I had a stiff neck from the way I had to stay crunched up, so that she wouldn’t be pushed into the headboard.

On Friday and Saturday, it was impossible to do anything, because she wanted to be picked up, or she wanted me to throw toys to her. If I was moving from room to room, she was literally under my feet. Thank God for our dog, Maddie, who played with Lilli much of the time. The only time I got her to rest was when I watched television for an hour. She was content to lie on the sofa next to me and sleep. Otherwise, she was in constant motion.

And she was funny as hell! She barked at her reflection in the fireplace glass. In our little office, she spotted some Beanie Babies on the floor, and she barked and charged at them, until she finally figured out that they weren’t alive. I laughed a LOT last weekend! She challenged my Amazon parrot to a fight by barking incessantly every time she saw him. I had to watch them, because he climbed down his cage and was hanging off the stand, trying to reach her. Like I said, I couldn’t take my eyes off her for even a minute.

And probably because she was in a new environment, she had accidents. I mean she really had accidents. By Saturday evening, she’d peed in five different rooms and had also pooped five times in four rooms. And I was taking her outside at least every two hours! But then, a few hours after my husband came home from his business trip, Lilli outdid herself.

I was folding towels in the bedroom, and I had Lilli sitting on the bed, so that I could keep an eye on her. As I looked up from my laundry task, I saw Lilli squat. Realizing that she was about to pee, I said, “Lilli, NO!” Well, that scared her, so she started squirming to get away from me, peeing as she moved. I ended up having to wash the sheets, mattress pad, a down blanket, a fleece blanket and a pillow. I couldn’t believe what had just happened.

We were finally able to go to bed at 3:00 a.m. All my husband said was, “I thought she was housebroken.” Hopefully, it’ll be years before he finds out that Lilli also chewed the molding on the bottom of an antique desk. (I colored it with one of those furniture fixing pens.)

I love Lilli, and her mom’s a good friend, but I think I’m going to hold off on babysitting her until she’s at least a year old. For one thing, we’re getting new carpeting soon – need I say more? And I’d rather wait ‘til Lilli gets past that high-maintenance puppy stage, so I can really enjoy her.

Photo by Dedi Sharabi
Title: Bojan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dedish/4177023692/in/photostream/

Babysitting a King Charles Cavalier Puppy

We Might Be Sharing Our Home With Fleas

The other day, our dog was sitting on the sofa with me, as I watched the news, and she started biting at her belly. I noticed, but didn’t think anything of it . . . until, that is, she did it for the third time. I immediately started looking for fleas through the sparse whitish fur on her stomach, even though I didn’t expect to find anything. After all, she’s been on Frontline since spring.

In the 2-1/2 years that we’ve had Maddie, she’s never had fleas. And that’s saying a lot, considering that she goes into the tall weeds along the back of our lot several times a day to chase her Frisbee. (Hey, I never said I’m any good at throwing a Frisbee.) Before that, we had a Bichon, who never had fleas in 13 years, and my son’s Cockapoo got fleas only once. But we didn’t have Frontline back then.

Well, to my horror, I saw two fleas on our dog that night. I still can't believe that I was actually able to catch one with my fingers. But as I tried to squish it, the little vampire jumped out of my grip and onto the family room carpet. Convinced that it was a female who by then was giving birth to hundreds of babies beneath my feet, I shrieked for my husband. When I told him that Maddie had fleas, he didn’t say anything. I knew instantly, by the look on his face, that he had decided to skip her October Frontline application.

Sometimes I think he’d do almost anything to save a few dollars, and it makes me crazy. He said he didn’t realize that October is probably the worst month for fleas, since they’re looking for a warm-blooded host to take them through the winter. Fortunately for him, the flea bath he gave Maddie actually worked. Yesterday, the groomer found only one dead flea on her.

Life is never boring with this man. But I think when we downsize out of this house, I’m suggesting a duplex or adjoining condo units!

We Might Be Sharing Our Home With Fleas

Do Your Homework When Boarding Pet Birds

Recently, I saw an article in the newspaper about a pet store in Royal Oak, Michigan, that’s been around since the ‘50s. It’s still run by the family of the man who opened it over 50 years ago. And they board birds. That caught my eye, because I’ve boarded my birds only once, and it cost me $25 per day per bird. That certainly adds a lot to the cost of a vacation. So I decided to see what this place charged for boarding, and it was only $8 per bird per day.

Well, before I leave my birds anywhere, I have to feel comfortable with the place and the people who run it. So I stopped in to see the boarding area and ask some questions. The first person I spoke with told me that nobody ever gets to see the boarding area, which was the upper floor of the building, a split-level former house. I asked to see the owner and ended up talking with one of the original owner’s family members. That’s when I decided my birds would never be left there.

He told me that at any given time, they could board between 100 – 150 birds and that I’d need reservations for the holidays, because they usually get over 200 hundred birds then. I knew immediately why they wouldn’t allow anybody to see the boarding area. It had to look like a chicken coop, with cages stacked floor to ceiling, and it couldn’t possibly be clean enough for me.

This place was not huge – it appeared to be maybe a four-bedroom split-level house, with the downstairs broken into two sales areas for birds and fish. So that left the upper level bedrooms and bath(s). How in hell do you stuff that many birds into probably no more than 1,800 square feet and still maintain sanitary conditions? And even though they don’t require any vaccinations or testing for fatal avian diseases, the guy told me none of the boarded birds ever got sick from being there. How is that possible?

The birds never get out of their cages, and if your bird doesn’t get seed, you’d have to bring in your own food, because they feed at least some seed to all the birds. Seed is like the McDonald’s of bird food, being high in fat that’s meant to sustain outdoor birds that burn calories by flying most of the time.

The bottom line is I wouldn’t leave my dog at a kennel if I couldn’t see the facility, and I wouldn’t leave a child at a daycare if I couldn’t walk in unannounced and inspect the place. So why should I leave my parrots at a place like that? Obviously, there are a lot of naïve bird owners in the Detroit area. Fortunately for my parrots, I’m not one of them.

Do Your Homework When Boarding Pet Birds

I Love Our Dog, But . . .

We have the most wonderful dog. She’s got a sweet temperament, never has accidents in the house, gets along with other animals and people, including little kids, and is very well trained. I love her dearly. The only problem is that, after watching our previous two dogs get old and be euthanized, I vowed I’d never have another dog. Not only is it heartbreaking to lose them – they’re also a ton of work and responsibility. And I’m the one who always gets stuck with both.

She came to us two years ago, when I met a woman who was looking for a home for her dog. I casually asked her what kind of dog it was, and she went on to describe the EXACT dog that my husband wanted. Maddie is a golden doodle (retriever and poodle), and she’s the light color he wanted and the smaller size (30 pounds), being part miniature poodle, instead of the standard size.

Anyway, I resisted, but we picked her up after my husband swore that none of the responsibility for Maddie would be mine. He’d take care of everything – vet and grooming appointments, feeding, yard clean-up, etc. Yeah, right. Little did we know then that he’d begin working full time again (he was retired) and that his work would include occasional travel.

Plus, Maddie’s a very high-energy dog, and my husband’s the type whose ass is rooted to his recliner. So I’m the official Frisbee thrower several times a day, and everything else (except poop scooping, which is where I draw the line) has fallen on me.

Well, last week, my beloved was working out of town. On a hot and muggy day, I was throwing the Frisbee to Maddie (and throwing poorly, I might add), and it went into the woods that run along the back of our yard. Maddie ran in after it and ended up in some poison ivy I didn’t know was there. My husband really suffers from poison ivy, much worse than most people. So I knew I’d have to give Maddie a bath to prevent her from infecting him.

I was already sweating from the heat when I had to lift her into the laundry tub and struggle to keep her from jumping out. I got most of her shampooed, but she wouldn’t let me wash her head or face or rinse her off. (This is why we take her to a dog groomer!) So I grabbed the wet, squirming brat of a dog and carried her, dripping, up the stairs and dumped her into our tub. I knelt on the tile floor and finished the job, while she resisted me the entire time.

Then, when I took her out of the tub, she squirmed away before I could dry her. There was water all over the place. By the time I cleaned up both rooms, the whole episode cost me over an hour of time I didn’t have. And that was after having thrown that damned Frisbee four times that day in miserable heat and humidity.

And here’s the kicker – the next day, I couldn’t find the poison ivy I was sure I’d seen the day before. So it might well have been all for nothing. I feel like an idiot, but I’m still going to blame my husband. After all, he wanted the dog!

Photo: Maddie 2009
From: S.Laurence ©

I Love Our Dog, But . . .

My EMail to Bart Stupak

On 3/20/10, I went to Bart Stupak’s website and angrily sent the following email, which I admit could’ve been better written:

“So rather than allow a woman to abort an unwanted fetus, you prefer to see an unwanted baby born addicted and then neglected and abused? How does that make any sense at all?

Nobody likes abortion, but it must remain an option. I don't see right-wing control freaks stepping up and adopting those at-risk babies from the mothers who didn't want them to begin with and don't love them once they're born. How many have you brought home?

How many people, who are already alive and suffering, will die if you and others like you defeat health care reform? And how is that not on your conscience? Do you think that sits well with your God? How dare you sentence so many people to suffering and premature death?

I'm not in your district, thank God. But I'll do everything I can to help those who will prevent you from being re-elected. You will pay for deciding when poor people should die."

My EMail to Bart Stupak

Shitcicles and the Piss River

Oh, my God! I just came in from throwing a Frisbee to the dog. We still have snow on the north side of the houses in our sub, so our yard has a strip about 15’ wide along the back of the house that’s still snow-covered. The rest is grassy mud that deer hooves have turned into muck.

Maddie, our dog, doesn’t care if she’s covered in mud after chasing her Frisbee. But I want to watch some of the Academy Awards pre-shows while I clean bird cages (exciting, huh?). I sure as hell don’t want to be giving an unwilling dog a bath. So I threw the Frisbee along that snowy strip to keep her feet clean. The problem was that I had to stand between our and the neighbor’s house, in order to give her some distance to run. And that area, my friends, is known as the Pissing Field. We don’t have fences here, so dogs have to be let out on leads to do their business. Maddie has about 25 feet in any direction from the steps to use as her toilet.

Well, if you have a dog, you know what I’m dealing with. If you don’t, picture this. Because of all the traffic on the area, it’s pretty much frozen over, rather than snow-covered. It’s mostly yellow from urine, with occasional shitcicles preserved in the ice. And as for the stuff that’s not frozen, it’s deteriorated into a poop pie that has to re-freeze before I’ll even think about picking it up with a shovel. Honestly, I gagged out there, as I tried to avoid stepping in any of it while throwing that damned Frisbee. And I was terrified that I’d slip on the ice and land in one of those disgusting piles.

Ordinarily, I don’t deal with this – it’s my husband’s job, since he swore if we got a dog, he’d do the work (yeah, right). He can’t do it now, of course, because he just had rotator cuff surgery a week ago, and has the use of only one arm. So I’m stuck, because I can’t keep walking through our septic tank of a yard to fill up the bird feeders for the next five weeks. I have to clean it up. So please join me in wishing for one last freeze, so I can deal with that mess without puking.

Shitcicles and the Piss River