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I had a cockatiel that died on Christmas Eve morning, and it broke my heart. It was even hard to talk about him for awhile. I finally decided that I was ready to try to fill that void.

I just acquired a give-away cockatiel on Monday. "Joe" is a 16 year-old grey that hasn't been handled very much and doesn't seem to even know what to do with toys. But I'm glad we found each other. He's coming around nicely and is already learning to "step up." He sings to us and loves attention, so I'm sure he'll do fine.

Then we learned this morning of another give-away -- two 2-year old cockatiels (with cage) that an older woman felt she had no time or room for anymore. She said all she does is feed them and clean their cage, and has never had them out of their cage or handled them, or even named them! So we excitedly agreed to take them. I didn't even ask what color they were when we called about them. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to find that the female is a yellow lutino, and the male is maybe a silver (?). I'm still learning the finer points of the different colorations, but he's lighter than a regular grey, with the color becoming paler as it progresses down into his tail feathers. Maybe I should post a few pictures on this forum.

We plan on keeping the 2 new ones separated from the first one (quarantined in another room), but hope to eventually put the cages side-by-side so Joe could have some new friends. Perhaps even cage them all together someday. Any suggestions/advice?

Quarentine is great - also see about a vet visit, I've heard some offer a quantity discount, it won't hurt to ask.

I don't have a flock, but from reading what other people do this is what I think:
As far as caging the 3 together - that may not work. The 2 younger ones are most likely bonded. If the older one wants to get a little female lovin, it could cause problems. Caging them next to each other and having supervised playtime might be the way to go. Joe may bond with you since he doesn't have a mate for himself.

I agree with Luna Bella on all points. You seem to be fully intending to let their reactions to each other be your guide to caging. Good! I have several tiels in a large cage, and have for years. Most are in pairs, but not all. Occasionally one will get a wild hair and give chase to another bird, but not often and never with any results worse than some chasing and squawking. But, as I said, they've known each other up close for years.

If money for vet care isn't a problem, once this quarantine is over, you might want to look for an older female for your aging widow. There are far too many of them out there, needing a loving home, and the two of them might be such lovebirds that they make your heart swell with theirs.

I wish you and your new three all the best. Paca

You've all offered wonderful responses and encouragement -- thanks so much! I just found and joined this forum, and it's a godsend!

I'm still new to the world of cockatiels, as I got my first one only last summer (from a boy heading off to college whose life didn't allow for his 10-year companion anymore). And now we acquired these 3 in one week's time! It seems my lot to "inherit" others' cast-offs. Which is not a bad thing. I've always rescued lost and hurt animals, preferred picking our dogs from the pound, etc. And we even adopted our children from an orphanage in Russia! Guess we just like to share our love with those who need it most.

Anyway, I'll be coming back with plenty of other questions, I'm sure! In fact, I've got a few in mind right now that I think I'll start new threads on.

Thanks again,
darylann