upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

What exactly should I be doing the first week or so with my new cockatiel? All he is doing is sitting on his rope perch and shivering and clicking. He doesn't do anything else except for eating and preening every now and then. He doesn't play, chirp or move. I haven't been taking him out since someone told me to let him get adjusted. However, my husband took him out in the morning and he sat on his finger and shivered. Every time I am near him he is shivering. Is there something I should be doing? I am taking him to the vet tomorrow and I will ask him. I am only feeding him the Kaytee Fiesta so far. I got him Sunday afternoon. He has had some millet, but I took that out so he would eat his food. I tried to give him peas, bread, and bananas, but he didn't touch any of it. Also, the only place I have for him is next to a big screen TV. Is it OK to move him into the bedroom at night so that he can sleep longer? So far I haven't and he probably isn't getting enough sleep even though the cage is covered for 12 hours. Will the move stress him out? If not, should I cover the cage before or after I move him?

It took Rosie a while to try human foods, just be consistant and keep trying. Once your baby gets used to you and trusts you more he will start to want to try everything that you are eating. Thats what I noticed anyway. Alot of people say that cockatiels don't like fruit but Rosie likes fruit apples, oranges & strawberries. She wants nothing to do with bananas tho, she won't even try them. Just be patient with your baby, he'll come around.

try sitting near the cage and talking or reading in a calm voice, or even whistling or singing, every now and then. and leave the door to the cage open when you do that. hopefully he'll eventually start to come out on his own to investigate and you can slowly work on gaining more trust from him.

is the TV on when he is trying to sleep? if so moving the cage might be a good idea to ensure that he gets enough quiet time for sleeping. just moving to a different room shouldn't be too much of a stressor.

Cockatiels may shiver if cold or nervous.... I would suggest finding a new place for the cage to be at.... as being so close to the TV may not be a good thing for him.

He's still settling in and trying to get used to things... so you don't really need to worry if he doesn't accept much at first... it may take weeks or months before he's really comfortable in the house and around you.

From day one, I have moved my cockatiels' cages from the bedroom to the front room and back daily. I keep them in the bedroom with the door closed when I'm not home as an extra bit of protection from the cats, then bring them out into the front room when I'm home. They've never shown any sign of being stressed by this.

-Maija

Has he had a vet check? he shouldn't be shivering (?) What do you mean by "clicking"? He should be in area that has some activity but not too much. Most like to be near a wall because it offers some protection. Does he get enough sleep ? does he have a night cover (sleepy blanket)?

I took him to the vet yesterday and the vet said he looked good. We will get the blood test results back on Tuesday. I have him in the living room and there is a wall behind his cage. I do cover him at night for a total of 12 hours. Not sure how much of that he is sleeping though, because for the first 2-3 hours the TV is on. I have a video of the beak clicking in the beak clicking topic. People said it looked like grinding. He does it most of the time and it is like he is opening and closing his mouth really fast and it makes a clicking nose. Very weird.

When we first got Luna, she was in the living room near the TV also. It is on all hours of the night with a lot of history channel - WWII and the like! We noticed after a couple of months, she was quite cranky and snippy, so I bought a smaller cage for her "bed". It is on the other side of the house in a spare bedroom far enough from the TV!

Within a few days she was back to her sweet lovable self.

Keep offering other foods and try them in different ways - cooked, raw, chopped, shredded etc.

Good luck!

Jo

Luna Bella -
I am picking up a smaller cage to have in the bedroom for him to sleep in. Is there anything I need to do before I put him in there for the night? He hasn't even been in the bedroom; only the living room. The cage will just have a plastic perch, stone up high, and the food and water dish. Thanks!

I don't think I did anything special for Luna's first night. Maybe i had the cage in the living room for her to see it. I also have one toy in there just in case she is up early, and also so she doesn't think she is is purgatory LOL.

She get a good 12 hours in there, of course there are house noises and we don't tip toe around since she is in "her room". She hears us because whenever I cough, sneeze, talk she sleep chirps a little tiny chirp - very cute! Sometimes I make a noise just to hear it

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Jo