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I thought I might share some more pictures of Avenger that I snapped before I go to bed. By the way, I really thank all you guys from the bottom of my heart for the advice. I'm sure you all know that it can be frustrating at times to keep patience with trying to train, but very rewarding! This is the best board that I have seen in awhile, and I am so glad I found it!

I thought I might take some shots of Avenger in his cage, not only to show off his 'house' but also, please feel free to give me tips on placements of things. He seems very happy with the way things are right now, but I will certainly move things around for his safety. I'm sure that more experienced Tiel 'slaves' know whats right and wrong.

Also, I apologize for the quality. My regular camera is in use of someone else, so I've been snapping along with my phone.

Through the bars!:


Mid-stretch:


He got very curious about my phone. In fact, I have to keep him ways away from my laptop keyboard. He's already broken my "escape" button (I think he's trying to tell me there's no way out now! hehe!)

Anyhow, he came out to his entrance just to see it:


I almost want to LOL!cat this one...I can imagine the capture, "Hoomin, get my good side."


Also, I have a video! Duh, my phone can do this. I should have thought of it earlier

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v310/ ... 080346.flv

Enjoy! I certainly do <3

Ok, if you really want advice about the cage, it looks a bit small, what are the measurements? Also I only saw one toy in there-----you should get a few more, and make sure there is cuttlebone in there as well. Mine love those rope perches, I think because they are soft, so I would get one of those too. Also a favorite toy of mine are ones to chew----this one is a hit with all my birds......http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16407
Some people will tell you to stay away from mirrors, but Woody loved his when we first got him-----he would see himself and sing happily!
As far as the size of your cage goes-----tiels are pretty laid back birds, and will sit in one place for a while and just relax-----mine were not too active when I first got them and that can lead to weight gain. If they are in a smaller size cage with not alot to do in there, they will sit around. Getting them a good size cage will encourage him to climb around and explore it------also I put ladders in mine for woody when we first got him to climb on in places where there are less horizontal bars-----he loved those ladders! Some people put a swing or a boing in their tiel's cage-----but neither of mine seem to like unsteady things underneath their feet! when it comes to toys----there have been times when I put one in their cage and they seemed to not like it much, but I left it in there and in a few weeks, it would be a favorite----so sometimes they don't take to things right away, and some toys can scare them----so pay attention to his reaction when you put them in his cage. Ok, I guess that is it from me----cute pics! We love pics here!

Its a 20 x 20 cage. I wanted to get him something bigger but I've done a lot of reading about sizes and this seemed perfect for just one cockatiel. I plan on getting another cage thats a lot bigger soon, but hes still tiny even though the pictures make him look bigger than he really is. Its got a lot of height and width to it though, and hes only been exploring one half of his cage so far.

I only put one toy in because I didn't want to overwhelm him just yet (I've only had him for two weeks) but I do have a cuttlebone, it was just off to the side in those picture. I also have a seed/fruit bar that attaches to the cage that he loves to play on and eat off of

I am going to buy a rope perch very soon along with some natural branches, because I figure it will be fun for him to play with and will probably help out his feet a little

Thanks for the advice and info! I'll look into ladders as well.

OH! And before I forget, we're also getting him a play stand that way while he's in the living room with us we can have fun and he can occupy himself if he just wants some time to himself but wants to be with us as well.

mytielwoody wrote: Mine love those rope perches... Getting them a good size cage will encourage him to climb around and explore it...neither of mine seem to like unsteady things underneath their feet! when it comes to toys----there have been times when I put one in their cage and they seemed to not like it much, but I left it in there and in a few weeks, it would be a favorite----so sometimes they don't take to things right away, and some toys can scare them----so pay attention to his reaction when you put them in his cage.

They are all individuals with their own preferences, and youngsters especially will change in a very short time. With a larger cage, it's easier to introduce a toy w/o scaring the bird half to death. Best to put it outside the cage until the bird is accepting of it. Mine love their boings! A year ago I gave them a grapevine globe that I thought they might like TOO much, like a nest! But instead, they gave it wide berth. A couple months ago, I thought that the next day I would remove it since never had a talon touched it. Would you believe ... the next morning, a fearless male was chewing on it and a week ago 4 were jockeying for sleep positions on all sides of it. Astonishes me!

Here are toys that many of my birds love to nibble and jingle: http://www.greyfeathertoys.com/cgi-bin/ ... iliate_id=
I hang a couple wood beads on each and have very happy birds at a bargain price! The chain, hook, and washers are stainless steel, so they last forever and are completely bird safe. Plus, Grey Feather Toys is a longtime UAS advertiser, so giving them our business pays wonderfully

How old is Avenger?

avenger is beautiful, and he reminds me so much of my baby! he looks JUST like luigi did when he was younger! after his first couple of molts luigi's cheeks became a much brighter yellow and he lost the barred tail feathers. if avenger truly is a "he" perhaps the same will happen for him! luigi also likes to pull the keys off of my laptop keyboard...and i think it's like a game for him...he grabs one and runs away across the desk carrying it and gets all excited because he knows i'll go after him to get it back! it's so cute

i also love your lolcat caption! haha i always hope to see some good bird ones...

anyway, welcome and best of luck!

The lady that I bought him from at the pet store said he's about six months old. I believe this to be true because he's going through his first molt.

Yea, I don't really want to mess with putting any more toys in just yet. The only thing he really goes for in his cage right now is this seed/fruit bar thing, he hardly even messes with his wooden toy. I caught him standing by it and checking it out this morning though, so hopefully he'll get used to it soon

Thanks, Woody! I'll keep all of that in mind, and look around for a bigger cage. I'm afraid if I give him anything too big right now he'll be overwhelmed and I really don't want to stress him.

Weej, isn't he just so cute? I love him so much already its not even funny. I can't wait to see what colors come out after this molt I am getting him sexed next week though.

I wouldn't bother with the cost of having him sexed. When he is finished with his molt, you will be able to tell, but with that brilliant mask coming in, it sure looks like a boy!!

I thought about just not doing it but I figure if I'm going to go ahead and get him a check up and get blood tested for his health, why not throw in the extra few bucks to go ahead and figure it out

avengerandme wrote:why not throw in the extra few bucks to go ahead and figure it out

Reason 1: it takes a little extra blood, which cockatiels have in shorter supply than a larger parrot.

Reason 2: those extra bucks could be spent on toys or put into a vet-care savings account.

Reason 3: it's really a waste on a 6 month old cockatiel. If male, he'll be giving you heart wings and jabbering in no time. If female, she won't. EZ!

One thing you might want to consider when looking at a larger cage, is where the food and water dishes or bowls are placed. In my large cage, there is a "trap door" of sorts where I mounted the water bowl, and it's up high in the cage. There is nothing above it, so I get very little poo in the water unless someone sits on the outside of the cage and it falls in. Ditto with food dishes.. look for a cage that has dishes placed where they can't get up above them and contaminate the food. Unfortunately, as long as 'tiels can climb on the bars of the cage you still have a chance of them pooping in the food dish. I'm sure you are well aware that 'tiels absolutely hate changes to their environment, so when you do purchase a new cage, instead of just transferring him and his toys into the new one, let it sit close by to the old cage and leave the door open. He'll probably want to investigate the new cage, and in doing so, won't be too upset if he knows it's a safe place from the outright. I've recaged all my kids, and they didn't like it at first, but I can still bring out the little travel cage I use to take them to the vet, and several of the kids will start climbing all over it, getting into it and so forth. They think it's some kind of game or new toy!

Sam

I agree about testing to see if he's a boy---cockatiels are one of the easiest ones to tell, their personality gives it away! plus he will show in his colors too and you will be able to tell if he's really boy for sure, without the test. Also the placing the food and water dishes thing-----Woody and Boss's cage I can put them wherever I want and theirs stays the cleanest of all the others! so yes, where you place them can make a huge difference! keep them cleaner and you won't have to keep changing the water! Ivy's I can put anywhere too, but she gets her food in hers somehow! Anyway, DNA testing at the vet very expensive! not worth it at all! now if you wanted to test at home and do it yourself, then it's fairly cheap----but why put the bird through that. The only one of my birds I don't know the sex for sure is Pip, my lovie and I would never put him through getting DNA sexed and I would never pay over 100 dollars for the test at the vet either! I am pretty sure he's male and that is good enough for me!

Thanks for the tip on cage moving. I know its not going to be happening for another month or so because all his toys and cage expenses are provided by me. My situation is a little weird right now and I'm on unemployment from just having moved back up to New Jersey from Georgia and trying to find a job.

No worries, though, because my aunt is helping me out and we're counting up a tab so that when I get my job back at this zoo that I worked at up here (which is pretty much garunteed, they're just waiting for their temp employment--younger teens, etc,.) to leave for the summer to put me back on the payroll. It pays pretty well and the hours are great so that I can spend a lot of time with Avenger.

He won't be left alone all day, though. My aunt is currently retired and is home all day to give him love and attention too. In fact, during this surprise trip that I took, she's spending day and night happily in my room where the cage is keeping him company until I get back next week. And, she's scheduled an appointment with our vet who is certified aviary and companion pet veterinarian. We've been going to him for years upon years for our dogs and even when I had my keets, so we have a very good relationship with him. In fact, I can't wait until he meets Avenger. Everyone tends to fall in love with my animals over there xD

So yes, I think I'll wait until sexing but the blood tests for health are a must. I wish I could find another way around this since it was mentioned that they don't have much blood to spare but if there is something wrong with him then I want to catch it as soon as possible. I don't see anything yet just from watching and spending time with him; droppings are normal in color, no yeast around the beak or anything and anything else that I researched that they can get before I got him.

Still, I know birds are damn good at hiding things.

Once again, all of your advice and opinions are immeasurably helpful! Thank you