Many bird owners have different beliefs behind their reasons for and against having mirrors in cages for cockatiels or birds in general.

What can be the positives and negatives about mirrors?

It really depends on how many cockatiels you have and how you want to interact with them. Like most creatures that roam the earth, all react different to things. The cockatiel is no different, and no two cockatiels will be the same. Saying that, you may find lots having similar traits, yet they are still very individual.

Some positives to having a mirror are; 

If your bird is on its own, he or she can interact with the bird in the mirror. This is especially good if your cockatiel is alone for long periods.
It adds to the interaction for your cockatiel and stops them being bored.

The bird in the mirror becomes the partner, buddy, mate and will be there for them when ever they care to look.

Some negatives to having a mirror are;

Your single bird will become very attached to the reflection and not want to accept you as his or her buddy.

The male will become quite frustrated as the mirror will not react to his calls or gestures in the way he would like or expect.

Cockatiel on mirror

Generally the male cockatiel will be more reactive to the mirror. He will scream at it if he gets no response from it more and more. Which can have a detrimental affect on the attitude and mental state of your cockatiel.

We have mirrors in our cages and have different reactions…the cage with a couple, the male will scream into the mirror as if warning the other male off. He also sings into it as a sign of territorial dominance. In the other cage we have hardly any reaction, maybe because there are more cockatiels in it. And in the third cage we have the three young ones, two male one female. The female has buddied up with one male and the other is often singing into the mirror and tapping at it with his beak. Sometimes he has a screaming match at it as well.

After writing this post I think that the best time and place for a mirror to be in a cage is possibly only for a single bird, for interaction purposes. However, if you are home 24/7 with your pet cockatiel then maybe there is no need at all for a mirror at all.

You can read some more interesting comments on the about cockatiels Facebook page Cockatiels A-Z

What is a Feather Mite?

The feather mite is a parasite that lives externally on the birds feathers hence the name. A feather mite that affects your cockatiel may not be the same as the one that affects your budgie as there are many different kinds of feather mite. The feather mites are best seen using a magnifying glass as they are very small. You can spot them with the naked eye as dark or shaded parts on the wing feathers or tail feathers and generally you will find them in batches rather than singular.

Cockatiel feather mites

Symptoms of feather mites

When a bird becomes infested with feather mites, it will be restless during the day. Another reason why owners should understand and monitor the behaviour of their flock.

If you notice that your pet bird is preening itself quite aggressively then change the paper on the floor of the cage and retrieve any fallen feathers that they shed for inspection. Look closely along the shaft for dots of shaded colour.

Generally the feather mite will be in outdoor aviaries and less common indoors. It is contagious to most birds and can be prolific if not treated. As a rule, the feather mite is not going to kill your pet cockatiel, but it will upset it’s comfortable lifestyle. Young birds can be worse affected and will need medication.

Bird Mite Spray

How to treat feather mites

The quickest way to deal with feather mites is to use a Pyrethrin spray and thoroughly clean their cage. Make sure you remove all food and water from the cage before spraying. Make sure you spray all the joints in the cage, like hinges, door latches etc these little buggers like to play hide and seek.

Now spray each of your birds. Avoid getting it in their eyes. Try and get them to open their wings if you can.

Be sure to re apply the spray a week later and follow that spray again a week later, so all up three times seven days apart. The reason for this is that mites will lay eggs and they reproduce every seven to nine days.

Keep checking all of the feathers that you find on the cage floor. You may not see them at first glance but with a magnifying glass you sure will. Check out this video of some feather mites I found today.

What else can you do?

Allow your cockatiels to shower or bathe at least once a week. This will encourage them to preen and remove some of the infested feathers. Remember to shower or bathe early in the day to allow your cockatiels time to dry out before night time.

Keep the cage very clean and check the commercial foods that you are feeding your pet cockatiels for any crawly creatures…

A cautionary note here is that make sure you keep up very good hygiene as mites can live on you and be a cause for some skin disorders.

For even more information on feathers, you can read another post titled Cockatiel Feather Information.

Cockatiels have certain wants in life and one of them is to reproduce. Basically they are horny little munchkins. Given any chance they will look for nesting areas and begin the routine of bonding and mating.

A side note here is that the female does NOT require a male cockatiel to produce and lay eggs. Yes you read that right, no male is needed…

The female will produce an egg every two days. To help her produce an egg she will require a good supply of calcium a good diet and a safe, comfortable home.

Signs of egg binding

Fluffed Up Feathers; can be a sign that she is egg bound. It is also one of the most common symptoms in both male and female cockatiels of illness in birds.

Constipation; watch her droppings, if they look abnormal, or if she fails to produce any waste at all she will be blocked. The waste comes from the same place.

Looking depressed; she will not be showing signs of her lively self.

Sitting on the cage or aviary floor; a sign of a sick bird in general is one when they are found to be sitting on the cage floor rather than on a perch. With egg bound hens it is no different, they will often take to sitting on the floor for comfort.

Swelling; her stomach may be swollen or she may have swelling around her vent (bottom) from straining to pass an egg.

Lack of appetite; she has gone off her food.

Laboured breathing; having difficulty in breathing normally is a sure sign something is wrong.

Visible bump or hump; you may be able to see a raised part in her back as she balances on a perch or stand. Also a bulge can generally be seen at the birds vent.

Putting on weight; if you have been keeping track of her weight, then you will notice some extra weight on the scales.

Egg binding and what to do

Cockatiel Egg Bound

Egg binding is a serious problem that requires quick attention. If you notice any different behaviour in your girl then be ready to take action.

Keep her calm and remove the male if he is around. If your hen is tame and you can handle her, take her into your bathroom and create a lot of steam by running the hot water. This may help her pass the egg. Also very gently rub some plain oil around her vent without any pressure. Offer her calcium supplements in all forms and if you can, administer some liquid calcium into her either by syringe or orally.

Get your emergency cage ready and put a towel and hot water bottle in it. Keeping her warm will help comfort her. Now get to your vet asap.

Do not try and force the egg out yourself.

What will happen without seeing a Vet?

If she is not treated, then she could end end up with nerve damage, paralysis or worse she can die.

An egg that is stuck inside will be putting added pressure on her spine which is the cause of the paralysis which results in her sitting on the cage floor for comfort.

The egg could break inside and the yolk would then kill her.

The only responsible action to take is to get to your avian vet immediately.

You can read more on this topic in the post; Is your pet cockatiel egg bound? And see how our egg bound girl finally laid four eggs and now has three wonderful young cockatiels…

Pet Cockatiels require some very important daily care rituals that need to be adhered to for the longevity of your cockatiel.

Pet Cockatiel Care Basics

Have a cage more than big enough…What is the best size cage for cockatiels?

Make sure you give them fresh clean water daily…better twice a day.

Ensure that you offer a varied diet, not just seeds…A healthy cockatiel diet.

Keep their cage clean…How to clean a cockatiel cage.

Be careful when adding toys…Not all bird toys are safe.

Monitor your cockatiels behaviour…Identify signs of a sick cockatiel.

Be ready for any emergency…An emergency cockatiel kit.

Measure their weight…Become weight watchers.

Keep a close eye on the droppings…Become a poo-ology expert.

Remember not just females need calcium…Offer calcium supplements.

Give lots of love and attention to your cockatiels…How to care for your cockatiels and keep them safe.

That is just a quick few topics to get you started. In the vaults of this website you will find many more valuable posts on various topics to help you share a long and happy, healthy life with your pet cockatiels. A well looked after cockatiel which has lots of love and attention can live between 20-30 years.

With that in mind another way to monitor your cockatiels health is by weighing them regularly.

Hiding signs of being sick

The cockatiel is a flock bird and by that I mean you would find them in the wild in flocks of many cockatiels. They keep together for safety and companionship. Like any animal, if they get sick or injured they will become an outsider and generally be left to fend for themselves.

This is no different for the cockatiel. To keep themselves from become a target of predators or being rejected by other tiels they mask or hide their illness or injury as best they can. Unfortunately this is not in our favour and makes it difficult for owners to spot the signs of a sick cockatiel or anything that might be suspect in their birds.

Become weight watchers

By keeping a close eye on your cockatiels behaviour and monitoring their droppings will help. But one of the best ways to notice if they are unwell is by checking their weight. Since these wonderful creatures only weigh between 70 – 120 grams you will need an accurate scale, one that is sensitive and measures in .1 increments.

I found one just the other week in a local supermarket for $14.99, so now I have a spare. Keep a record of how much they each weigh and then you will be able to notice if any change occurs.

Any sudden weight loss is a sure sign that something is not well within your darling cockatiel. Even though they may look completely normal to you, the scales don’t lie and you should seek an avian vet for some good advice and maybe treatment. Here in Australia the land of cockatiels I would recommend Dr Ross Perry, he also does remote consultations just follow the instructions on his website. Or check him out on Facebook

How to check your cockatiels weight

Cockatiel Weight

So how do you get your cockatiel to weigh themselves? You don’t. Basically you will need to either pick them up and place them on the scale which is often easier said than done, if your cockatiel is very tame then try it. If not, then try and coax them to walk onto it. I tempt them with their favourite treat and allow them to feed while on the scale, crafty but it works. To do that you will need to put the scale back to zero once you have their treat on it.

Another way to get them onto the scales is to camouflage it. All you need is an old tea towel with a hole in. Place the towel over the scales allowing the dial to show through the hole. This way your cockatiel will walk onto the scale not knowing it is there.

Pet cockatiels thrive on interaction and love. If you have a single cockatiel then the amount of time you spend with it will add to it’s wellbeing.

Caring for your Cockatiel

There is no place like home…and that is true for your cockatiel. The cage must be big enough and have the right size perches with places to rest and eat. Then the position of the cage is important. Keep them away from draughts and entrances as they will get easily spooked by people coming and going.

Keep an even temperature in the home, if you are comfortable then so will your cockatiels.
Make sure the diet is varied and frequently changed. Always see to it that they have fresh clean water, even if you have to change it two or three times a day.

The addition of a few toys, mirrors, ropes will be much appreciated by your pet cockatiel, especially if you have only one. If you find yourself with little time to offer your cockatiel then a partner for it would be the best thing. The cockatiel is a flock bird and in the wild would be one of many in a group, so being alone is not going to suit them at all.

How To Care For Your Cockatiel

The best thing you can do for your cockatiel is keep it entertained by you. Daily doses of interaction with you will make them very happy and cared for.  You can read more information about caring for your cockatiel.

If you are reading this and considering getting a pet bird, whether it be a cockatiel or budgie or even the popular parakeet, then unless you can give them plenty of attention and care, I would seriously suggest that you reconsider. Maybe a pocket game boy would suit you better.

The Perfect Perch

This is the only way to best keep your cockatiels feet and claws healthy, by having a varied style and size of perch. The best perches would be from native tree branches of various shapes as the come in all different shapes and sizes and offer a variety of things to nibble on. Unfortunately not all of us are lucky enough to live in an area that you can just go and trim off a branch or two. Saying that, most pet stores do stock some natural wooden perches or climbing frames that you can adapt.

So the next best thing is… natural wooden perches of different diameters. The different diameter is important because without various sizes the claws of the cockatiel will grow long and touch the other side of the foot resulting in cuts and infections. You’d rather go for bigger perches than smaller.

cockatiel perches

The best way to tell if the size is good is to see if the feet when standing on the perch do not wrap around the perch allowing the claws to touch.

You can use the flexible perches that come with a screw and nut to hold it in place. These are a great way to enhance your cage without having to try and fix in a wooden perch which can be difficult if your cage has the wrong size bars…

Perches don’t necessary have to go the whole way across the cage either, they can be in the form of a mirrors, swings and ladders. Even a cuttlefish bone which is a much need form of calcium in your cage can act as a perch. Your cockatiels will find their favourite spots to rest on during the day.

Try not to over do it when adding perches either as they will only inhibit the space that your cockatiel needs to stretch its wings. And during night frights the more cluttered a cage the more likely that they will injure themselves.

Perches To Avoid

These are generally ones that are covered in sand paper, or plastic. This is too aggressive for cockatiel feet. They do not form hard skin and so do not need any abrasive paper to rub on. Some people say that cockatiels need abrasive elements to keep their beak sharp and clean, well they do that on the side of cuttle bone, the side of the cage and especially on natural wooden perches. Plastic coated perches are prone to cracking and peeling, avoid these as the birds will pick them apart and reveal any toxic material beneath.

Also be aware of those colourful rope perches. Make sure that all coloured items have been approved, by that I mean that you are satisfied that the colours are bird friendly and contain no toxins. For more information read this post on various toys and additions to your cage that you might want to be aware off.

We have coloured rope items in our cages that we have made sure are safe for our birds, remember some products are made very cheap and therefore are likely to break or come apart easily, just be careful and always check the cage including things like mirrors rope ladders etc.

When setting up the cage, make sure a few comfortable perches are up high enough for the cockatiels to sleep on yet still have space to move.

In this post we will take a look at what is required to hand raise cockatiels.

When You Must Hand Rear Baby Cockatiels

This is probably the most important time in a baby cockatiels life when you must stand up and bite the bullet and begin to hand feed the birds. As soon as you have baby chicks you must be vigilant and constantly observe them as they feed and grow. At any time you may notice that one or more of the baby cockatiels are not getting fed from the parents, then you will need to step up and remove the babies from the nest and hand feed.

If you don’t supplement them with food you will only see them perish. Start by feeding once in the morning and depending on how old they are, continue every two hours or less often. Here you can read more detailed information on how and when to feed baby cockatiels. After feeding return the chick back to the nesting box for the parents to care for.

What You Will Need

A few instruments you will need to have before you start hand feeding. Make sure that you have;

• The supplement feed and know how to mix it.
• Porcelain dishes to mix the food in.
• Special bent spoon to feed.
• Syringes.
• Temperature gage.
• Weighing scales.
• Soft tissues.

Understanding How Much To Feed

This is often overlooked and I just want to mention it again. The crop is the place just below the neck and before the breast. The crop will fill up with food and expand. It will look like a swollen gland, sometimes baby chicks will become slightly top heavy because of it being full. After feeding, the baby cockatiels will need time to digest and the crop will slowly shrink back. It is important that you notice that the crop does become loose before the next feeding time, if it does not empty, get to a vet.

Be careful not to overfeed. This is easy to do so take care. Always allow the chick to swallow, you can feed too quick and this is dangerous as the baby does not have time to get the food down into the crop and it overflows into the windpipe and this is deadly. You will notice that the baby chicks call out for food, they often bob their heads up and down and make gentle screeching sounds. This is a sign that they want food.

Make Sure That You Are Prepared

This is the most important step for you. YOU must be clear in your mind that you are prepared to go the distance with the responsibilities of feeding your baby cockatiels. If you are not then they might not survive. If you are unsure about how to hand rear baby cockatiels you can watch this video.

We have had an Avian Vet visit yesterday to check on ‘Spike’ and ‘Zac’. If you had read my post the other day about the scare we got from young ‘Zac’ when he was suddenly bleeding from his claw… He had actually broke off the tip of his claw.

Drugs or No Drugs

We are great believers in trying to avoid drugs and jumping at the voice or directions from many doctors or vets that want to prescribe the drugs of the day to relieve the symptoms. It is true that sometimes you have no choice and the drugs are the best way to help. But if their is another way that doesn’t involve the giving of medicine then that is worth taking a look at.

Trying to administer medication to any pet can be a difficult task. Pet cockatiels are not easy to administer medication to. They are small, lightweight and hard to monitor that they actually do consume the medicine.

Thankfully young ‘Zac’ has managed to start to heal his claw. The bleeding stopped and after spending four hours in the car with him driving and writing that post, he has kept calm. The next day he had somehow removed the broken piece of claw… all is looking good.

Feather Plucking

We had noticed that one of our girls had started to pull out feathers, she started just before we were away, so about three weeks ago. Her sister last year ‘Billie Jean’ picked out feathers from under her wings up by her shoulders. She has them clear of feathers now, but doesn’t pull any more, they just don’t grow there. However, ‘Spike’ has been pulling them out of the front of her wings, around her thighs and the base of her tail…Dr Ross Perry has some huge knowledge on birds and if you need some advice then he is the vet to get in touch with.

I had done some research to try and diagnose what it could be. But when in doubt call the vet. Dr Ross Perry a Holistic Vet Surgeon and Physician did some diagnosis from his practice and then at our place he examined ‘Spike’. On observation he concluded that what he had diagnosed from back at his practice was indeed correct.

Psittacine Pruritic Polyfolliculosis (PPPF)

Psittacine Pruritic Polyfolliculosis (PPPF) is signs of deformed feathers with the signs of itchiness. Some feathers grow deformed quills. As the birds are itchy, they often pluck the affected quills. You can see empty feather follicles covered with a small scab. You can see some more photos here. Lucky it is not Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease. You can read more about this in this book ”Caring for Birds with Love and Gratitude” Dr Ross Perry, from his website.

The prescribed medication is ‘Zeo Vet Tox’ which we will administer into the drinking water. It can be given directly but as our ‘Billie Jean’ is not that easily handleable it is going to go into the water…It will be a good boost as well for the rest of the cockatiels. You can get it from here…http://www.zeoactiv8.com from outside Australia or locally from www.goldcoastbirdvet.com

We had a really good examination and were explained in detail the reasons for this diagnosis. I think that it is very important that you can feel comfortable and confident in your vet or doctor. I will try and get some photos to add to this post. If you would like to find more information about Dr Perry and what he can do with cockatiels then click on some of the links from this page.

The good news is, that all of our other birds are healthy. With a little of a lot more green vegetables in their diet they will be super fit. Some fresh grasses from the garden plenty of love and gratitude and our munchkins will be strong for many years.