Jean......Cockatiel ?

Mars · Post by **Mars** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 7:04 am

Morning Jean,

I have a Latino Cockatiel (Sydney) who we have not blood tested for sex. We have called "him" a "him" to make Larry feel like there is another male in the house. Both of our dogs are female and we have 2 daughters. :ROF:

Anyways, this "him" has begun sitting in the food dish and chirping/peeping. It's hard to discribe the sound. Is "he/she" rousting? Suggestions/ideas?????

Another funny that he does..........he will break the sunflower seeds using the bars on his cage. Then the shell is "thrown" out of the cage and Sydney will poke one eye out and look for the seed he just threw. He is the funniest bird. He is constantly making us laugh with his antics.

He is also the best alarm we have. When someone slows down on the road (whether it be for our house or the neighbor) he begins screeching. He beats the dogs to the alert most times! It's hysterical. He also greets Larry this way when he gets up in the morning.

Thanks,
Mars

Peggy · Post by **Peggy** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:00 am

Hey Mars~~~

I'm not Jean, but being the owner of Cockatiels for many years I can tell you I've been informed the only way to sex a bird is with an internal examination. Or unless, as in our case once, the bird starts laying eggs...then you can be sure it's a female

Love
Peg

Mars · Post by **Mars** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:20 am

Hi Peg,

I was told that to test a bird for gender you needed to pull a blood feather and have the blood tested. I wasn't willing to do this since it really doesn't matter if "he" is male or female!

Aren't Cockatiels wonderful - they have their own little personality!

PS - no eggs!

Love,
Mars

starfire · Post by **starfire** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:54 pm

Yep, Cockatiels are indeed wonderful little creatures with widely diverse personalities.

The little habits they develop to relate to their "people" or to entertain themselves is adorable.

Ours is a great alarm system also. He gives the "alarm" before I can even see the car that Bill is home. He "tells" Bill when I start moving around in the bedroom upon arising. (Bill is an "early bird".) Like yours, we always know when a car is coming up the (long) driveway or our neighbors driveway. There is only one neighbor close enough for this.

He is up in Pa. with Bill right now and I miss him.

Love, Shirley

barbaranoela · Post by **barbaranoela** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 3:01 pm

I just luved the stories of the cockatiels---
So is there a Cockatiel GYN. for them

And Margie-----your bird---sounds perfectly delightful----she/him must be very happy in its new home

The daughter of a friend of mine--owned one and it was very entertaining---

Hmmmmmmmm---so whats the deal with the egg laying??
Like does the *she* just manufacture them or has some fun fertilizing them!!!!
Well

had to ask???

:bigbighug:

Barbara

Jean · Post by **Jean** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 4:37 pm

Hi All,

Cockatiels are great, they started me on my bird excursion. I have to say that the green cheeks I raise are even more fun than the Cockatiels, but I'm really prejudice. They are fearless.

I DNA my birds using a blood sample. All I do is cut a toe nail until I get a drop or two. It really doesn't hurt them much. It costs $20. If any one is ever interested, I have the info and the card for the blood sample. The old way was to surgically sex them. Vets still do it, but it's usually only used to tell if a bird is able to breed.

Anyway Mars, it does sound like your bird might be nesting. Look just between "his" legs and see if you see a swelling. That's were the egg is. A bird about to lay looks kind of pregnant. She'll even waddle a little.

If "he" is going to lay, they usually start sitting 4 days before they lay. You may notice "him" plucking feathers and lining the food dish, that would be a good sign that Sydney has gender issues.

Does Sydney seem healthy otherwise? I ask because birds are very good at hiding illness, and sometimes the first sign of trouble is almost too late. As long as "he" is still acting fine, there's nothing to worry about.

There is always the slight chance that a hen will get egg bond. She'll sit on the bottom of the cage and look like she's breathing hard. Similar to being in labor. If you notice any signs like that Mars, give me a call at any time and I'll tell you what to do.

Enjoy your birds, they are great!

Love, Jean

annie oakley · Post by **annie oakley** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 6:16 pm

Wow there is alot to owning a bird like that. They sound neat. Love Oma