Found A Cockatiel, Half Dead…it’s Waking Up…?
I work in a retirement community and when the grounds man was mowing yesterday he almost ran over a cockatiel that was too weak to fly. He brought it to me in my office, where it would try to perch and fall over. It did readily eat seed I ran out and bought (cockatiel seed) and drink water. I called the 3 shelters and local vets offices, plus asked the community and no one claims it or has reported it lost.
Today, it is eating, drinking, perching, chirping, etc. It also runs up your arm and bows it’s head to be scratched. Obviously this was someones bird. I am running a “found” ad, but will keep the sucker if no one claims.
Thus far, I have bought it seed, some vitamin supplement for it’s water, a small cage (will invest in bigger if I keep) a cuttle bone. What else do I need? Any help will be nice…I know nothing about them other then what I have read on the net in one day…
Firstly, i would keep the bird and give it a name, you are doing a brilliant job already! I have been a cockatiel owner for years now. They can be very affectionate birds if you have the time to spend with them, but are generally ok on their own at times too. They love millseeds and sunflower seeds (mine do) and are sometimes partial to trying boiled rice too. You must never let them have dairy products i.e cheese (they cannot digest), chocolate or avocado (i was told they contain toxins which are not good for a bird).
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Other than that they are vain…love dangly mirrors and stuff in their cage and they seem to love anything that sparkles i.e gold. So if you have any sparkly (safe) chains or bracelets, hang them in the cage!!
As for the cage itself, a bird must always be able to open their wings to a full wing span in the cage, otherwise the cage is too small. And with cockatiels, they are better suited to cages that have horizontal bars they can hold onto easily (but ensure the bars aren’t bif enough for it to get’s it’s neck stuck)!
Good luck, and i hope you get to keep it, sounds well cute
Depending on how long this bird has been missing it could be from another city. A person on a chat I belog to just recovered her cockatiel 12 miles away from home in another town. Sounds like this bird has been out for some time. Watch for illness, but it could be just exhausted.
Notify the following for both Lost or Found birds:
• Local newspapers
– most papers do not charge for “found” ads. Some do charge for “lost” ads
• Local Humane Society/Shelters/SPCA
– some shelters only keep found birds for 3-7 days
• Bird shops and pet shops that sell bird supplies
• Local Bird Clubs
• Local Avian Vets
• Give a flyer to your mail carrier, or post one at your mailbox
• Radio Stations/News Papers (for a story)
• Bird Sanctuaries near your area
• Zoos
• Police/Sheriff
Post found ads on these sites:http://chats.upatsix.com/chats/viewforum…http://www.911parrotalert.com/http://www.birdhotline.com/http://www.craigslist.org/about/states.h…http://birdmart.com/classifieds/http://www.lostandfound.com/http://www.cockatielcottage.net/lost.htm…http://www.foundandlostpets.com/index.ph…http://www.petharbor.com/http://www.h4ha.org/
Check the lost ads on these sites for cities around you, you may see the bird there. Ask for description of the bird, if it is banded what the number is.
A little bit of freshvegi’s and fruit every day is good. Green vegi’s are the healthiest. Also if you have an Aloe Vera Plant cut, and wash a tiny piece of that and give every couple of days. it’s like an anit-biotic for birds.
Greens:
Kale
Asperigus
Mustard Greens
Collard Greens
Broccoli
Romain lettuce
Dandelions (make sure their not sprayed w/ pesticides)
NO NO’s:
Teflon pans (when cooking with these have bird in a different room)
Avocodo
Caffine
Chocolate
Alcohol
Glad your taking care of the little guy. I would still take him to the vet to make sure that he is okay and there’s nothing wrong.
you probably have a escape from someones home, look around for signs, flyers, lost,, whatever
they like mirrors too, they like company,
you should get toys, and maybe a swing too. and MILLET! Birds love that stuff!
It sounds like you are doing a pretty good job already!!! I cant think of anything else you need apart from Millseed maybe? – go to a decent pet shop and ask them though, they can show you the ‘range’ of products on offer to spoil it!!
They are very playful and if you put him out for the residents of the retirement community to play with, it actually increases their quality of living! I go around my town trying to get nursing homes and assisted living places to get pet birds so that their residents can watch the birds, have responsibility in caring for them, and have something to play with and talk to! I would keep the bird and just handle it. If you need more advice, go to http://www.cockatootrainer.com
Good luck!
You are doing an excellent job!! and thank you for looking after him he sounds like a wonderful bird.
I found a cockatiel being attacked by a crow and he recovered great. They’re strong little things.
Apart from ocassional green foods, you’ve got everything down already!!
Wow, you’re doing a wonderful thing by helping the poor bird. He sounds like he would be a great pet. I think I’d contact a vet that specializes in birds, and find out how to take care of it properly. It sounds like your doing things right to me, but it would be best to be sure. Not sure I’d want him to go back to it’s owners, it doesn’t sound like they took very good care of him.
Sounds like you are providing all it needs to thrive!!
Cockatiels are great companions, you’ll find they have a sense of play, great sense of humor, and with companionship they learn fast.
Some appreciate a little place of privacy to sleep in their cage – like a little open-ended tent I forgot what they’re called buy a pet shop has them I’m sure.
does this bird have a breeders band on his leg? if he does you can increase your chances of finding his owner check with your local pet shop as well. many birders go to the same store for their birds food routinely. also check with the vets in your area who are willing to see birds. also if he has a specifis color mutation like lutino(yellow instead of grey) are more rare than the comon grey and there are many mutations-pearl, cinnamin, dominant silver, white face, pied, all birds need toys to pass the time. I dont know how many people have come in to the store saying they removed the toys from the cage because the bird was TEARING THEM UP! i just tell them what does yuor dog do to his chew toys? leave them in one piece? birds get bored and they chew on things toys or feathers its your pick. a happy bird has peices of toys all over the bottom of the cage and often the floor around the cage along with his discarded food and seed. it is always best to get him started on pellets add a few at a time to his seed and slowly increase the ammonut each week until his primary diet is pellet a well rounded diet includes fresh fruits a veggies chopped up in bite size pieces for him as well. as for the cage i tell everyone cage and or bird shopping at the store there is only one rule as long as his head does not fit between the bars…no cage is too big but they many sizes can be to small. he has to be able to stretch his wings with out touching the sides of the cage. think about it would you prefera one room appartment or a mansion?