Cockatiels are proving to be amongst the most popular of pet birds.  They are a small parrot and come in a variety of colours.   The colours on their face tend to be brighter and more vivid on the male cockatiel and the female cockatiel has bars on the underside of her tail feathers.

Colour variations include albino, lutino, pied, pearl, cinnamon, and silver.  The differences between males and females vary in the different colour variations and can sometimes be hard to distinguish, especially in young birds.   They are attractive birds that are friendly and easy to tame and they have the reputation of being gentle and docile birds who enjoy being petted and held.  Cockatiels are good at mimicking speech and learning to whiste tunes but the male is thought to be better at it than the female.

Cockatiels make good company for each other if they are kept in pairs, but usually will not bond as well with their owners or mimic speech or sounds.  Keeping a single bird is ok so long as you are able to spend a significant amount of time interacting with the cockatiel on a daily basis.  The cockatiel is both playful and active and although they vocalise and whistle most of the time,  they are not as loud as some other parrots.

When choosing a cockatiel, it’s better to choose a hand fed baby or at least a young bird that has been handled regularly.  Prices will probably vary dependant on the colour you want and you can always expect to pay a bit more from a conscientious breeder.  However, it’s well worth paying the extra for a well-handled baby.  You can also purchase a cockatiel from certain high street pet shops, but it’s worth considering that these birds might not have a known history and so could be older, not used to being handled and therefore harder to tame.

As with all birds, look for a cockatiel who appears to be bright, alert and active.  A bird that is seen sitting quietly with puffed feathers could well be ill and so is best avoided. The feathers on the cockatiel should be smooth and shiny and lay down flat on his body. His beak should be smooth and well-shaped with the feathers around his beak clean, dry, and free of faecal matter and his nostrils clear and clean.  The scales on his feet should be smooth, his nails in good condition.

Because cockatiels are active and playful, they should be kept in a large bird cage.  Opinions vary on the minimum size but a good rule of thumb is to purchase a bird cage that is at least 20″ wide x 20″ deep x 26″ high.  The spacing between the bird cage bars should be no more than 3/4″ as anything larger than this is a safety hazard for cockatiels. Horizontal bird cage bars will allow your cockatiel the best opportunity for climbing and exercise and some bird cages offer both horizontal and vertical bars.  Make sure you have space in the bird cage to  place at least a couple of perches at different levels with enough space to comfortably move between them.  It’s also a good idea to purchase a bird cage with a slide-out bottom tray for easy cleaning.

ideas-4-pets have a good selection of good quality bird cages and parrot cages incuding the Montana range who produce innovative and well-designed bird cages for all types of domestic birds. 

You might also want to consider purchasing a bird cage cover for your cage which will give your bird some privacy, darkness and protection from any draughts.