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Post by undead on May 13, 2011 19:03:00 GMT -5
Howdy folks! I just adopted an abused/neglected and abandoned 2yo male. He came to the country with a city family who didn’t like the woods and literally left the bird in their apartment with no food or water.
He was briefly adopted by the landlord whose young child got a hold of it, though how long is a mystery, and pulled many feathers out. From them, he was given to friends of mine and their dog had some allergic reactions so I took it home with me 2 nights ago.
He has ZERO feathers on the front of his body, under his wings, and the top edges of his wings, and barely any on his back. The first night I left the cover on his cage and in the morning went for fruits, veggies, cuttle bone, pineapple calcium & mineral scratcher, vitamins for the water and toys for the cage.
The first day he wouldn’t let me near him but he’s eating fine, loves lettuce and his seeded mix but won’t look at broccoli, red grapes, or cucumber. Should I add a YET? If I continue to put it in the cage will he sample it? Is it good to withhold the mix until he samples other additions?
This afternoon I took him into the bathroom and took the top off the cage in the bathtub. I coaxed him out and into the lower tray which was full of warm water and he seemed to enjoy it for a few minutes of splashing and drinking. He stood on my forearm ‘tasting’ my fingers for nearly 15 minutes with no signs of fear or hostility.
Then I put him on my shoulder and he climbed up my glasses to the top of my ear and went up and down for nearly 20 minutes while I went over the cage with a toothbrush/no soap to clean all the waste off. He went back into the cage by himself but as soon as I took the cage back into the kitchen, he started hissing when I tried to put the food/water/toys back in.
If I stand with my head/ears or nose at the cage he comes right over, but if I raise my hand to the cage he backs away immediately. Im assuming this is simply territorial protection.
He doesn’t sing or make noise when I have a clock radio on music or talk but screams as soon as I turn it off and I am out of sight OR play youtube videos of other birds singing. I’m guessing this is normal too.
I am concerned about his feathers though. He doesn’t seem to be picking the feathers left that he can reach but there is no new growth and he does look like a plucked chicken. He’s only playing with toys a little and doesn’t seem to care for the swing or even millet sprays. I’m thinking this is also normal if all he knows is seed and water in an empty cage.
Since he’s active and responds normally to sound and attention I don’t think he’s sick, but should I be alarmed at him being bald?
Tomorrow I’m going to try cooked corn, chicken and banana. Anybody experiment with tuna?
Any input is appreciated. I can put photos up on a web site if they will give a better idea.
Thanks,
Alias
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Post by marieandchirpy on May 13, 2011 21:47:59 GMT -5
The feathers will grow back. Take your time introducing him to new foods.
Right now he's afraid of your hands. That's why he is backing away. My tiel who does not like to be handled does the same thing.
I don't know about the noise, but when you leave the room he calls out for you.
How long has he been featherless? It takes time for the feathers to grow back.
As for the swing and millet he may not be interested or he still needs to time adjust to his new surroundings.
The only concern about him being bald is the weather. If it gets cold he may get chilly. Other then that it takes time for the feathers to grow back.
Go ahead
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Post by marieandchirpy on May 13, 2011 22:37:00 GMT -5
I forgot, as for his fear of hands you will have to work with him on that. The tiel was abused by the child so it may take a long time to for him to get over the fear of hands. You are gonna have to do a lot of work with him. My suggestion is to use the treats he likes and to first put them in his bowl. When he stops hissing when you put the food in the bowl, move up from there. Basically what you want to do is desensitive his fear of hands by pairing something he doesn't like with something he does like. The goel in using this method is to get him to step up to your hand.
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Post by undead on May 14, 2011 13:31:13 GMT -5
Thanks for the validation of most of my concerns. He's almost comical. This morning I put my hand in to remove the food and water and he hissed. Then I took it out, and returned with the food bowl and he climbed right up onto my hand to start eating before it was hooked to the cage. I tried a ritz cracker and a saltine for only one minute, and as I suspected he went right for them but ignored banana in a separate bowl. I know the the high salt crackers aren't an every day thing but it tells me that he knows what he likes or doesn't. The temperature runs between 68° and 72°f and he's against a wall with no possible drafts. When offering that it takes time, does that mean days, weeks, or months? Do I withhold the normal food to coax him into trying new things? you can view photos at aliasundead.com/birdThanks again! |
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Post by marieandchirpy on May 14, 2011 14:50:26 GMT -5
Who told you the tiel is a male? I see stripes on it's tail and spots on the feathers indicating the tiel is a female.
Don't give him anything that is high in salt because it is not good for him. Try giving him unsalted crackers or try removing the salt from the crackers.
Don't withhold food from the him/her. Take your time introducing new foods to it. Try offering him/her at least one new food per week. Is the banana cut up into small pieces? If not then try cutting it up and then see if he/she will try it.
As for the feathers, I from the top of the head he/she is going through a molt. The keratin sheaths on the feathers are new feathers growing in. That means new feathers should grow in. A molt last typically lasts 6 weeks, so new feathers should grow in his/her body.
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Post by undead on May 17, 2011 16:15:24 GMT -5
Hi Marie and Chirpy
Thanks again for your input. The people I got it from told me that the original owners took it to a vet hence giving her the name buddy but I have no idea if that is true. Obviously you know better than I would but Buddy is a generic enough not to change the name. I’ll have to work on my instinct of calling him her. I’m single with no kids and don’t have a normal job so I’m home pretty much 24/7 and she gets lots of attention.
The crackers were only a test. I've slightly reduced the seed mix and she's now eating, small amounts, of fresh broccoli, and dry non sugared cheerios. She still won’t go near the finely chopped banana, red grape, cucumber, lettuce, or corn. I've tried granola but since it's pretty sugary she only gets 3-4 pieces a day. She seems to really love and almost plays with grape nut cereal. Maybe it's hard enough that it acts as gravel?
Since she never had cuttle bone, gravel/grit, treat sticks she seems to enjoy it but it seems that she initially shies away from them and has to ‘get used to them’ every day. Could it be that she is afraid of anything near her size? The same with the millet spray and I wonder if I should put the buds into a food dish to reduce its size.
If I take her out of the cage and remain in sight of it she flies right back to it. If I take her out and to another room to eat with me she’ll stay on the edge of the food plate. Shortly after, I’ll cover the plate and put her on my shoulder and she walks back and force across my shoulders preening or grooming my hair, moustache and goatee. I usually watch a movie while I eat and she’ll continue to do this as long as I let her. Then when I take her back to the kitchen, if the light isn’t already on she’ll fly back to the lit room. When she does fly off she easily returns to a hand held perch for me.
Even when I take the top off the cage and put her on a perch at the highest point she won’t stay. I can leave the room with the cage top off and doors open but she never comes out on her own even if I move her into view of me sitting at the computer in the next room. It seems that she wants to either be in control or comfortable in the cage or out of its sight completely. Is this normal?
I’ve also noticed that her beak has sharpened up quite a bit in the short time I’ve had her since introducing chew toys, gravel/grit and the fruit/nut sticks. When I put my fingers to the bar of the cage she hurts much more than when he’s out of the cage and apparently playing and trying to scratch and pull at my fingernails. If ANY cockatiel is agitated or upset enough would they have the strength to break skin? Under normal situations should I be able to tell when she means to really hurt? As opposed to lightly playing or a little harder saying ‘leave me alone I’m in no mood’ or all out digging in?
Since I put a 75watt lamp next to the cage and I started whistling or softly announcing that I am coming into her room she has stopped screaming and isn’t puffing up or shaking as if she’s cold.
The past 2 days I didn’t cover her cage at all but made sure I didn’t have to go into the kitchen after dark so she could sleep through the night. There are windows so she can tell sunset and sunrise on her own. Is this ok? In addition to whistling and talking to her I have music or talk radio on nearly 18-20 hours a day and lower it so she can’t hear after dark.
Only a handful of times I’ve caught her making those supposedly content whirring or grinding sounds but she’s not chirping or singing at all.
And finally, she’s also stopped playing with the toys and moving the beads back and forth on the mirror toy. Thought it doesn’t seem right, could she just be content with her new healthier diverse diet, more attention, and stress free environment?
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Post by marieandchirpy on May 18, 2011 12:24:50 GMT -5
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Post by undead on May 21, 2011 14:42:55 GMT -5
Thanks again Marie and Chirpy. Yesterday she sampled shrimp, imitation crab meat, and a bit of those fried fish cakes we used to get for lunch in school. Still won't look at red grape banana or kiwi.
Though still resisting coming out of the cage and flying back to it when in view, she is becoming more comfortable and staying out longer. Right from the cage I use my hand then put her on small a 1/2" perch piece facing me so she doesn't frighten or fly as I'm walking.
When I settle at the computer or couch I put her either on my shoulder, on a weighed down piece of 1/4"heavy cardboard hanging off the edge of a shelf(so she can shred the edges), or a camera tripod and she calms right down.
Every few minutes I put the perch in front of her legs to prod her to go somewhere else and she pushes it away. A little game to let her know I'm paying attention and me know that she's comfortable.
I've been reading a bit on the canned bugs and live worms being very nutritious. Any experience trying them?
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Post by marieandchirpy on May 21, 2011 21:40:50 GMT -5
I never tried giving Chirpy canned bugs and live worms. The wild Cockatiels do eat bugs and some Cockatiel owners do give their birds mealworms, so it probably won't hurt to give to your tiel.
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layla
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by layla on May 23, 2011 0:42:33 GMT -5
I bred & raised Teils for years. WHY are you feeding this Teil all these weird foods? Meats?
Fish is not a natural food for them. They are seed eaters. You might want to sprinkle
Spurlina powder on the seeds. It is a all veggie, seed weed good for them. Lots of vitamins and minerals. I did not give them gravel. I did sprout their seeds for greens. This way LESS chance of POISONING them. I also NEVER fed them hard boiled eggs. They do not need salt! Matzo has no salt, no preservative. They absolutely do not need the crap that people put into their body, they are birds Not human.
I had very happy healthy birds. they are not singers, they are chirpy & squawkers, They will say some words male or female, they will pluck themselves naked when stressed.
You have a beautiful female .
Until you get her wings clipped, be VERY careful. They are extreme, escape artist. She will also be more dependent on you until you are better acquainted.
You may email me I will send you my phone number, I will help you anyway I can.
Love the Teils !
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Post by undead on May 27, 2011 18:33:54 GMT -5
Thanks for the input Layla. Obviously there is a ton of information on the web and many sides to all ideas. I've mainly stayed with the majority of negative recommendations and have tried others with some success. As long as something isn't bad for them there's no harm letting them decide what they like.
She still won't touch fruit or veggies other than a tiny bit of broccoli, but last night I took some shrimp and crabmeat and dipped it in tangerine juice and she did sample it.
As for the cage, she definitely wants to be in it. If I take her out and she can see she flies right back to it. Out of view, anywhere I put her she'll stay until I move her. Even if I put her on a shelf near me she won't come to my shoulder. If I put her on my shoulder she'll stay even if I walk into another room, though not where the cage is.
This morning I left the house with her in the cage with the top off and she hadn't moved when I came back in 10 minutes later.
I think she is just satisfied or comfortable with what she is used to even though it was cruel and unusual. She doesn't yet understand that thigs can and will be better for her
It has only been 2 weeks and I've got plenty of patience so I'll keep trying.
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Post by marieandchirpy on May 27, 2011 23:36:36 GMT -5
Try to stay away from stuff high in sugar and salt. Don't give her any junk food like pizza, chips, and exc. They are really unhealthy and fattening. No Chocolate and apple seeds, they are toxic to parrots. Give the food to her in moderation and small portions. It is very for a Cockatiel to become fat.
Don't worry she'll come around.
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Post by jimdragontech on Jul 11, 2011 19:19:32 GMT -5
Sorry for just butting in. I want to thank all the replies for the general information.
I Dmit I never thought of mealworms but they sound like a good try. I've been looking for a bit of a treat to coax a couple of youngsters out of thier cage.
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