...Jessiquah... ([info]subplot) wrote in [info]cockatiels,
@ 2005-03-05 02:50:00
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Current mood: curious

You can't have a flock too big.
At the end of last June, my fiance told me we could never have birds of any kind until we had a big house to put the birds far away. Now we have 4 parakeets, and a quail. Needless to say he's a pure converted bird person which is excellent for me.

Lately I've been researching adding a cockatiel to our flock eventually. I was wondering if people have ever housed their parakeets and cockatiels in the same cage? Good experience, bad? Advice?

Actually any advice in general you have to offer me would be excellent, like choosing a bird, housing, food, taming, etc. The research I'm doing is helpful but it's more practical for me to hear from you all. Thanks so much!


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[info]kasatka
2005-03-05 03:59 am UTC (link)
My parakeets always harassed the tiels. I wouldn't keep them together.

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[info]soniabunny
2005-03-05 06:04 am UTC (link)
Yeah, personalities don't always blend well regardless of species. I have a little bully cockatiel who needs to be kept away from his sister 'cause he tries to sit on her. -_-;;; I'd definitely get the tiel his/her own cage for 1) quarantine and 2) having his/her own little space to chill- which is conducive to having a well adjusted (as opposed to batshit insane) cockatiel. ~:>

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mine don't like each other at all
[info]breeze1770
2005-03-05 06:53 am UTC (link)
i have two of each. two boy keets, and two girl tiels..
i've tried just having them out on the perch at the same time..
it hasn't worked

I've been trying for months..

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[info]sabr
2005-03-05 07:48 am UTC (link)
parakeets are found by other bird species to be highly aggravating. our cockatiels have always bitten and hissed at the keets; and who wouldn't when they burble all the time and steal their food.

wouldn't recommend it.

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[info]pinto_magic
2005-03-05 08:15 am UTC (link)
Two species that just dont match well....I dont recommend it either.

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[info]ltdead
2005-03-05 08:52 am UTC (link)
More of what everone else has said. My cockatiels and budgies got along okay... they would walk around on the floor together, and stuff like that. ...then the budgies would turn around and start chasing the cockatiels. I always wanted to scream `SANA! You`re THREE TIMES HIS SIZE. Why are you running?!`
So supervised play-time together is possible, but housing them together is rarely a good idea.

As for choosing a bird... If there`s a rescue in your area, I would recommend trying to adopt a bird. There are some really beautifully tame cockatiels out there in need of a second home for one reason or another. If that proves impossible, I would recommend a breeder over a store. MOST stores aren`t very knowledgeable and sell poorly socialized, often sick birds. So unless you`re lucky enough to have a reputable parrot store in your area, try looking for a breeder. If there`s a bird club in your area they can point you towards good breeders.

To find a GOOD breeder, you have to ask some questions. Such as `Are your birds hand-fed, co-parented or parent-raised and why?` (Raised by people, by people and birds, or birds alone. I prefer co-parented.) `How much time do you spend with each chick? How are they socialized?` `What diet are they weaned onto?` (`All seed` is the wrong answer. For the best nutrition, birds need a mix of seed, pellets and fresh veggies) `What sorts of toys does my baby like?` (This is just to make sure that the babies have indeed been taught to play with toys, which is very very important)
A good breeder will also ask you questions, to make sure you know the basics of good bird care. They want to make sure their babies are going to the best home possible.

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[info]geefunk
2005-03-05 08:57 am UTC (link)
I wouldn't house a parakeet with a cockatiel. All birds should live in separate cages, no matter if they are the same species or not. It helps the birds bond to you, realize they have a save heaven(their cage), and not become to territorial. Unless you have a 12x12 ft. aviary, I wouldn't house any two birds together.

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[info]ltdead
2005-03-05 09:01 am UTC (link)
I would recommend just the opposite. Birds housed in pairs bond just as closely to their owners as birds kept singly do. As long as the owners put the effort into it. And in my experience, birds housed in pairs are happier.
As long as they A) get along to begin with and B) have a cage of appropriate size.

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[info]geefunk
2005-03-05 09:05 am UTC (link)
Two birds can bond, and not share the same cage. Housing two birds together (especially in love birds) can cause serious territorialism. All birds in a house hold should have their own cage, they don't have to live together to be happier. Some small birds such as parakeets that get along very well, even have night fights when caged together.

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[info]ltdead
2005-03-05 06:08 pm UTC (link)
Yes, but they have them when caged apart was well. And I`ve seen just as much terrtorialism in singly housed birds as birds kept in pairs or groups.

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[info]kasatka
2005-03-05 12:26 pm UTC (link)
Not really. I have four birds that live together. Both Pepsi and Snapple throw fits every time they see Racecar preening and start heckling her for head scritches. The three of them are very close.

But Snapple still throws little excited fits when he sees me too. He loves coming out and hanging around with me. (I raised him from a few weeks old) Pepsi's more of a "I'll only use you for a free ride to the top of the cage and that's it" sort of bird, but he's tame, it's just his personality.

Bacardi doesn't get along with any of the birds, really. I mean, they tolerate each other, but they don't really like each other. She doesn't like people much either, so not having a bird bond hasn't made her want to bond with anybody else either.

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[info]justjay
2005-03-05 01:19 pm UTC (link)
I think it really depends on the 'keets. My budgies are incredibly territorial little birds, especially when they see me playing with Cinnabun, the cockatiel. I've heard of budgies/keets nipping the toes off cockatiels, and that's enough for me to justify more than one cage.

But like I said, it might just be mine :>
Good luck!

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mixing 'tiels
[info]maxograph
2005-03-06 02:57 pm UTC (link)
I have a 25 year old cockatiel who hates everyone and everything except me -- but he did once share his cage with an elderly canary and they got along fine. It really depends on the personality of the birds, and it's hard to judge who gets along with who because they have a tendency to act like they all get along fine until you turn your back and then someone's toes get bitten or something.

So have separate cages ready!

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[info]snusnubird
2005-03-06 04:29 pm UTC (link)
Just like with any other person or animal, I think it depends on the individual personalities of the birds. I have two cockatiels, and my bfs mom has 2 budgies. The two cockatiels share a cage, and the budgies share their own cage. One of the budgies, the female, is older and not tame. The male, is younger and steps up and hangs out with us fine. Whenever we visit and the cockatiels are over and hanging out in the kitchen, we let the budgies out. Frida, the female budgie will only come out if Diego, the male budgie does, and will stick by him. Even though they share the same environemtn, her personality and history is just that much more difficult to tame, while diego is much more outgoing. Both our cockatiels are tame and bonded to humans, even though they share a cage and people often say that if you put two birds together they will bond to eachother and ignore humans. Gollum, my younger cockatiel seems to have a fancy for Frida, the female budgie, whenever we visit there (for long periods of time, therefore bringing the birds and sleeping over) Gollum will happily sit on her cage and snuggle close to her, and share food with her, even though she isn't a very friendly bird, and not his species.

Wow. That sounds so soap-opera-ishy and complicated and long. What I was trying to say.. is that it all depends.. on the individual birds. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. If you want to try it, you can buy a budgie, tame it, and slowly put them together and see how they respond to eachother.

Goodluck.

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