Hi everybody ,

This topic was put in the arab forum by " Sayed Ahmed Sayed Ne'ma " so , all his copyrights are reserved .

Firstly : My experience in keeping cockatiels :

Many of us like to keep that beautiful bird as a pet … And everybody wish they have a tame and trained nice cockatiel ... But how can we have a perfectly trained cockatiel …That all pet owners love … In this report I'm going to talk about that …But before talking about that I'll share my experience in keeping cockatiels with you .

In my childhood I used to keep all kind of birds , my father cared for them by heart , through that time my hobby was growing until I used to buy birds on my own … A cockatiel was a best friend to me … I couldn't stop thinking about buying it … When we went to the marked , that bird always attracted me …My first experience with cockatiels was when my father bought one for me as a present for my 5th birthday … Since then I keep a deep love for that bird and it became the first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of buying a new bird … A week ago I bought a baby cockatiel and I'm very happy with him and I hope to grant success to keep him … That's all about the reason behind my love to cockatiels .

?Secondly : Cockatiels' behavior :

Cockatiels are adorable , funny , playful and energetic and specially males … They are always active , lively and love to fly and play … On the other hand female cockatiels are quiet and they feel frightened during taming ... This is the nature of all female birds … It doesn't mean that there is no hope in taming and training female birds , but females aren't the same like males in training … Their nature is to care for eggs and watch their babies … Males can accept to live without a female mate and be tamed and trained on the other side … That's about the male and female behavior in cockatiels … This table shows the difference :

Comparison Male Female
Behavior Active and adorable Quite and scared
Taming and adult bird Always become tame Depends on training
Taming a young bird Always possible Always possible
Interaction with the trainer Very active Depends on training

Thirdly : Taming and training :

Cockatiel is a nice bird , it likes to play with humans … But how can we have a tame bird ? What are the methods of taming ? …
You will find the answers here …

Taming an adult cockatiel :
1- Clip the wings ( cut the flight feathers ) and let it get out of the cage by its own .
2- Leave him for about half an hour to adapt to the new environment around .
3- After half an hour the trainer starts to show up and introduce himself to the bird by trying to take the bird away from the cage to make it easier for the bird to climb up his hand and if the bird refuses gloves are the solution to avoid biting .
4- After letting the bird climb up the hand the next step is to let him allow head scratches by scratching the head and crest gently . If the bird doesn't allow you to scratch his head so you wear gloves and oblige him to do that gently … And keep on trying continuously until the bird get used to that .
5- Then after trying the previous you must give your bird a treat like a sunflower seed or any of its favorites .

Fourthly : Breeding cockatiels :

A frequently asked question : How to breed cockatiels ? ... In this section I'm going to show you how can you breed cockatiels with illustrations ... I'll put some designs that might help and how to make them .

Cockatiels are plentiful breeders but a few people approve that … Many people find it hard to breed cockatiels ... Although many others have rare kinds of cockatiels and breed them easily … The question is : How to breed cockatiels ? How to pick pairs ? What is the relation between breeding and nest boxes ? … You will find the answers to these questions in this section …

1- How to breed cockatiels ?

Cockatiels are easy to breed , but all they need is care , cleaning , feeding vegetables and fruits ( vitamins ) , take into consideration the place where they are put and the type of keeping : in groups ( aviary ) or each pair in a cage knowing that both ways cockatiels are going to breed but group keeping is better for breeding . Some people buy a pair , put them in a small cage and complain about not breeding and fights , it's obvious ; the cage is small . If the birds are put in a bigger place breeding won't be such a problem . That's positive for the psychological side of the bird and breeding .

2- How to pick pairs ?

Whenever we go to the pet stores , we always find all male and female birds mixed in one cage so , how can we pick the appropriate cage ??? First of all a perfect bird is an active , vital and chirping bird ... Sometimes when I go to the pet store to buy some birds and notice the birds from a distance I can determine which one is healthy and which is not . But in some cases you might think the bird is healthy and once you go home you regret buying that bird . Never allow the store keeper to oblige you to buy a specific pair , choose it by yourself . Examine the anus , the wings , the eyes , the hygiene and notice that the birds which fight might be newly introduced so don't care about that .

3- What is the relation between breeding and nest boxes ?

Of course there is a relation between the number of birds , nest boxes and their size . Although many breeders use nest boxes similar to that of budgies but different in size , I see it's not the perfect nest box , because there are no rooms or levels . I don't say it's impossible for birds to breed in , but there are better nest boxes to offer your bird . And that's for a better life and breeding . That's a design to a cockatiel nest box :

The outer view ( front view )



The inner view ( top view )



Design explanation : The nest is divided into two levels one of them is a passage and begins with the circular entrance leading to a square entrance leading to what we are going to call it " room 1 " , where they can put their eggs . The area of the square should be at least 15 cm to enter the room , and provide a little circular openings for breathing and ventilation .

Frequently asked questions :

1- How to differentiate between male and female cockatiels ?

It's always tricky , but I'm going to put a shortcut method for that and it works on most colors :

First : Adult male birds :

Has a dark ( almost black ) tail and wings .



Juvenile male :



Second : Adult female :

Have spotted wing and spots become coarse after maturity .



Always females have tail barrings even when they are still babies .



2- Can cockatiels live in groups ?

Yes , but you must provide plenty of nest boxes and enough food .

3- Can females learn to talk ?

Yes , but males can talk much better .

4- Can I tame an adult male ?

It's much more hard than to tame a young bird , but if you give the cockatiel a lot of your time you get what you want .

Best wishes and good luck

Thank you very much

Good Luck

Hi brother Abdo Abu Seir ,

You are welcome !

Best wishes and good luck