So, my mom bought a cockatiel...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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My mom was out running some errands today, and she stopped by PetSmart to pick up some Petzyme (we have a lingering cat odor problem, even though we gave up our cats a couple of months ago) and some millet for Shamus and O’Brien. She called me from the store and said “I bought a baby cockatiel”. We talked cages for a few minutes, and I ended up by telling her, "Use your judgement, just bear in mind I just missed a week of work (been sick, but I have a whole nother thread about that, which nobody actually replied to, so I guess it isn’t really a thread) so money is a bit tight.

So, mom comes home with said cockatiel, who, it seems, is a girl. “We have to give her an Irish name”, I told her. We have a theme going with Shamus and O’Brien. If she had come home with a boy cockatiel, I would have named him Liam, and accepted no arguments. Mom suggested Maureen. So, the new bird’s name is Maureen.

I asked Mom why she bought a cockatiel. Mom said, “She appeared before me magically” :dubious: . Um, yeah, ok. Wen asked to elaborate, apparently while she was shopping for the stuff we actually, you know, needed, she had looked at the birds and not seen the cockatiel currently known as Maureen sitting all by her lonesome in the cage. Then on the way out, she was walking past the birds and saw the bird and just had to buy her. Apparently, Maureen had been all by her lonesome in the cage for about a month, so she was in dire need of a new flock.

We set up the cage while Maureen met Shamus and O’Brien and familiarized herself with her new surroundings. Then we put Maureen in the cage, and found the slats in the grate are too wide. Her little feet went right through. Actually, this cage would have been more appropriate for a Conure or a Senegal parrot. The space between the bars is too wide, and is generally not safe for a cockatiel, who could get her little tufted head stuck between the bars. I called PetsMart and they agreed to exchange the cage, but really, this cage should not be sold as a cockatiel cage. I’m going to be writing a letter to the manufacturer that is packaging this cage and give them a piece of my mind.

Maureen seemed very stressed, so I think we’re going to not mess with her too much. She likes to be cuddled, I think it makes her feel secure, and she likes to chew on my fingers (Shamus does that, too. What is it about my fingers?) But mostly, I think she needs peace and quiet.

So, we’re up to three parrots now. How many more birds do we have to get to officially be considered a couple of crazy bird ladies?

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More? Lady I think you’ve got it covered.

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My daughter has two Amazon parrots (a blue front and a yellow nape.) Sometimes they have shouting contests.

I hope yours whisper.

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Well, being that Shamus is a Senegal parrot (on the list of species that are considered good apartment birds) and O’Brien is a budgie, the noise factor is relatively low. I’ve heard some of the screams that can be emitted by the larger parrots, and these guys couldn’t come close. Both of the boys can get squawky- O’Brien, interestingly enough, is the louder squawker, but nothing the neighbors would be calling the complex manager about. Shamus, however, when he feels he isn’t getting enough attention, can emit this loud “peep” that sounds just exactly like a smoke alarm going off. O’Brien has learned the peep, which leads to some confustion as to exactly which bird needs to be attended to, although Shamus takes the lead in the peep volume department. He’s peeped in response to the microwave timer beeping while sitting on my shoulder, and left my right ear ringing for a few minutes.

Heaven help us when Maureen learns that smoke alarm peep.

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Congratulations ** The Asbestos Mango **, I think hubby and I qualify as crazy bird people now. We have 2 'tiels, a quaker and a pacific parrolett, hubby is lusting after an african grey and will probably get one in a couple of months (God help me).

Female tiels aren’t usually as loud as males BUT there are exceptions to every rule with birds as I am sure you have learned. Enjoy Maureen, birds rule. If I could afford one and didn’t live in an apartment I would have a cockatoo right now.

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Well, the cage has been duly exchanged (we ended up getting thirty dollars back). I put the cage on the living room floor where the boys hang out on their baskets and put Maureen in the cage so she can observe her new surroundings and flockmates from a safe place. She seems lethargic, but she does eat (although I’d like to see her eat more, she probably will once she gets settled in). I figure she’s still feeling a bit stressed- I guess Mom carried her around in a box for quite a while while she was picking out the (totally wrong) cage and toys. She hissed and pecked at both Shamus and O’Brien when they tried to introduce themselves and preen her, so I think it’s a good idea to let her watch them from her cage until she gets used to being around them.

Ooh, she just climbed down from her perch, got a drink of water and now she’s climbing down the door of her cage… she’s watching the boys beak-tussle… O’Brien is trying to solicit Shamus to feed him…

looks like she’s going to just sit on the cage door for a while. Well, it looks like she’s making her first steps toward being part of the Mango household…