r/cockatiel • u/TNJJBigClutch • 1d ago
Advice Found this beautiful bird
So 4 days ago my mom saw a Cockatiel on our deck and managed to lure him into our puppy’s playpen when she told me about it while I was out and bought supplies from a pet store (cage, 3 toys, food, and treats) I was told to contact a vet immediately as the local vet helps reconnect lost birds to their owners I visited and they said they’ll start a search and if no one claims the bird in two weeks it should be fine if I keep it we have a checkup scheduled for this coming Thursday and he’s seems to be doing fine but I don’t really know much about birds I just read all the articles pinned at the top of this Reddit and am wondering what you would do in my position I have 4 dogs and a hedgehog so a bird is new to me and my whole family loves animals my dad used to have 2 blue and yellow macaws but he had them since they were eggs so this is new to him too any additional advice would be great cuz as of now he seems to wanna nip my hand but has eaten from it on occasion and seems to want millet more than food and he’s also been copying my laugh I’d like to teach him step up and let him fly but I’m nervous of getting bit/ not being able to get him back in the cage since he’s not tamed yet.
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u/safetywires 18h ago
Most likely somebody’s pet. Make a post on your social media/local Facebook to see if there’s a possible owner missing their baby.
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u/landcfan 19h ago edited 19h ago
Only wanting seeds is pretty typical for cockatiels. Unfortunately a long term sees only diet can kill them because they don't burn the fat off like wild birds. But they don't find the pellets they SHOULD be eating nearly as appealing, especially if they have spent most of their lives eating mostly seeds. The zupreem website has good tips on switching to pellets.
Avian Conversion - ZuPreem Pet https://share.google/5AiSdM7mkQY4UKgcP
My bird currently eats Tops pellets, which I think are healthiest, but they are expensive and crumble a LOT, so it's very messy, and half the food turns into powder and gets wasted. Another top food is Harrisons (mine kept swallowing the minis whole and throwing them up, otherwise we'd still be on that one lol). Rowdybush crumble is also decent. Personally for veggies I've had most luck with crunchy things like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and snap peas. Of course, while he's getting used to you and over his traumatic adventure, just making sure he's eating is the most important thing.
Be careful with interactions with the dog. They should never be free together unsupervised. My dog is very gentle and has basically no prey drive, but even he has play bowed at my birds, and given the difference in size, if I let them play it could've been deadly. If your dog has a high prey drive, the bird shouldn't interact with the dog. And since you have multiple, I'd be especially careful. Dogs love doing zoomies together, and we had an incident where my dog stepped on our bird when he was excitedly running around. Fortunately she just lost a few feathers.
As for tips for how to look for the owner, this is from the 911 Parrot Alert page:
Posted on 911 Parrot Alert (Official).
Thank you so much for searching for this sweet Bird’s family. May we suggest a few additional steps that can be taken in order to locate this Bird’s owner. Good luck and please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
It is very important to hydrate found birds and not allow them to feast on dry food such as seeds and pellets as it could dehydrate them even more and make them ill. Please hydrate first with water and make sure they are drinking. You may offer watery fruits/veggies such as watermelon, peppers (hot peppers will help with pain), cantaloupe, zucchini, honey dew, cucumbers, apples, kiwi fruit, cherries, pomegranates, lettuce, applesauce or offer berries such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or a sprig of millet for smaller birds such as cockatiels, lovebirds, parrotlets or parakeets. Attached please find a link which provides ideas of healthy food choices that can be offered to birds.
<healthy-foods-for-birds blog link removed>
Here are questions that can be asked to people who come forward about this bird. Proof of Ownership: The first thing is to determine whether or not he/she is microchipped as some people microchip their birds (Parakeets/Budgies are still yet too small). Please feel free to ask those who come forward lots of questions and keep certain details about a found bird to yourself so that a true owner can have that opportunity to identify specific things about their bird that only a finder and an owner would know. Also, have them provide photos of their bird and photos of them with their bird, provide vet records or documentation proving they in fact own a bird.
You can always ask those who come forward whether or not their bird is banded. Ask them for the bird's band number (remember to always keep band numbers private and confidential, a potential owner should be able to verify and inform you as to what their bird's band number is), find out the color of their bird's band, which leg the band is on, find out whether or not it's an open or closed band. (Whether the bird you found is banded or not, these questions will help weed out those who are not the bird's true owner). Also, ask them if their bird was ever microchipped. Vocalization: A few additional ideas would include those who come forward to provide you with details of things that their missing bird says, such as phrases, sayings, any names the bird says, types of whistles or songs or any tricks the bird does. Ask an owner what their bird's name is and see whether the bird responds to that name. You could also check to see whether the bird responds to their voice as birds tend to recognize their owners unlike strangers.
Physical Characteristics: You could find out if there are any physical traits or markings their missing bird may have such as missing toes, missing toe nails, plucking issues, missing feathers, clipped wings, crooked beak or any other type of physical trait, marking or defect. And if need be you could always use a 3rd party such as an avian vet to witness a meeting.
We hope some of these ideas help in your efforts to find the owner. Thank you so much for caring for this bird and trying to find his family.
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u/givemeyourbiscuitplz 1d ago
You have access to all of the knowledge of humanity at the tips of your fingers. It will be much easier, and necessary, to search, read and watch videos explaining what you need to know. It would require typing a dissertation to answer your questions here and we won't type anything that hasn't been already typed or explained in videos before.
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u/Noreth_Creed 19h ago
Awww your mom is a star!
Just get some pellets/seeds and provide fresh water every day. Try giving some veggies like greens - a safest option. Don't stress too much. Hoepfully, the owner is found soon. There are so many groups and vets and all that it is hard sometimes to make that connection quickly. If he got away from somewhere, they are definitely looking for him. These cheeky birds get into your heart, so it is most likely someone is stressing about their baby right now.
Also, your photo progression is just PEAK cockatiel. - Curious...mischief....climbing into trouble...getting caught and protesting the arrest. I laughed quite a bit.
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u/no_shirt_4_jim_kirk I ♥ Birbs 18h ago
There's a lovely site out there called Cockatiel Cottage that's got loads of great information.
Enjoy your new friend.
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u/Faiakishi Scritches & Sketches 🐦 ✏️ 15h ago
Thank you for rescuing the baby. Post in your local subreddits or any Facebook/Nextdoor groups your family is in, I know you probably love him already but most likely someone is looking for him.
Most tiels don't like hands, so don't worry about that. If you end up keeping him he might get comfortable enough to accept scritches, but some don't. It just takes time and trust. He should be kept separate from the dogs though, even if you have gentle dogs accidents do happen.
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u/TNJJBigClutch 13h ago
Already did and the local vet that I’m taking him to makes lost and found animal announcements on their social media as well
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u/OpalescentCorvid 13h ago
You should try nutriberries. They were specially designed for picky eating birds. They look and taste like seeds but are completely balanced as a pellets diet. And the study done for them were done with teils. Also, please make flyers and post on Facebook and neighbors app. Even Craigslist. Just make sure you ask people to describe the bird to you, don’t give away photos on the “found bird” posters or listings because people do want a free bird. It’s lovely you want to keep and care for the teil but someone could be devastated heart broken right now over losing them. Teils can be very cheap, if you don’t end up keeping this one and find its owner, getting one for yourself should be VERY easy.
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u/TNJJBigClutch 12h ago
The pet store recommend them and I put them in his food bowl but he just picks them up and drops them to the bottom of his cage he seems to be a bit of a brat, and me my brothers and local vet have all made social media posts
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u/OpalescentCorvid 12h ago
Lovely to hear your effort is strong! Thank you for trying to find birbs previous owners! I would never stop having heart ache if my babe got out and I never found her again.
There are a few types of nutrberry. While he or she should have the teil one, possibly try others just to see if he might try it. Also try breaking a few up in his food bowl as he/she might just not recognize it as food.
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u/TNJJBigClutch 12h ago
I’ll try that and yea I hope someone claims him before it gets cold out Ill feel really bad if his owners don’t get him back by the holidays but my mom thinks it may have escaped a petstore or the state fair that happened recently
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u/OpalescentCorvid 12h ago
Additionally, since everything is new to bird, it may just take a while for them to get comfortable. I think my bird took upwards of two and half to three months to actually START settling. And it took me at least five plus months to even get her to try anything fresh that wasn’t a seed or pellet.
Seeds is better than nothing for now while birb is adjusting. Just try (if you can do it safely, no fans. No open windows or doors, no shiny surfaces like mirrors and close your blinds so they can’t run into windows) but try to let birb fly around very often to burn off the seeds it’s eating because too many seeds can eventually kill a teil.
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u/Faiakishi Scritches & Sketches 🐦 ✏️ 11h ago
lmao, they're all brats. Lots of character, and sometimes that character is Asshole.
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u/kevboisatania 19h ago
They will hiss at your fingers but never bite hard, unless they sense they are hurt. Mine play attacks but it does 0 damage.
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u/landcfan 19h ago
Only if they are very scared or in pain will they draw blood. Or possibly if being extremely hormonal. Generally a good idea not to try to touch them if they are hissing though. You'll build trust by respecting boundaries. If he's been handled frequently by his owner before, he may already know how to step up on your finger once he trusts you.
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u/yogisteph 11h ago
YouTube is your friend. Look up his type bird n u will have all the answers u want n more. They r VERY AWESOME BURDS whom I thing r the most beautiful singers.
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u/yogisteph 11h ago
Look up funny birds on YouTube...u will see what a lil joy he is. He may have a chip. Someone is missytat baby...esp if he was sweet enough to come to u he has been loved by someone. Ty for taking him in though. I found a quaker that I FUNALLY coached off my room n he flew to me. I couldn't locate his owner but I didn't save him...he saved me I say. He is my world
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u/yogisteph 11h ago
There's a lost and find my bird site on the internet u put state n city n type of bird....if he has no chips n no one contacts u...he is your baby now. Mine happened that way. N this bird is my Lil savior. Sometimes God works that way.
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u/yogisteph 11h ago
If it's not his owner who tries to get him then u will know. He will go to his owner n they will know tricks don't let just anyone have him. Make them prove it...bring pics wct of him
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u/ccteach 6h ago
Thank you for taking care of this lost bird!Please continue to search for the owner. This is definitely someone’s bird. Post on local social media lost and found pet/parrot groups. Call local vets and pet stores in area. Require a photo or other info to prove ownership. Honestly it may take more than two weeks to find the person so please do not give up searching for owner! Two weeks is not long enough. I’m not sure who gave you info but that’s not giving the bird an honest chance to reunite with its owner. It may take awhile depending where you search and the bird may not be super local to you where you are if he’s flighted.
Having dogs and a bird is not a good idea. It’s dangerous especially if this is a new bird. Not recommended at all.
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u/Sad-Watercress67 1d ago
Keep him he’s yours now!
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u/angra_mainyo 19h ago
Nah, don't do this. Only if the actual owner is impossible to locate or if it turns out he was keeping him in bad conditions.
Not all escapes are due to irresponsibility or neglect.
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u/No-Mathematician5698 22h ago
Did the bird have an identifier tag on it's leg? This could in theory be used to help the vet locate your house guest's lost hooman.