Cockatiel questions!?

Question

yesterday i bought two cockatiels

when i talk to them they shake their heads, and their crests are up vertically - what do these mean?

and also, i've read that they can eat fruits and vegetables - are there any owners out there that can tell me some favourite fruits and veg for me to try my Dickie and Harley on?

http://i4.tagstat.com/image01/1/e3a0/000_050Iuew.jpg

Answer 1

They are responding to your voice when they put their crest up, they must love your voice.

Were you told to just feed them an all seed diet? because if you were told that then you were told wrong. They need a good diet of fresh fruits and veggies.

My Teils love Apples, oranges, corn on the cob and just about everything that I make our family for dinner.

Don't be afraid to offer them some of your food in a small bowl for them. We give ours scrambled eggs, toast with peanut butter, dry cereal, yogart and there is so many other foods our birds love to eat so just experiment.

Sapphyre

Certified Avian Specialist

Answer 2

My sister has had a cockatiel for 4 years and some of its favorite fruits and veggies are strawberries (he mostly just picks out the seeds and eats them) lettuce, broccoli, celery, banana and apple peel. but they can have basically any washed fruit or veggie besides avacodo ( it is poisonous to them) He also loves pancakes (no butter or syrup) waffles, bread, chicken, rice, eggs, and bits of any potted plant i have sitting on my desk.  They can generaly eat anything without sugar, alcaholl, salt, oil, ovacodo, chocolate, or caffene. oh and they can have pasta without any sause, cheese, and apple

Answer 3

Cockatiels normally do that when they respond to something that they hear or see. It could mean that they are responding to your voice in a good way.

They absolutelylove fruits and veg! But try and avoid giving them fruit or vegetables that contain high amounts of iron in it, like apple seeds. Apple is ok, but always remove the seeds. Other than that, they love sweet juicy fruit, as well as vegetables.

Avoid giving them tomato, banana, avocado, and apple seeds (they are all high in iron. and iron is poisonous to birds). Also try and avoid giving them food with seasoning, or oil on it, as this upsets their digestive systems.

You could also try giving them 100% pure fruit juice, they love this too! Be careful not to give them too much though, because it could cause a runny tummy and make them feel uncomfortable. Give it to them as a treat.

Hope this helps. And yes they look stunning!! =]

Answer 4

im glad you got those cockateils and im glad you got two of them. those birds really need one another

anyway i feed mine with brocolly which is high in calcium and i give them persley and other greens, i dont give them spinach cause its little acidic for them

And i read a lot of books about cockateils and to answer the question about them shakin their heads is becayse they are not liking what they are hearing

try to change your tone od maybe the sentance thet you are saying. Try other things and when you see them that they stoped shaking then that means they like it.

i still have times when mine shake their heads then i change my tone and the shaking and the crest goes down

:) good thing they have a crest so you can pretty much read all their attitude of that little crest:)                    http://www.cockatielcottage.net/

anyway hope i hellped and good luck with your new friends you gonna have a lot of fun wih them two i guarantee it :)

Answer 5

they are listening and any fruit or veg they are soooo pretty