Tiel owners.

[thebubbleking]

Heres the situation, i am buying a bigger unit to move into as soon as escrow closes around the middle of december.
And would like to add to my flock here is what i have to take into consideration.

1. Sunshine and boo are a bonded pair and are happy and i dont want to add a third lovie as i dont know how it will effect them.

2. Altho my unit will be twice the size of my current unit it is still to small to own a large bird.

3. I would like to be able to intechange toys treats etc.

4.My girlfriend realy wants a bird that will interact with her, go with her to her office, sit on her shoulder,ride with her in the car and basicly be a mamas bird.

5.I am realy only looking for one more bird to add to my flock.

Soooo i guess the question i had is how would a tiel fit this scenerio?
I know several of the forum members have both tiels and lovebirds in the same house, and of course i would quarnetine the new addition and not let them out un supervised untill i am sure they get along.

All input would be appreciated also if another breed comes to mind let me know

[DNSFeathers]

A friend of mine was raising both. Didn't have any issues with the exception of lovebirds being aggressive. Have you though of an Indian ringneck? They are a bit bigger then a 'tiel and I (IMO) think they are more interactive, more like the bigger parrot in a smaller body. Or what about a quaker or something like that?
Just an Idea!

[thebubbleking]

Hrmmm i thought of a quaker but its a bit out of my price range and a little to big but will look into the ringneck to thanks

Yeh i know the lovies can be bullys i keep that in mind when makeing my decision

[linda040899]

If you are thinking about an Indian Ringneck, IRNs are larger than Quakers.....

A Cockatiel is probably what you need to get. I have both and I've raised both. Yes, lovebirds are more aggressive and I don't let my lovebirds interact with the Tiels. Tiels are easy going birds and can easily be injured by the smaller lovebird. I have a soft spot in my heart for female Tiels. Males whistle and they are the talkers. Females are much quieter and are just plain sweet! It sounds like this would be a good match for an addition to your flock.

The other thought is a Green Cheek Conure but I think those of us (not me, at least not yet) who are owned by one will tell you that they can be nippy and they also tend to be one person birds.

That's my on the topic.

[bellarains]

Well........ I have all three, lovies, GCC's, and Tiels. None of them interact very well together, but they do have good chat sessions

GCC's are great, but they can, and most likely will be a little nippy from time to time. I think any bird who is a one-on-one person bird will be a bit territorial with "their person", but I will say, both of mine have their favorite person, and that's just that. That said though, they are wonderful companions, and similar in care, food, etc... as lovies.

Now, I do also love my tiels. My two were given to me to re-home, and I of course fell in love with them at first sight, and do not regret taking them in at all. They have the cutest little expressions, and they do love to interact. Mine are not snuggle birds yet, but I'm still working with them. I personally love the their chatter noises, and their calls, and they are not very loud, but they do love to talk

I hope this helps a little with your decision. Just keep in mind, each bird is an individual, and there is no guarantee you will get a snuggle/bonded bird, but they are all loveable little buggers in their own way.

[Eliza]

Cockatiels are really wonderful companions. I don't know what has stopped me from actually getting one... I mean, they are pretty, sassy, sweet, cuddly, laid back, etc. OK, not EVERY cockatiel can be described like that but when I've interacted w/ 'tiels owned by friends and those at the nicer pet/parrot shops, that's my impression.

A few weeks back I went to visit a local parrot shop. They had 3 hand-raised 'tiel babies for sale. One was content to chill on a perch in an upper corner of the cage. The other two? FORGET it. Maybe I'm just flattering myself but they practically fell over each other to get to me The one started doing the wolf whistle when I was asking the other to step up and before I knew it, I had two beautiful 'tiels cuddling me on each shoulder.

ANYHOODLE, I do think that they are a species that you might want to consider given the housing issue.

The other thought is a Green Cheek Conure but I think those of us (not me, at least not yet) who are owned by one will tell you that they can be nippy and they also tend to be one person birds.

Let the countdown begin I'm surprised that you haven't gotten a pair or more of the pyrrhura conures, Linda! I'm convinced that the green cheeks are actually aliens from another planet sent here to take over the world... They have SUCH a devoted following amongst their caretakers. I believe it was you who pointed out the beautiful painted conures as being a favorite. I did happen to see a clutch of painted babies (just about weaned) locally and oh, they were SOMETHING to see. Just beautiful!

Sorry... I haven't helped bubble any in his quest for another companion...

[Pips mom]

I have two tiels, a male and a female. I had my male first, and he is just the sweetest bird ever! then came my female----which was told to me was a male!!! but when I saw how much they loved each other and how happy they were together, I just didn't have the heart to take her back and get another male!
Ok, then came Pip! The tiels are really not too fond of Pip, but I am really impressed at how they seem to tolerate him! Pip does ok with them, BUT I have to keep an eye on him because once in a great while he will try to nip at feet through the cage bars! He rarely does this though and I really feel that Pip thinks of the tiels as his buddies. He likes being near them, and what's funny is that he doesn't seem to care at all that they don't like him much! They are his buddies----like it or not! they don't really interact alot outside of cage----mostly because when I have the tiels out, I like to give them that time with no harrasment from Pip! Pip will run around after them when they are out, looking like he is saying-----please be my friend! lol
I really think he just likes them as he is very friendly and social and even likes other animals!
My sister has a quaker and I would not recommend a quaker with a lovebird! Most of the people I know who have had quakers have said they can be mean and nasty-----unless you get one young and give it plenty of attention and training. My sister's is a pretty good bird, but still bites! but he never bites when being handled!
Ok, here is my proof that lovies and tiels CAN get along ok out with some supervision.....I am making christmas cards this year with my bird's pics on them and I get all three together for pics and it all goes fine----a little hard at times because pip will make one or both of them fly off at times, but here they are all together!
http://s95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...t=pip002-1.jpg
http://s95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...birdies002.jpg
http://s95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...birdies003.jpg

[thebubbleking]

thanks for the input folk anyone have a sun conure?

[Eliza]

Sun conures are great birds but they are LOUD. Very loud... aratinga conures have a particularly loud call and certain species (sun, gold capped, jendays) are reputed to be very loud. I personally find the call rather grating on the nerves after a while but that's just my opinion. Now, not every sun is going to be loud but I am of the opinion that if you are going to be living in an apartment, a sun might not be a good choice.

Green cheeks and the other pyrrhura conures are reported to have a much lower noise level. I've also been told that poicephalus parrots (Senegals, Meyer's, red-bellieds) and pionus parrots (blue-headed, white-capped, dusky) are generally more quiet than other parrot species. They've been recommended to me as an apartment dweller. So have male eclectus parrots and Australian grass parakeets, although the latter are admittedly harder to find as hand-raised, human interactive companions.

[tokameaki]

hi....i was going to foster a cockatiel...i really dont want to buy birds....i just want to adopt them...i adopted a 6 year old female parakeet that lost her mate...and i think chichi is in love with her because he goes on top of her cage to take naps and plays peek a boo with her...and she talks back to him...u see i dont need to buy a parakeet!...i want to get her an english male parakeet so he can be her friend because i know lovies can hurt parakeets but i will wait until some one is giving one for adoption...i will pick up a lovie this weekend he lost his brother...i know he is 2 years old and have never been expose to another bird but his brother and his brother die of a heart attack...hopefully after the quarantine chichi likes him...anyway like i said i was going to foster this cockatiel that the lady that has him is looking for its onwer...she told me she will keep him for now, but she might need a foster home for him later on... i saw this 1year old male cockatiel in the paterson bird store that i love...he was like 100$, i dont know if someone wants to give it to me as a present i would love to take him lol ( i might ask my boyfriend to buy me that cockatile and a lutino lovebird that is a year old too lol)....i think cockatiels are the cutest birds and they arent loud...but my chichi is not loud anymore...the first 2 months i had him he was very very loud...now he only gets loud in the mornings...i used to rent the second floor of my house to this lady...i never knew she had a pair of sun conures...until one day she asked me if i could babysit them because she was going to africa for vacation...i said yes of course...and those conures where not loud at all (i have heard her fight with her boyfriend but never the birds)...she was living in my house for 3 years u could never tell she had a pair of conures...but they were very nippy...and it was very very hard to take them back to their cage lol...gosh it took me like an hour every day to take them back to their cage lol....but they were cute!...