hello there. I recently adopted a four year old male cockatiel (at least she told me he was a boy) from a lady who's husband simply did not want him anymore. he's grey, white and yellow with orange cheeks. I've had him for about three or four months. he's always looked a little rough compared to the cockatiels you see at pet stores. his feathers on the plume of his head and on the back of his neck seem almost bare on the tips. you can see the ends of his little feather bones. pardon my lack of terminology. I asked the lady who previously owned him if she had ever given him vitamins and she said no. I put a couple of the regular vitamin drops (you see them in every pet store) in his water every other day and also purchased a plumage vitamin supplement. it's an oil that you put on his seed every day. I got that at petsmart. I know that you can give them fruits and veggies if your careful about what kinds. I just want him to be healthy and have the overall healthy appearance that he should. what can i do to achieve this? can some bird experts out there help me? thank you
First of all you can give him as much love as you possible can.He may have pin feathers is what you are seeing.That 's normal. if He will let you you take your first finger and your thumb and pinch what you think maybe the bone lightly just above the gray part.Vitamins are great how ever you should also be giving him some fresh or defrosted frozen fruits and veggies plenty of chew toys that do not contain any leads.Do not use nonstick cook ware when preparing his food.also you can take a egg wash it off really well stick it in a blender shell and all grind it real small and scramble it with no water or milk.That 's a very good source of calcium give him news paper to shred and very little sunflower seeds, Use the sun seeds for a treat only.NO AVOCADO, ONION , CEDER, CHOCOLATE, CAFFEINE, OR THE GLOSSY ADDS FROM THE NEWSPAPER.Birds are shredders and it keeps them busy.change their feed dish 1 time a day every day and water dish 2x a day every day.Clean and wipe down cage every day with plain warm water.
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Good luck with your FID (feathered Kid)
i agree with the above but also regarding the feathers on the back of his neck .... if they are pin feathers then there wont be any 'feather' present until it emerges, if you can see feathers but the tips are bare and scruffy but the rest appears to have some feather then he may be feather chewing. this sometimes happens when they are bored, and may over groom through boredom or stress, can also lead to feather plucking . i suggest maybe adding a new toy or stimulating his mind with activities to alleviate him of this. stick bits of fruit on a long wooden bbq skewer covering the end with a cork and hanging it in the cage so he has to work out how to get his food, or hiding food in places round the cage, and training is a good way to get his mind and body active. hope this helps
