Here is Scoop soon after we got him in December.
Looking back at this picture, I can't believe how little he was!
Looking back at this picture, I can't believe how little he was!
Scoop is a pied-pearl cockatiel. The crest on the top of his head indicates his mood. Right now he is curious and excited.
In the beginning we had a lot of trial and error with Scoop in terms of how to arrange his cage. We did our research before getting him and we knew that he had to have toys to play with!
He chewed through these toys within about a week! Cockatiels love to chew, so replenishing the cage with toys is always on the to-do list.
In the early days with us he was pretty clumsy in the cage. The bird store that we bought him from allowed him to walk around an open space, so he had to get used to being in a cage.
We made sure (and make sure) to play with Scoop outside of the cage every day. He's been a really good bird from the start and very nice to us. There were some times he was a bit nippy at us, but as time goes by he's gotten very comfortable with us. As a result we've been able to do more with him outside of the cage.
In the early days with us he was pretty clumsy in the cage. The bird store that we bought him from allowed him to walk around an open space, so he had to get used to being in a cage.
We made sure (and make sure) to play with Scoop outside of the cage every day. He's been a really good bird from the start and very nice to us. There were some times he was a bit nippy at us, but as time goes by he's gotten very comfortable with us. As a result we've been able to do more with him outside of the cage.
These days Scoop has gotten pretty big and can really navigate his cage well!
He jumps around, interacts with everything, and climbs all over the place in there.
But he still loves to be outside of the cage, so we make sure to give him that time. We just got him a cool playgym that he loves.
He still chews almost anything!
So it has been a wonderful experience watching Scoop grow. Cockatiels can live for up to 20 years so hopefully we have many more years together with our little friend!
To close, the video below shows him "beak grinding," which is something cockatiels do when they are relaxed and in a good mood!
Marcus I love your bird! They do grow so fast, don't they? How's the noise? I think birds are amazing but I'm always worried about the noise. Thanks for sharing with us! Great story.
ReplyDeleteScoop is great; he's pretty quiet for the most part. There are times when, if we leave him alone in the living room, he does a pretty loud "bird call" to try to locate where we are. Aside from this and the usual chirps and squeaks that birds do, he's pretty quiet.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing with birds is that they are messy! Soooo messy! You'll be cleaning up stuff every day if you have one, haha. But they bring so much joy into the home that it's worth it.
Scoop is VERY cute and now I want a cocktiel. When I was younger I had a parakeet (I think, I'll have to double check with my mom to be sure.), his or her name was Polly (after "Polly wants a cracker," I was 7 when my mom's mom gave him to us). Polly, sadly, didn't live with us long because a worm came out of his/her food or Polly himself and it bothered my mom enough to return him/her.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, I wondering since you give Scoop out of cage time how do you get him back in or keep him from flying all over (and messing up) your house?
Scoop is actually pretty good when it comes time to go in his cage. Sometimes he tries to avoid it by jumping onto the outside of the cage, or walking from our hand up our arm, but eventually he goes in.
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