Below I have listed the very minimum requrements for bringing a cockatiel into your home. All bird species deserve this basic care. If any of it sounds too involved, do not get any bird at this time.
Make sure that you provide your cockatiel with the correct living conditions. My favorite cages are the Cages by Design, Visionary and Prevue brands. There are many other good cages, too, you just have to shop wisely. Beware of pet shops and chain stores that sell "cockatiel started kits" with unsuitable cages. Proper cages are a safe metal, acrylic or combination thereof with the correct 5/8 of an inch and under bar spacing. Bar spacing more than 5/8 of an inch can be dangerous to a cockatiel that may get his or her head stuck in between them. The grate on the bottoms should pull out for easy cleaning. Cages with cheap plastic bottoms and flimsy galvanized wire are not suitable. The cheap plastic bottoms tend to trap droppings, food, etc and retain smells. I do not recommend round cages for any birds and you should not even consider such cages. They like the "corners" for security. I have all Visionary cages now. They are acrylic with solid aluminum frames. I have recently replaced the acrylic tops and side with stainless steel wire from Cages by Design. Cockatiels love to climb and the grids provide a safe place to do this. The stainless grid is a nice thick gauge wire that is totally smooth and crimp-locked instead of welded. There are no sharp edges. On the back of each cage is a filter fan that collects the dust that tiels give off. It cuts down the mess by about 80 percent. If you can make the investment, they are well worth it. My favorite Prevue cages are the number 116, (18"x14"x20") a cage sized for one tiel who is let out to play quite a bit and the larger 123 (20"x20"x29", plus a stand) for a pair of tiels or a single tiel who may have to spend more time inside of the cage. NEVER LEAVE ANY BIRD OUT UNATTENDED!!!!
Make sure to provide a variety of perches to your tiel. Dowel rods are not adequate. I use ribbonwood (manzanita is too slippery), cactus and pedicure perches.
Toys are a must-have for tiels. One of their favorites is the ABC blocks you can get from any toy section of a local store. I drill a 1/4 inch hole through the center of the "bland" side and string them up on natural leather (no dyes or chrome tanning, please). You can put a few of the larger plastic Pony Beads on here, too. They love to untie the knots and pull the beads off.
Choose a certified avian veterinarian in your area. AVIAN VETS An avian vet is not necessarily a certified avian vet. It is good to know where a certified avian veterinarian is close to you for when you need them. I highly recommend visiting the National Cockatiel Society and taking a peek at their articles and photos of the different colors that cockatiels are bred to have. Cockatiels are, in the wild, gray with orange cheek patches, with the males having a bright yellow face upon maturity. You can find many different colors, known as mutations, that have derived from this normal gray coloring.
Do not feed only seed. Your cockatiel needs a varied diet for optimum health. You will also need to feed (preferably organic) pellets and healthy "live" or fresh foods. Harrison’s and Foundation Formula are two organic pellets that can be purchased directly from the manufacturer. The rest of the diet should also be organic and consist of greens like fresh and rinsed kale and spinach (not lettuce, it is mostly water and no nutrition), cooked vegetables like sweet potato, corn, rice, pasta, beans, etc. I stress organic here because two of the main ingredients in many foods are some of the worst on the mass market. Soy and corn are often grown in soil "amended" with municipal sewage sludge and some genetically engineered crops are approved for use in animal feeds. There may be pesticide residues on produce and seed that is not organic. Given bird’s sensitivities, I encourage the extra assurance of certified organic foods. Roudybush is not organic, but is a high quality food naturally preserved. Cockatiels tend to take to this food easily and do quite well on it. A plus would be if they went organic in some formulas!
When you are feeding a pelleted diet, do not add vitamins to the water. Most pelleted diets have vitamins added to them and you don't want to overdose your tiel. Read the manufacturers instructions on the bag. You can also overdose on certain vitamins, so be careful and follow directions.
Provide clean, fresh water to your cockatiel. I have a reverse osmosis system on my sink made by Culligan. You can use glass water bottles or stainless steel cups. Either type should be cleaned twice daily or more often if food is in the water (yes, mine have stuck food up the water bottle tubes and clogged or soiled them that way). I also disinfect my stainless water bowls every other day with Oxyfresh. I have used Saniclens, organic apple cider vinegar and organic grapefruit seed extract (one drop to 32 oz of water) in my water before.
A cockatiel needs interaction with it's flock. Guess what? You will be it's flock. If you just want a bird to watch and enjoy rather than physical interaction, start with finches or a canary. They are wonderful and enjoy watching you as much as you enjoy watching them. Remember that all birds need the correct basic care, though. No bird should be purchased to be a decoration to match your room. It is unfair to bring a cockatiel into your home and expect it to entertain itself for all but a short time each day. Cockatiels like to do things like eat, play and preen with their flock, so these are some basic needs you will have to fulfill. If you don't have a much spare time but still are set on a cockatiel, then consider getting two cockatiels (same sex) to raise and keep together in the same cage for company. Please do not get a male and female and let them mate and raise chicks. This only adds to the overpopulation problem. Keep in mind that if you cage two cockatiels together they will most likely form a strong bond between themselves.
Change the cage paper and give the grate a scrape at least once a day. I use unprinted newsprint purchased from Mr Box Online or Uline. Black and white newsprint is alright, but don't use the colored print or glossy inserts. Many of these are colored with lead ink. It is easiest to see the color and consistency of the droppings on the unprinted newsprint. Do not use any sort of "bedding" material sold in some shops like walnut hulls. These can be ingested and may encourage bacterial growth in the bedding.
For cleaning, I recommend the Oxyfresh line of products first or a mixture of 1 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water. No matter what you use, take your cockatiel out before cleaning the cage and do this out of the room. Your tiel cannot take the fumes from the bleach. RINSE WELL. The Oxyfresh Dent-a-Gene is superior for disinfecting hand feeding supplies, as it leaves no residue, and the Cleansing Gele is great for washing items. If you chose Dent-a-Gene, you MUST make sure to activate it OUT OF THE HOUSE where the birds are. When it is activating, it gives off fumes that may be toxic to your birds. I also have found the product Pet Focus to be very good when it comes to disinfecting and comes ready to use.
Cockatiels give off a powdery dust from their down. This is the sign of a healthy cockatiel. It is not as much as a cockatoo gives off, but you will notice a light dust around the cage and surrounding furniture. If you fail to clean, it will build up to a heavy dust, so keep the vacuum handy.
