Cockatiel stopped whistling tunes.

Shopping

Information

Find Answers

Site Info

Links

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Cockatiel stopped whistling tunes.

by Chirayu Bhatt
(Vaughan, Ontario, Canada)

Hi, I have a 7 month old cockatiel who used to whistle about 3 different tunes. I am a student and I bought him over the summer when I was on vacation. He had constant stimulation all day and used to whistle a lot but didn't like to be petted. It is now fall and everyone in the house is away from home from 9-5. I always kept a radio on for him to listen to. Now he is more comfortable with me and likes to be petted, but no longer whistles tunes. His eyes are clear, no discharge from the nose, he is active and his feathers are not constantly puffed up.

Before (during the summer)
-Whistles 2 or 3 tunes
-did not like to be petted
-pellet diet
-Warm temperature in the house

Now
-Likes to be petted
-no longer whistles tune
-he still chirps the same
-slightly cooler temperature in the house (dropped by 3 degrees)
-still is on pellet diet

Do you have any suggestions as to why his behavior has changed?

Comments for
Cockatiel stopped whistling tunes.

Click here to add your own comments

Oct 15, 2010

Cockatiel quit whistling
by: The Avian Vet

One of the first signs of illness is a bird will stop vocalizing. To be safe, you should have him examined by an avian veterinarian. The change may also be related to not being comfortable in his new home. He may not like his cage location, or he may be used to having lots of company and now no one is home all day. If his cage is in a back room or upstairs, he may feel isolated and possibly depressed. He may not have enough light. The light in his room needs to be very bright and it would help if you offered a full spectrum light.

Dr B

Oct 13, 2010

Practice your whistle
by: Laura

If the canary is your only bird, he might like a whistling companion. It's no fun if you're the only one singing/whistling.
The full spectrum lights are wonderful for birds' attitudes all year. When the days are shorter, they're not whistling for a mate, like in the spring. A light will help her overall health & happiness.

Oct 13, 2010

Cockatiel stopped whistling tunes.
by: Linda

Your bird is grieving the loss of his companions of the summer, and is lonely. It would be a great idea to get another Cockie and put it in another cage close to his so he has some company during the day. Birds are flock animals and do not do well alone all the time.

Before embarking on getting a new bird and cage, please be ready to take new bird to Avian Vet BEFORE you bring it home. Most birds found in pet stores are already sick from either the stress of moving or are coming from Bird Mill breeders who feed low quality diets and never take birds to Avian Vet because these things cut into the profit margin. So, if you go ahead and bring new bird home, take BOTH birds to Avian Vet to be checked for infections, and it would be better if you can do it before bringing home. If you have a friend or relative who could take new bird for long enough to get it checked out by an Avian Vet that would be ideal.

Make sure you keep both birds in their own cages set up with toys and natural branch wood perches. These can be found in pet stores and online. Birds have to have the safe natural branches to keep their feet and legs healthy. Sitting on wooden dowels causes a variety of foot and leg problems and all of them are painful.

Thank you for feeding pellets instead of all seed diet because the all seed diets kill a lot of birds way before their times to go.

Thanks for writing, and let us know how it goes.

Linda

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Ask the Vet