Cockatiel Care Guide: Diet, Cage and Taming

Quick answer

Cockatiels are gentle, affectionate small parrots that commonly live 15 to 20 years. They need a cage wide enough to flap and climb in, a diet built on pellets or a good seed mix with fresh vegetables every day, 10–12 hours of sleep, time out of the cage daily, and patient taming based on rewards. Most tame well with a few short sessions a day and some millet or another favourite treat.

Why cockatiels make great companions

There's a reason cockatiels are among the most popular pet birds in the world. They're small enough to house without trouble, quieter than a lot of parrots, and usually very affectionate once tame. Males are the whistlers, and some pick up a few words; females tend to be quieter and gentle. For a first-time bird owner who can give daily attention, they're a sound choice.

They measure around 30–33 cm (12–13 in) including the tail and typically weigh 80–110 g (about 3–4 oz). That makes them bigger than budgies but still easy to handle.

The cage

Size and shape

• Width matters most. Cockatiels need room to flap and hop between perches. As a guide, aim for at least around 75 cm wide × 50 cm deep × 75 cm tall (30 × 20 × 30 in) for one bird. Bigger is better.
• Bar spacing of around 1.3–1.6 cm (0.5–0.6 in), so the head can't get stuck.
• Horizontal bars on at least some sides make climbing easier.
• Rectangular cages beat round ones.

Inside the cage

• Natural-wood perches in different thicknesses. Skip all-dowel and sandpaper perches.
• Separate dishes for pellets/seed, fresh food and water, placed away from perches so droppings don't land in them.
• Three or four toys at a time (something to shred, something to forage in, a bell or swing), swapped round weekly.
• Paper on the floor so you can check the droppings.

Location

Put the cage against a wall in a room the family actually uses, out of direct sun and draughts. Never in the kitchen: fumes from overheated non-stick cookware can kill birds.

Night frights

Cockatiels are prone to "night frights", where they thrash about in the dark after a sudden noise or shadow. A dim night light near the cage and a partly covered cage help a lot of birds.

Diet

Seed-only diets are behind many of the health problems seen in cockatiels, including obesity, liver disease and vitamin A deficiency.

Never feed: avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, xylitol, salty, sugary or fried foods, onion, garlic, or fruit pits and apple seeds.

Switching to pellets

Mix a few pellets into the usual seed and shift the ratio bit by bit over several weeks. Weigh your cockatiel on a gram scale while you do it, because some birds simply don't recognise pellets as food and lose weight. If the weight drops, slow down.

Daily and weekly routine

Daily

• Fresh water and food, morning and evening
• Remove old fresh food
• Glance at droppings and change cage paper
• At least one to two hours out of the cage, more if possible
• 10–12 hours of quiet, dark sleep

Weekly

• Wash dishes and perches thoroughly
• Rotate toys
• Weigh your bird
• Offer a shallow bath or light misting; plenty of cockatiels love it

Yearly

• A check-up with an avian vet

Taming and training

First days

Give a new cockatiel a few days to settle. Sit near the cage, talk quietly and move slowly. Cockatiels are prey animals, and anything coming at them suddenly from above is frightening.

Step by step

1. Hand-feed treats through the bars. Offer a bit of millet spray and wait for the bird to come to you.
2. Treats at the open door. Once it's relaxed, offer treats with the door open.
3. Step up. Hold a finger just above the feet, against the lower chest, and say "step up". Reward the moment it steps on.
4. Keep sessions short. Two or three sessions of a few minutes a day work better than one long one.
5. Build on what works: stepping between hands, stepping onto a perch, coming to you on cue.

Watch the body language. A raised, relaxed crest and soft chatter mean a happy bird. A flattened crest with hissing means back off.

Whistling and talking

Males especially pick up whistled tunes easily. Whistle the same short tune every day. Some cockatiels learn a few words, but whistling comes more naturally to them.

Wing clipping

Clipping is a personal decision with arguments both ways. Flying is excellent exercise and builds confidence, but a flighted bird needs a bird-safe home. If you do clip, ask an avian vet to show you how, and keep it light so the bird can still glide down safely.

Health signs to watch

Cockatiels hide illness, so get to know what's normal for your bird. See a vet if you notice:

• Fluffed up and sleepy during the day
• Tail bobbing or open-beak breathing
• Discharge from eyes or nostrils
• Changes in droppings; see our bird droppings colour guide
• Loss of appetite or weight loss
• Straining or a swollen belly in hens (possible egg-binding)
• Feather plucking or bald patches, other than the normal bald spot behind the crest in some lutino birds

Hens can turn into chronic egg layers. Don't give them nest-like spaces, keep sleep times long, and talk to your vet if your hen keeps laying.

Male or female?

Adult normal grey males have bright yellow faces and solid grey undersides to the tail, while females keep barred tails. Mutations make it harder to tell. See How to Sex Cockatiels, Budgies and Lovebirds.

In Pakistan

Cockatiels are bred widely in Pakistan, and grey, lutino, pied, pearl and whiteface mutations are all easy to find. Prices are generally moderate and depend on the mutation and whether the bird is hand-tame. In the hottest months keep cages out of direct sun, offer baths and keep the water fresh. In winter, keep birds away from gas heaters. Hand-raised, tame youngsters make the easiest pets, so ask sellers whether the bird was hand-fed and is fully weaned.

Ready to welcome a cockatiel home? Browse healthy, verified cockatiels on Paalo.