Pretty bird! I like his four footed friend, too.

Rusty

He’s cute. What sort of bird is he? My brother has a cockatoo. He talks a lot but also screams a lot. My neighbors have a new Abby boy named Finn. I like that name. Enjoy your new buddy! Looks like your dog is curious.

Teach him to say “Sit! Good dog!” Lol

Cockatiels are wonderful pets! They're extremely intelligent, affectionate, and playful. And naughty.

I've always wanted a bird, but my house is too drafty I think.

What a pretty boy! And he doesn't look like a baby, he looks quite grown up. My indoor bird experience is clearly somewhat limited, I have not had a bird for a pet since my grade school days. What I am finding is - the older we get the more we enjoy birds. DH is attached to an owl that visits, and heaven forbid you mess with his hummingbirds or their feeders. Please enjoy Finn. I especially like his name. Young friends of ours had a baby during this Covid year and named him Finn!

Beautiful smart baby!

He is beautiful. I like how your dog is totally okay with him.

Finn is a BIG 'baby'. Is he full grown now? Look at those long tail feathers! He must need a big cage. Have you had pet birds before this? An acquaintance of mine got so involved with birds that she turned her living room into an aviary.

Birds don't seem to be common pets where I am but I have a question -

Do birds restrict their pooping to their cages or does having them out of the cage mean that little surprises are to be found around the house?

Ded tired, he is a cockatiel and a cousin of the cockatoo. He’s much smaller and not as noisey. To me they are happy sounds, lots of whistling and chitter chatter.

Bpath! That’s funny. It took me too evenings to teach him peek a boo so it wouldn’t be hard.

Rhizo, I agree. They’re always happy. He’s super curious so I have to watch him like a hawk whenever he’s out.

Schoolhouse, my home can be drafty too, so I understand being hesitant.

Morz8, thank you. I loved the story about your husband and I think as we get older we’re able to appreciate the beauty of animals more in general There is something about birds though that is extra special. I didn’t realize Finn was so popular when I named him, I was just looking for a name he’d be able to say. HA!

Chisue, he is 14 weeks old. They grow really fast as chicks but aren’t considered to be mature until after their first molt at about 6 months. That’s when his feathers will change. There is a 50/50 chance he will loose the pearling on his wings and the new feathers will grow in gray. I used to have 2 cockatiels and even hand fed a clutch. They live quite long and do best when paired. I had to rehome them when my husband got ill. The house is just too quiet without at least one. I may pick up a 2nd in the spring, not sure yet though. The cage is medium in size not to big and not too small LOL. I would love to have an out door aviary but I’m not sure I could manage one indoors. That’s a lot of dander!

Thanks for letting me share!

Elmer, that’s a fair question. A lot of people don’t believe in trimming their wings and allow them to fly all over the house when and where they want, but I’m not one of them. There’s all kinds of reasons why that’s a bad idea, having bird poop everywhere is (IMO) one of them, it’s just gross. I throw toys along with his food/water on top of the cage and he’s content. Or if he’s with me somewhere in the house, he’s in a contained area, like the little table he’s on in the pic. As for trimming their wings, to some people it sounds cruel, but when done properly, they can still glide and have flight, but only for a short distance. I see so many postings for lost birds that flew out the door.

What a pretty boy!!

He's a beauty -- enjoy! I've never had a bird, but I used to have a little job taking care of my neighbor's giant macaws, a Blue Hyacinth and a Great Greenwing. Every day I would go over there, take them out and put them on a stand, clean the cage, add food and hand feed them. I also made toys for them and brought treats. (They loved cooked oatmeal and cut up oranges.) I was paid ten dollars a day but it was way below minimum wage, because I would be entranced by them and stay a long time. They fought, and at one point, their owner mentioned the possibility of giving me the Blue Hyacinth. It was tempting, but I knew if I had him at home, I'd never go out.

Finn is adorable!

I had a male cockatiel that lived to the ripe old age of 27.

I'm not sure I get the connection with wings. If they poop wherever they are, you're just saying you know where to look with limited mobility? Like in the photos, on the carpet or the couch?

My brothers cockatoo poops on command. I’m not kidding. When you say “pooper”,he does. He pretty much does it wherever he is at the moment. His wings are clipped but he gets around pretty well. He has a pretty cushy life.

My father once rented a large room at his factory to a woman who bred small birds. Of course then he just *had* to give me 'a pair of lovebirds'. My DM and DGM had a fit, but he just appeared with them in a cage one day and left them.

They fought constantly. Guess why? Yes, not 'a pair', but two males. I think they lasted two weeks at our house before my DM insisted he return them.

Pretty baby! We once left a dog with a good friend for a couple of weeks. Sue had a couple of birds and she helped with bird rescue, so there were usually 3 or 4 at her house. One would say "Bad dog!" and poor Pixie would wind up hiding under the dining room table.

A friend bought a pair of budgies from a private party one time because she thought her elderly husband would enjoy them.

Eventually I happened to read about how to sex this kind of bird using something like a particular detail of the coloring of their faces and realized thereby that the "female" was living in the shadow of the other because they were two males. And "she" was being dominated and suppressed.

I went with the friend to see the birds originally, thought after discovering the mistake some time later that the seller presented them as a pair simply because that was what they wanted to be the case. And apparently had no actual knowledge of how to tell the sexes of budgies.

This has been a fun read, I love the bird stories. Macaws are way out of my league. We had friends with some in Key West, they are gorgeous but so loud. Finn can be loud too, but it’s chatter, wolf whistles and kisses mixed in with words he’s learned. I think he’s started to mimic my laugh cause he’s been laughing off and on all day.

Dees not many people can keep them safe and healthy all the way to 27, that is a real credit to your care for him.

Elmer, I’m sorry for the confusion, since I mentioned wing trimming, I added the additional info about the wings to fend off any negative comments about it. I’m finding that people can be very passionate about the topic and some are not very nice about it. Controlled, yes I guess that’s a good way to put it, but still I don’t just let him poop anywhere. I lay a towel down if he is with me on the sofa. I usually keep him on a perch if he’s not on his cage or me and it has a base that catches it. It’s part of owning a bird, but there are ways to manage. Dedtired’s brother came up with a great solution, my sister had a conure she trained to do that as well. They’re smart, and can learn anything if you invest the time.

Chisue, Love the story, to bad he didn’t bring you a cockatiel instead, love birds tend to be nippy and territorial, but the cockatiel would have stolen your heart.

Lukki, I was reminded of an experience our neighbor had when we still lived next door to them - along the lines of the wing clipping. And why it might be to the birds benefit.

They had a flat roofed attached garage that sometimes needed maintenance. He was up there one day and something largish landed on his back! An African Gray Parrot. It immediately loved him, hated his wife. Vet said hungry and dehydrated. They had that bird about three days before working with the vet and animal control, were able to locate its owner. About 2 miles away on the other side of the park. It had been missing more than a week and he learned not the first time.

I love Finn. I love birds but sadly don't have one now. The love of my life was Ollie, an African grey I had for over 20 years. He should have lived longer. He ruled the house. Each cat thought they'd get him but guess who was the terrorized ones? He'd growl at them and they'd run. I had a parakeet who lived 13 years when I was a kid and I got two for my daughter when she was little.

What a sweet boy! He's beautiful!

Lukki, my little guy always had a cat (or three) in the house. When our 18.5 year old cat passed when my bird was 20, he got depressed. A few months later, we brought another cat into the house and he perked right up. the cats we had never bothered him. They were buds. My little guy was healthy but started to slow down a few weeks before he passed in his sleep. I'll post a picture of him with one of the cats.

wow, what a cool bird!

This is Bird with Duke in late 2015. Bird was 25 at the time.

Here he is sitting with me in early 2016.

He's beautiful!

Poop was the least of it. The macaws would chew up any wood they could reach. They could also be very willful. So if you want to keep your doors, trim and furniture from being destroyed, and you want to be able to put them back in their cage when they are not in the mood, wing clipping is a necessity. At first I found it depressing that the macaws lived in a cage (with an owner who had been bequeathed them, and frankly didn't seem very interested in them.) But they'd been born in captivity; that was their life. I knew that at least my visits added some fun to their lives. And I knew they liked me. The Blue Hyacinth never talked, until one day when he saw that I was about to leave, and he started jumping around saying "Hello, hello," in my voice!

Does rockybird still check in here anymore? You could have a birdy playdate!

can you teach it to 'flip'?

I posted last night but it didn’t got through.

Dee, your birdy looks just like my Wilson did. My cats, I had 2 would tolerate the birds, but that’s about as far as it would go. Your little guy accepted your kitties as part of his flock which is amazing. Ellie is the most docile dog I’ve ever seen. She doesn’t mind Finn, and will even alert me if he flies off his cage. In that picture I posted, she’s actually eyeing his brocolli. She loves it. I posted a picture of Sparky & Wilson below. I really loved them and miss em.

Jupi - It’s true, the Macaws can be very distructive and are handful but it’s actually cruel to leave birds in their cage ignored. Birds are flock animals and when they don’t have the interaction they need, they get stressed and start pulling their feathers out. They require a lot of attention and dedication to their care. That’s why when you go to a bird store that’s really invested in their animals, they will have their birds out on stand alone perches.

I think about Rockybird all the time. Her birds were amazing and I loved seeing her pics of them. I haven’t seen her here in so long.

I can’t teach it to flip but then again, I’ve never tried. LOL

Lily, I don’t you still have the little dove? I didn’t know you had a gray, they are one of the smartest birds! I would love to have one, but I think it’s more than I’d be able to manage.