Cockatiels are pet birds. These are the second most popular birds that people keep as pets. They can be easily controlled. He’ll be scared of you the first time you bring him a cocktail. Initially, they need special care and treatment.
Once you gain the trust of this bird, it will be your friend. He would love to join your company. But if you buy the wrong cocktail, it could cost more than you think. Buying the wrong bird will leave you disappointed and may lose your interest in them.
Below are the things you need to consider before buying a cocktail. If you trust and follow this advice, you will have a healthy and active bird that will keep you entertained. You may find a partner who will be with you for 20 years.
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Buying cost of cockatiel
Before buying, you just need to know what would be the average cost of Cockatiel. Some people will try to sell you at higher prices, so here is a tip to estimate the particular cost of the bird in a particular area.
Search on Google buys cockatiel online with your location name. For example, buy cockatiel online in Idaho and then look for the special prices people are offering online. You will quickly get an idea of how much this bird costs in your area so you can buy accordingly.
I would not recommend you to buy this bird online because you don’t know if the bird is disease free active or will suit your taste or not. So here is the average cost going through of particular cockatiel species
| Cockatiel specie | Average price range ($) |
| `Lutino | 150 – 250 |
| Pied | 110 – 170 |
| Cinnamon | 110 – 160 |
| Pearl | 150 – 200 |
| White | 200 – 300 |
| Grey | 60 – 80 |
| Rescued bird | 50 – 100 |
Factors affecting the birds age:
There are some factors that affect the price of the cockatiel. This can decrease or increase the cost.
Age:
Young birds are more active and have more life span than the older ones. Younger ones are expensive and have more resistant to diseases.
Health condition
The healthier bird is more active and is more expensive than the ill one.
Breeder
Buying from a reputation breeder can cost you more rather than buying from the pet store.
Location
Your location matters a lot. If you are living in Australia, your bird may cost you less than in the US. If you are buying it internationally, the shipping costs you some extra pennies.
Reasons Not to Get a Cockatiel
Vet Cost:
The vet cost depends on the illness of your bird. If you will treat your birds with proper care, keep the environment clean, and help them to get rid of their loneliness by providing toys and a companion. These all keep the stress away from him, which helps him to fight with the diseases, as a healthy mind has a healthy body.
Although season changes can affect health and may cause some flues. On average, you can expect 35-50 dollars per visit. Depending on the disease, the price of the visit can be more than $100.
What specie you should buy?
Normally, all cockatiels result from mutations and cross with each other. There is little to no impact on the specie. All are almost the same except for the color and the beauty. You can choose any bird you want.
The innocence or biting behavior depends on the environment it is grown. You can control the behavior by treating them nicely and with care. If you will provide everything to keep their boredom away, they will remain calm, easily tamed, and befriend you faster.
Pied cockatiel – Helpful guide with pictures
Normal grey (most popular)
It is the most common pet bird. Everyone who has cockatiels in their home must have this specie. It has a yellow mouth with red-orange cheeks. They are loveable and affectionate. The majority keeps them is enough proof of their innocence. They love to have cuddles and make bonds faster.
As a beginner you can choose this specie. They will make great pets for you.
Classic grey (most affordable)
They are grey and don’t have any yellow and orange cheeks. They are considered the most affordable, as their prices are low. Prices can range from 50 to 70 dollars.
Albino for (unique look)
There are also called white cockatiels. They are the rare ones. Having a unique look, they are expensive. They are unique and rare because they are not present in the wild. Their eyes are red..Price can range from 150 to 250 dollars.
Look for the trust worthy shop:
After you have decided on the bird, now it’s time to find a shop where you can buy it. There are many pet shops that are selling birds, but trusting anyone is difficult. Some may sell you a female bird by saying it’s male.
Also, some will sell you an older cockatiel by saying it’s young. There are many scenarios in which the owner can make you a fool.
One thing you can do is to look for the shop where your family or friend member has bought. Ask him about his experience. If there are already trustable brands in your area like Petco. You can walk there and look for the cockatiel by following my tips. You will get a wonderful bird, hope so.
If that is not the case, you can go to your local shop owner. Analyze the shop. Is it clean? Do all the birds there active? Are they comfortable? Just ask a few questions from the owner about his shop. Which food he feeds them? Ask about the cockatiels.
Don’t worry if you failed to find a trustworthy shop, just read the following tips.
Analyze the birds
As you have entered the shop now its time to look for the bird. Firstly you can tell the conditions to the owner that I need the type of bird that is not aggressive and is young. He will go through you to all the birds.
If that is not the case you can choose the bird by yourself. As you have chosen the bird look he is active or not? Is he tries to hide himself? Are other birds afraid of him? Is he siting calmly? Or is he biting other birds?
If all these questions have been answered. YES, you can avoid that bird. Look for the active bird, that is eating well, flying, and playing with others. There is another case if the bird is sitting calmly, he may try to sleep. Analyze closely.
If the shop is close to your living area, then you can visit 2-3 times a day to look at that bird. But almost on the first try, you will be able to choose the cockatiel..
ALso look for the wounds. If he is losing feathers , that may be molting. It can also be a sign of disease.But the detail is going to be in the below section.
Check the age:
It is the most important factor when choosing the Cockatiel. The shopkeeper sells the older ones as compared to the younger ones. It is better to buy a younger one because it would be easy for you to tame the younger one. Moreover, he will spend more time with you as compared to the other.
The average lifespan of Cockatiel ranges from 15 to 25. One benefit of choosing an older tamed cockatiel is that it would be easy for you to adjust with him but if you choose a bird whose recent spinners were not good, it would be difficult for both of you to gain the trust of each other.
He may Bite you more often. Old habits are tough to break. That’s why it is recommended to go for or cockatiel that is 12 weeks to 1 year of age.
How you can analyze the age of Cockatiel ?
Look for these feathers when you are analyzing the age of Cockatiel. Older has smaller beaks than young. Also, have a mature face.
Adult cockatiels are 12-13 inches in size. Also, the bird whose cheek patches are large avoids buying that bird, too.
Sleep cycle of older cockatiels is more. They sleep 14-18 hours a day while young have a short sleep cycle of about 10-14 hours.
The pelvic bones of female cockatiels are wider as they age.
Feathers tell a lot about the cockatiel age. The size of feathers is equal to their body until the age of 1 year. As they grow for more than a year, the feathers grow more than the body.
Older bird has longer nails that usually bends with age.
Eyes get smaller than when the bird ages.
So these are some features that will help you in determining the age. It is difficult to know for the beginner, but at least you can try. You can ask the shopkeeper. Hope he tells you the truth.
Check the gender:
You can choose both with no offense, but it is recommended to buy a female as compared to a male. As females are less aggressive and calmer than the males.
Males talk more and love to spend time with you for a prolonged period. Males are less affectionate. It doesn’t mean that they don’t love to be with you. They will be tamed, just like females. You can befriend both of them. Both will play with you and learn tricks. Remember, females need more care as they have to lay eggs. Fulfill their calcium and other nutrients.
In short, you can choose any of the gender as they can both become aggressive during the hormone changes during breeding time.
Look for the claws:
When you are analyzing the parrot you have chosen, look at his claws. Look for the grip. It should be tight with the perches. A loose grip can be a sign of illness. It is better to avoid it.
Analyze the eyes
The eyes of the birds should be clear. There must not be any discharge. It can be a sign of diseases. There must not be any watery substances eliminated from the eyes.
Check the feathers:
They belong to the family which produces powder. Do not panic if they do so, it is not a disease. Almost all birds produce dust. The cockatoo family produces more. It is done to shed the water from the feathers. It also keeps their feather silky.
You can get rid of this problem by bathing your bird daily..
Feather can tell a lot about the diseases. You can read our detailed guide about the feathers that will help you find the particular problem. In short, it should be clean and don’t have any wounds or mites over it.
Ask if he is vaccinated:
One more thing you can do is to ask the owner of the bird if the bird is vaccinated or not. If it is not vaccinated, you have to do it by yourself. It is better to do vaccination of your bird as your bird will get resistance to diseases/ By doing this you can save many which you may spend by taking him to the vet. Also, it is safe for your bird too.