chickenlover Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Ok so ive got 5 chickens two rather large fish tanks , 5 giant african land snails + 20 babys, 1 rabbit, 4 kids and i despritly want a cockatiel but my other half wont let me get one, i want this for myself as i cant have a dog beacuse of the limited space, ive tried to explain that cockatiels that are hand reared are tame and very very loving and would make a great substitute for a dog, but hes finally putting his foot down and im behaving like a spoit brat i know but this would really be the last animal i want and i would be a very happy mummy....should i give up or just go out and get one anyway and deal with the fall out later?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellekatz Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 I know how you feel. Myself and the children really want a Labrador ( adult rescued) but OH is putting his foot down. He didnt say "no" just that it wasnt his decision. I know that means "no" but my 12 year old son thought that meant "OK" so was devastated when he found out he couldnt have the dog. I am not going to go out and get one - just use the gentle art of persuasion and constant reminders until he finally has enough I told him last night that he may have won the first battle but he hadn't won the war - we are in no rush, the right dog will come along eventually. Is it worth the aggro if he really doesnt want the bird? Has he said why? Maybe it would be worth trying to find out his objections first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenlover Posted August 20, 2007 Author Share Posted August 20, 2007 just that he thinks that we have too many anyway, im pretty good as the perswation thing, when i first wanted chickens he said no, now he says that it was his idea!!lol im not going to start an argument but i will test the water and see if he is serious about not getting one or he is just checking his manly status is still intakt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Hi there... We had cockatiels, and it is true that they are stunning birds, very intelligent, friendly and if hand reared they are totally tame and a pleasure to play with... They are also very, very easy to look after, as long as they live in a cage with pull out tray all it takes is a regular pull out/empty/replace whatever material you use as their cage base, and daily feeding and water... they were my daughter's, she was 9 when she got them and did fine looking after them by herself, even though she is not the keenest worker!! This being said, one tiny word of caution (don't let your husband see this bit), and I'm sorry if this risks giving cockatiels a bad name, but they can be susceptible to getting psittacosis (apparently a huge majority of them are carriers), and this can be (no matter what breeders/insurers tell you) passed on to humans in the form of pneumonia... as this is not your common pneumonia it can be difficult to diagnose and therefore dangerous. This happened to us, to cut a long and complicated story short, my husband became ill after spending a lot of time working in the same room as we were keeping them, and he ended up in hospital. It was only discovered later when one of the birds died that they were actively shedding the psittacosis virus. We had to put our remaining bird down, which we did after agonising conversations with doctors and vets, as it seemed he had obviously too been exposed to the sick bird and seeing what my husband had gone through and having very young kids in the house we felt we couldn't risk keeping it. A vet recommended that if we wished to keep it we should isolate it from humans, and the poor bird, having been used to very regular human handling from birth, became nearly insane in a matter of a few days... I am not saying all this to deter you, from the vets I have spoken to we seem to have been very unlucky, as psittacosis is not necessarily passed on to humans, but it can happen, and there is very little information, support or understanding about it all amongst vets, breeders and doctors, I do not want to put people off but I feel it is important for people to be told, as they need to be aware of the possibility in case a family member gets flu-like symptoms that don't go away... Also, don't be reassured by breeders who say they regularly test their flocks, as the virus can only be confirmed in tests at times when the birds actively shed it, even though they might be mostly carriers, and the bird is not necessarily appearing ill when the virus is contagious to humans... Again sorry for all the negative info, as I said I don't wish to deter anyone, but to warn people to be vigilant if health problems occur when having cockatiels in their home... after researching thing quite thoroughly I have a feeling there is both a lack of knowledge and a lot of cover up about how serious the disease can be... we miss our birds a lot and the whole thing was both scary and heartbreaking. All the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenlover Posted August 20, 2007 Author Share Posted August 20, 2007 And that is why i find this forum the best! I have had cockatiels also but before i was with my husband, but ive never heard of this before, your totally right this is not information that you come across , thanks for letting me know I will definaltly look into this before i do anything as i have already had pnemonia (when i was 11) and know how horrible it is.....thank you very much, i also have 4 children that i would put first too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 go for it! i once had a cockatiel, they are lovely pets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
