The Disadvantages Of Owning Cockatiel Parrots

As with any pet, there are always disadvantages when it comes to owning and caring for cockatiel parrots. Luckily with cockatiels, I had to really rack my brains to come up with some, as they generally have more pros than cons.

The Cons Of Having Cockatiel Parrots

Here is a list of disadvantages to owning a cockatiel:

• They can be messy!
• They can be noisy!
• Their bite can be painful, especially if not trained.
• They can get injured easily if you don’t keep an eye on them when they are out of their cages.
• Expensive to set up as you need to purchase a decent cage and toys.
• Can’t leave them on own for hours as they will get bored.
• If they get sick they deteriorate very quickly and often cannot be saved.
• Tend to bond with one person, but can be trained to go to anyone.
• Don’t get one if you have a cat.

As you can see, I really had to dig to find some disadvantages to owning a cockatiel.

The messiness I was talking about is the seed that they sometimes tend to drop on the floor of their cage. Sometimes this seed also ends up on the floor of which ever room the cage is standing in, but this can be rectified by getting a cover that wraps around the bottom of the cage or a cage that has pieces jutting out of it to catch any seed that falls out of the cage.

Cockatiels do like to make a noise in the mornings and the evenings, but are generally quiet during the day, unless something is wrong. You can read this article on why cockatiels like to scream.

A cockatiel will rarely bite unless he or she feels threatened. A tamed cockatiel will at best give you a nibble. A fully grown wild cockatiel can give you quite a nasty bite if you are not careful, as they have strong beaks due to cracking open all that seed.

When you let your bird out of its cage, make sure you keep an eye on it. Cockatiel Parrots or any parrots for that matter are naturally curious animals and can get into trouble quicker than you think. I have heard terrible stories about them chewing on live electric wires, or flying into a hot pan on the stove.

They are expensive at first, as you will need to get a cage, which will be your biggest expense. Some toys may set you back too, but once you are over that hurdle, the food every month is relatively cheap.

Cockatiels are social creatures in the wild, so they don’t enjoy being on their own for long periods of time. If you work all day, rather get two so they can keep each other amused.

Luckily cockatiels rarely get sick, but when they do, it is often too late by the time you notice it, as they are very good at disguising how they feel.

Your cockatiel will always tend to find a favorite human to bond with, and it is normally the human that spends the most time with it. However, they are friendly and will normally go to anyone in the family that they are familiar with once they have been tamed.

Obviously cats like eating birds, so it is probably not the best idea to get a cockatiel if you have a cat or that cat may terrorize it by sitting and staring at it all day through the bars of its cage. It might turn out differently if already have a cockatiel and you get a kitten who grows up with the bird, but even so you can never be too careful.