Here are some interesting facts about cockatiels:
- Did you know that the fumes emitted from Teflon coated cookware can kill your cockatiel?
- Even though the cockatiel was first discovered in Australia in 1770, it didn’t become a popular pet choice until the Australian Gold Rush in the nineteen hundreds.
- If you want to check if your cockatiel seeds are still good, try sprouting them. If less than 70% sprout, then they have died and have very little nutritional value. To sprout them you can put them on a saucer covered with a paper towel. Soak the seeds with water and keep them moist for about 4 to 5 days by spraying them. Give them to your tiel once they have sprouted, he will devour them.
- There is a bird called a Galatiel that is from mixing a cockatiel and a gallah together.
- Cockatiels are very sociable and don’t like to be left along for long periods of time. Rather get him a friend if you are out a lot, or he may pluck his feathers, get angry or refuse to eat.
- Male cockatiels are better talkers and whistlers than females. They use their vocal chords to attract female cockatiels in the wild.
- Hand fed cockatiels are more likely to talk than parent fed ones.
- It is easier for a cockatiel to whistle than to talk.
- A cockatiel can live to 22 years, but the average lifespan is 15 years.
- Drafts are very bad for cockatiels so keep your cockatiel out of winds or draughts.