Do I have to wait a week to take my new (hand-fed) baby cockatiel out of it’s cage to play/sit with it?
Category: Cockateil Cage Q&A
I just bought the cockatiel yesterday and the breeder said to wait a week to let it out of the cage, but it seems so lonely and scared. It liked me handling it when I was in the store.
- rhavizad
I don’t see where there is a problem in holding a baby cockateil. Just don’t let him out of his cage to run around on his own.
The more you handle the bird early on the more it adjust to you and become a friendly bird. If you leave the bird in the cage for a week and then try to take it out it may bite and become kind of a loner bird. A friend of mine has one and she works all day and so the bird doesn’t like to be handled and is antisocial.
Every bird is different. Usually, it is good to let them become acclimated to a new setting but 2-3 days is plenty of time. When we re-homed our 14-year old White-Eyed Conure, he had been locked in his cage for 4 years and the minute I got him home I opened the cage doors and he climbed out.
You might want to take your little friend to a confined area like a small bedroom or bathroom (put the toilet seat down) so that he doesn’t get frightened.
Good luck and enjoy.
They say that so he can get used to his surroundings and not panic. 2 weeks sounds like a long time… I would wait 1 day or 2, just to give him time to adjust. But talk to him and sit with him in the meantime.