I think you will find the girls are more cuddly in most cases. It is true that they can become chronic egg layers.
Males do the talking and whistling.
Treated right they do not make very much noise. And any noise is not that loud compared with a lot of other parrots.
Cockatiels have a very wide range of characters which is great, but means you may not know what you are getting into.
Both can become very tame and those that are taken from the nest and hand fed and raised can become too humanised. The best birds are left for the parents to raised but handled often to hand tame.
I would push you into joining a forum like Tailfeathers and talk things over there.
I have had Cockatiels for the last 6yrs plus and have interacted with a number of them that have come in to board.
Great Birds to have a round. My own guys live cage free 24/7 and are super well behaved.
http://s815.photobucket.com/user/clawinn...
I have two male Cockatiels. A Father and a Son that my boyfriend and I adopted two years ago. They both have very different personalities and we love them both, but there are pros and cons about them.
List of Pros and Cons: They are fun to watch. They can be friendly, but they do get pissing at times. And it takes months to build their trust. So you need to spend a lot of time with them and have patience with them because it does take time for them to feel safe and at home and that can take months.They can do a lot of different whistles and say a few words and do the kissing noise, but their not as advance as some other big birds may be. It's true males are very vocal, but that's not always a good thing. They also have very annoying whistles and sounds and they can get very loud. They need lots of attention and to be out of their cage an hour or two a day. They are very messing with their food and poop, so there is a lot of cleaning up to do. They also chew on things like furniture and paper, but don't worry they don't eat the paper, they just chew it up and make a spit ball out of it. Once you have gain their trust they will want to be near you and sit on you, but for some reason they don't like hands and fingers, but they love feet. Well at least my oldest male have an interest in feet. I can pet him with my foot sometimes, but I am very careful when I do it. Males can be very loving, but they do have their mood swings. I am not sure about females, because these birds are the first birds I have ever owned and before that I didn't know much about birds.
I am not an expert on Cockatiels or other birds, but being an owner makes you learn. You should get a book that will tell you more about them. And PS. if you buy them new things like toys and perches they may be afraid of it at first and it will take them maybe a week or two to not be afraid.
I do own a cockatiel, a white female and she isn't bitty at all. In fact shes the tamest one I heave ever had. In my opinion if you want a tame cockatiel just walk over to the cage and investigate each bird personality wise. If one doesn't scoot away from you then see if the owner will let you feed if. If the bird excepts the food that's the bird for you. simple as that.
i highly recomend a male since they are more vocal and friendly they also are eaisyer to bond with.most of the time male cockatiels are more bright and colorful.Female cockatiels are also nice but can somehow lay eggs without a male and can be more moody,in birds the boys do most of the work so i can imagine the would be the most interesting to own.hope this helped :) also good luck in finding your cockatiels
Hi everyone!
I am looking into buying a cockatiel. Originally, and still do want, a white bellied Caique, but currently, to actually purchase one is too expensive for me. In the future I will go back to the idea. I have always loved cockatiels though! I am planning on buying one around August. I plan to buy from a reputable bird store, and I am not worried about that. I do visit there often and know they have good quality and take care of all their birds. My question for you all is what do you prefer, male or female cockatiels? Correct me if I am wrong, but I have been researching all over about cockatiels and have found that males seem to be a bit more friendly and can be more vocal, in the sense of saying words, singing, etc. Females can be a little bit more "bitty" and tend to whistle more. I think I may be leaning towards buying a male cockatiel, but I have plenty of time.
Anyone have any input, or own cockatiels themselves? Thank you in advance! I'm just mainly curious to see what people say :)
