22g's Cockatiel Dictionary

22g's Cockatiel Dictionary Cockatiel - Care, Diet, Breeding and Behaviour

Learn Care first rather than Cure

Sunlight & winter season During winter people keep their birds daily in window or in direct sun light but that can prove...
17/01/2026

Sunlight & winter season

During winter people keep their birds daily in window or in direct sun light but that can prove to be harmful for your bird I will tell you how.

You keep the bird daily in sun thinking temperature is low due to winter and your bird will feel better/warm however it can cause stroke ultimately causing sudden death of your bird.

Morning 7-9am direct sunlight is healthy but then later it may prove to be harmful, afternoon sun is a big no no.

So what you can do is during winter you can keep bird near the sunlight but not in direct sunlight so that bird feels warm and also it doesn't get heat stroke.

Pic Source: AI

By Hitesh Sharma 22g

Should I give suppliments to my cockatiels?I will try to explain Will keep it simple & crisp Natural way to get vitamins...
25/10/2025

Should I give suppliments to my cockatiels?

I will try to explain
Will keep it simple & crisp

Natural way to get vitamins and minerals is natural food, if your bird diet covers required nutrition (protein, vitamin, minerals, etc) you don't need to give suppliment
But in case the diet doesn't cover the required nutrition you can give suppliments but you need to know what is your bird nutrition requirment and when to start, stop suppliments and what should be the quantity

For example in nature a bird gets nutrition naturally but in captivity it doesn't, also few birds don't eat all food which is been offered but they pick only favourite food so to keep it immune suppliments can be given

Also mostly breeders use suppliments because the birds are put on breeding and it's easy to give suppliments rather than giving natural variety of diet.(Daily veggie/fruit chops need time & efforts)
Again natural food & variety meaning you have to maintain hygiene properly (clear & clear leftover soft food properly daily)

By Hitesh Sharma 22g

Pic source google

Hand raised Breeding BirdsVsParents Raised Breeding BirdsPersonally as per my experience Hand raised birds are good for ...
15/07/2025

Hand raised Breeding Birds
Vs
Parents Raised Breeding Birds

Personally as per my experience Hand raised birds are good for breeding set-up and the reasons are as follows

1. Cockatiels are alert birds, they get scared easily however hand raised birds do not get scared while daily feeding, cleaning cage, cleaning nest box, etc
2. Hand raised birds are expressive compared to parents raised, for example asking for something they want.
3. Hand raised birds don't panic if they are incubating eggs, sometimes eggs break while inspection because parents panic and move out quickly from nest.
4. In case of urgency like wheather change if you need to move the setup or you need to transport birds to new location, hand raised birds do not get scared and settle down easily.
5. Allowing human touch to self and chicks - hand raised birds allow scratching to themselves or even allow touching their chicks when they are inside nest.
6. Not sure if I am right but i noticed hand raised birds are good parents, they hardly pluck their chicks.
7. Handling birds during sickness and medication becomes easier with hand raised birds in comparison with parents raised birds.

If I missed on anything or you want to share your experience please feel free to comment on the post.

By Hitesh Sharma 22g

Pics source : google

12/02/2025

Why does my handfeeding chick make this noise?
When will it stop doing it?

This sound is basically called "food cry"
Chicks which are been handfeed do make such noise as soon as they see their owner in front of them

Chicks do make this noise even if they have been recently feeded so don't worry that they are still hungry

It's natural for them to make this noise, the chick who makes more noise gets more food from parents and then parents fly away.
You must have noticed in captivity, parents feed chicks and once parents are not in nest the chicks keep quiet

However many people keep the handfeeding chicks in basket or cage hence they keep on making this noise all day, so you should cover the front portion so that your not visible to the chick

Once chick starts eating self it will stop making this noise, not immediately but in couple of weeks

By Hitesh Sharma 22g

Video: Amit Mishra Delhi India 🇮🇳
Thank you for sharing with us 🙏

At what age will my handfeeding chick start eating self? 🤔🤔🤔This doubt comes in mind of many hobbiyst who do handfeeding...
11/02/2025

At what age will my handfeeding chick start eating self? 🤔🤔🤔

This doubt comes in mind of many hobbiyst who do handfeeding for the first time

As per my personal experience:

1. 55-60 days old chick will start to eat self completely
2. Once chick is 50 days old offer it soft food mix (two time handfeeding)
3. Once it eats soft food introduce pellets (one time handfeeding early morning)
4. Last introduce seeds once it eats pellets (stop handfeeding once it eats seeds properly)

As soon as your chick eats seeds it's independent however it takes 2-3 days for a chick to learn how to eat seeds, trying to eat and eating are both different
Best indicator for me is a chick drinking water self

Keeping chicks with self eating chicks will help them learn eating self quickly as they will learn quickly looking at experience birds

Again it also depends on bird to bird
Few are quick learners few are slow learners
Each bird has its own personality

By Hitesh Sharma 22g

SOS/First Aid for sick bird First thing always SEPRATE BIRD from flock/avairy Always keep a seprate cage for treatment o...
23/09/2024

SOS/First Aid for sick bird

First thing always SEPRATE BIRD from flock/avairy

Always keep a seprate cage for treatment of sick bird

If bird is sitting on cage floor, puffed and beak tucked at the back
You need to provide heart source
Use 40watt bulb and place it 2 feet above the bird cage

Provide healthy diet to bird and multivitamin in soft food/drinking water which will help in sickness recovery
Nutritional diet will always help in improving immunity

If the bird is not at all eating
Immediately start with 2 drops electrolyte powder water direct to beak after every 1-2 hours for next 24hrs
You can also feed handfeeding formula 1-2 ml after every 2-3 hours
It will keep bird hydrated and won't let bird fall weak

Then observe the bird and it's p**p to conclude what exactly the issue is
Like bacterial infection or fungal infection or something else
I agree it's difficult so always take opinion from experts
Experts are Vets or Aviculturist

Don't s
Do not start pumping any random antibiotics without consultation from experts

Do not feed antibiotics on empty stomach
Give handfeeding formula 1_2ml and few drops of electrolyte powder water

Do not follow two different advice from two different people at same time
Or do not give two different types of antibiotics suggested by two people at the same time

***Let the bird completely recover and then introduce back to its flock

Pic Source Google

By Hitesh Sharma

"Prevention is better than cure ideology"By Hitesh Sharma India 🇮🇳Avain loverI have personally noticed people are more i...
04/09/2024

"Prevention is better than cure ideology"
By Hitesh Sharma India 🇮🇳
Avain lover

I have personally noticed people are more interested in learning the sickness treatment however do not work on the root causes

Majority illnesses are bacterial infection, fungal infection, respiratory issues, eye infection, abnormal dropping etc

The main reason for all these is bad quality accessories and hygiene issues

Always invest in good quality accessories like -
Stainless steel food and water bowls
Appropriate quality and appropriate size cage
Pet safe toys

Maintain daily, weekly and monthly hygiene
Disinfect all the accessories minimum once in a month
Food and water bowls once or twice in a week
Use 1ltr neem water add 5ml Apple Cider vinegar, spray this on accessories and rinse with tap water

Also diet and exercise plays an important role in fitness
The cage should be of appropriate size so that bird get good flight
Need to give variety in diet like good seedmix, fruits, vegetables, salad, sprouts etc
Remember left over soft food should be removed after 2 hours to avoid bacteria and fungus

Change drinking water 2 times in a day

Use a good quality probiotics, It will also have multivitamin in it
Also use Calcium and mineral blocks

Exposure to natural early morning sunlight plays good role in immunity

If you do this much as per me 50-70% of the sickness issues will get sorted

SOS for sick bird
Provide heart source - put 40watt bulb above 2 feet height of cage (top)
Give electrolyte powder in drinking water
Then try to look for vet or solution to the problem
This will not help you bird get weak and dehydrated
If bird is not eating at all give electrolyte powder water 2 drops direct to beak after every 2 hours untill bird condition is stable (approx 24-48hrs)

Pic source Google

Abnormal/Damaged/Dirty tail feathers Such type of tail feathers are due to below main reasons as per me1. Cage mesh qual...
26/07/2024

Abnormal/Damaged/Dirty tail feathers

Such type of tail feathers are due to below main reasons as per me

1. Cage mesh quality:
The iron cage mesh are sharp hence if your cage is small bird will prefer to crawl on cage slowly and gradually resulting in broken/damage feathers.
Solution: Use China/Imported/good quality cages.

2. Companion bird chewing off tail feathers.
Too many birds in a small cage can result to this as the birds sitting on cage floor will chew off tail of birds sitting on perch.
Solution: Give bigger cage if bird are too many.
Give forging toys/enrichment.
Use anti plucking spray to demotivate.

3. Big size Water and soft food bowl.
People use bigger size water and food bowl and birds will sit in the food bowl and eat soft food. Also when bird comes to drink water the tail will get dip in it.
Solution: Don't use much bigger trays and don't keep too many birds in a cage so that you don't have to use bigger bowls.

4. Keeping food and water bowls on cage floor.
When bird will come to eat it will land on floor hence slowly gradually the tail will get dirty and damaged.
Solution: place food/water bowls somewhere above the ground level.

5. Rusted cages.
Specially during monsoon if your accessories quality isn't good and there are chances of rain entering your avairy the rusted and dirty cages will lead to dirty/damaged feathers. Also chances of infection increase.
Solution: Use good quality cages and plan avairy for all seasons (summer, winter, monsoon)

Note : please do not pull off Dirty/Damaged feathers, wait until moulting.
Eliminate the reason not the dirty/damaged feathers.

Remember you can hardly maintain quality of you focus on quantity. My personal thinking.

By Hitesh Sharma 22g

Pic source: Google

An appreciation from your GURU is no lesser than an achievement 🎉🎊
30/03/2024

An appreciation from your GURU is no lesser than an achievement 🎉🎊

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