Cockatiels - Hand Fed Only
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Cockatiels in our store
Cockatiels are the smallest of the cockatoo family, a type of parrot that comes from Australia. All pet cockatiels in our store (and from any other source) are bred in captivity.  They generally live 5-10 years, although some have been known to live as long as 30 years

They make excellent pets, because of their social nature.  They are usually gentle and timid, but...

can form strong bonds with their owner, so much so that they try to "protect" them from others with hissing and nipping.  The way to avoid this type of behavior is with lots of handling by a variety of people.  This is why hand-fed cockatiels make much better pets.  And it's also the reason that mini-critters only sells hand fed and raised.  A hand fed cockatiel will generally like to be handled a lot.

Cockatiels have a crest on their head that you can use to judge their mood.  When it is raised at attention, the bird is excited or frightened, while held at half-height it indicates a normal, happy mood. 

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More hand fed cockatiels
Most cockatiels generally don't learn to talk like parrots (although some do), but will easily learn to imitate whistles and imitate repetitive sounds like the telephone ring.
 
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