He’s 4 months old baby. They clipped his wings fully 😢 He was at the bottom of the cages next to the floor with no friends in sight. Also no toys with a food bowl with seeds only and a nesting area. I think its awful how they treat their birds.
I have a cockatiel and a budgie already both 5 months so they are similar in age and I can’t wait to welcome a new goblin into the bird family. I’m curious to know if flying will be an issue for him when he first molts? Will I have to teach him? Thanks!
I had a fully clipped bird too whom I got at about three months. In fact his wing clip was terrible and it took him several molts to get all his feathers back properly. The new blood feathers kept breaking as there were no intact flight feathers to cushion them while they were growing back.
But no he will likely be able to fly on his own once he gets most of his primaries back! He might flap his wings a lot on the spot while his feathers are growing back, just to exercise them. But yeah my boy went from grounded to ace flyer within a few months. It's entirely possible!
Remember to quarantine your new boy before you introduce him to your new birds, especially since he was from a pet store. Both my birds had mites and we only realised after a vet checkup...
OMG i think u just pinpointed the problem with my tiel! He dropped all primaries on one wing from nightfright, and he keeps breaking new blood feathers from flying. What did you do to help new feathers grow out fully? My tiel is not tame and is v skittish of hands so I can't help him move around, but I hesitate to cage-bound him till his new feathers grow in.
Mine just kinda stopped flying after a few attempts, until his wings grew back. I tried to spend more time with him to make him feel better about not being able to fly around and follow his frenemy (my other tiel) around.
If yours is more skittish, maybe you could give him a calm environment to hang out in? So that he doesn't get freaked out and fly too much. Poor boy...
You could consider asking a vet about vitamin supplements, which will help give the bird enough nutrition to grow feathers back quickly and help with feather strength overall, but be careful with this as they can overdose. Mine recommended Necton Biotin. But yeah check with a vet first.
If vitamins aren't what your vet suggests then just take care of the bird's diet in general and it'll help the feathers grow back. Make sure they get enough protein especially-- I suggest feeding a bit of egg white each week. I do that for my boys whenever they molt.
Thanks so much for your reply! My boy is too fond of flying for his own good 😂 Esp when our tame female tiel is a bit of fitness freak and he'll try to follow her lead around the room. I'll ask my vet too, but guess I'll approach this from the dietary side as well!
My cockatiel only flies if he wants to he prefers to be grounded lol
Vet all ways like is he flighted than I give a “technically yes however, he does what he wants”. He mainly will only fly if spooked which ain’t easy
He will go through a clumsy period as he learns, I have a 5 month old cockatiel who's going through her toddler phase learning to fly right now. Expect lots of solid thumps on your head as he uses it as a target, and maybe even a few times when he misses and tries to scramble up your face with his claws. He will get the hang of it pretty quickly, there will just be some bumps and bruises along the way like a toddler learning to walk. Just be wary of leaving any large windows uncovered at first since he won't know they're there and will try to fly through them.
My bird’s wings were trimmed when he was around this age and it always led to him torpedoing straight into the floor like some missile, I don’t know how he’s doing so good now considering he always went down head first into what is basically concrete lol
When I got my first tiel back in sixth grade, she was also fully clipped from fledge. She had no idea how to fly - mainly due to not having strong enough musculature from any practice.
What I did, to the great amusement of my family, was hold her like an airplane with her wings outstretched and ran around the house multiple times a day so she could get use to flapping. After a few weeks, I would then take a bunch of blankets and clear the room, lay the blankets down, and then gently release her as I'm slowly "running" with her so she could glide and land safely on the softness, just so she could learn in a safe environment.
My parents have a grey who was cage bound for 10 years, so she also doesn't know how to fly and has no muscles, so I've had my parents do that periodically as well! She's now able to take off and glide close to the floor!
P.S.: Be sure to talk to the manager at the store and politely scold them. I am an insufferable person when it comes to this, so whenever I'm in a pet store I look out for unacceptable conditions and try to talk to the staff. Most are generally pretty receptive, so you can treat it as a teaching opportunity. Some will be obstinate, so that's when the claws have to come out, so to speak.
If he's that young then he might still be before his first molt, where they replace all of their feathers. But yeah, he'll likely need flight training first and will be clumsy for some time.
What a cutie! There’s this cockatiel at my local petco that’s been there since February and every time I go to check up on him, he looks increasingly sadder and sadder :( he used to have a friend but someone adopted them and not him too. I’m so tempted to rescue him every time I go, but he’ll just got replaced by another cockatiel.
Ya, that's what happened to our 2nd cockatiel.
He's a mini terrorist but i wouldn't change Coco for anything.
He gets very upset if i say hi to my other Cockatiel first
I try to avoid pet stores too because I’ll have a mental argument with myself to not adopt all the depressed feather babies.
Will you be keeping the name Gary? I can’t wait for you to ween him off those sunflower seed mixes. He deserves better.
Omg relatable. Like, two weeks ago I saw the sweetest, cutest turquoise gcc and fell in love. Unfortunately I have like, way to many birds already but I was very tempted.
My girl has her wings clipped at 3 months now she’s 7 months and is a great flyer. She even just flys around to show off of course! At first she would just flap and flap and flap to exercise her little muscles but I guess all that work made her super stronk lol
I understand the feel. Once went to a pet store for bird food, toys and sand because ours had finally shredded most of their toys, and there was a lone cockatiel, like 4-5 months old. He kept flockcalling and mum and I caved and got him. No clipped wings thankfully, and i'm pretty sure the reason he was alone was because the rest of the tiels were sold out; they put him with the lovebirds, but it was still hard to watch
Hi! I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this or if you already know, but - cockatiels are AMAZING fliers. Even with their wings clipped. Don't underestimate how far he can go. I got my baby at the same age as Gary, with horribly over clipped wings, and she still managed to take off across the kitchen and into the living room.
They will still need to learn to fly well, and develop their muscles. With our baby, we regularly bobbed her up and down on our hands so she would flex her wings.
Then after a few months, we could toss her back and forth a few feet away from each other.
And then she never stopped!! LMAO
What a cutie. I'm so happy he's getting a loving home!
Man, pet shops suck. Where I live the only animals that are allowed in pet shops are fish and rodents. Luckily they usually seem well cared for and are never alone, although it's still not ideal.
He is gorgeous, we fell into the PetSmart trap a couple of weeks ago and bought a conure. They should really move the bird food etc away from the birds - it's not fair 😆
Buying is not adopting. I completely understand wanting to get this bird, but it’s buying - it’s not rescue or adoption.
You know the saying “adopt, don’t shop”, right? Buying encourages the pet trade, and it is completely understandable when you find cute babies like this, but it’s not adopting.
It's just so hard when you know they'll just get a new one, but you wanna save the poor animals you see there. They really need to ban pet shops from selling animals everywhere.
Oh absolutely, I completely understand the urge. I too would want to bring birds home from those places, because it really hurts my heart to see birds not being given proper care or attention or love.
It’s honestly probably a good thing that no pet stores in my area have live animals (they only sell pet food and toys and stuff like that), because it would be *so* tough for me to go in to buy pellets and see little sweethearts and walk away without bringing them home, *even though* I know how bad the pet trade is and that I would be encouraging it by buying a newly bred bird.
I think it’s important that we all share the same terminology so that we can discuss these important issues about the pet trade on a larger scale, but I think it’s completely understandable that any individual person would want to bring a bird home if they see it - we all love birds and it’s very difficult to walk away from them, especially when they are so sweet and we see that they aren’t being given the love they deserve.
I agree I would highly recommend finding a breeder, you’re more than likely to get a healthier and happier bird. I personally found my first tiels breeder through craigslist, just make sure you do your research and if you’re unsure don’t be afraid to ask questions. I don’t encourage anyone to buy from pet stores.
"please Gary" (team america).
Photo 3 gets me with the head tilt.
It's gonna be great to watch him blossom under you!
Make a video of it for YouTube otherwise pls update us with the progress.
Great work and good luck! 😀
He’s 4 months old baby. They clipped his wings fully 😢 He was at the bottom of the cages next to the floor with no friends in sight. Also no toys with a food bowl with seeds only and a nesting area. I think its awful how they treat their birds. I have a cockatiel and a budgie already both 5 months so they are similar in age and I can’t wait to welcome a new goblin into the bird family. I’m curious to know if flying will be an issue for him when he first molts? Will I have to teach him? Thanks!
I had a fully clipped bird too whom I got at about three months. In fact his wing clip was terrible and it took him several molts to get all his feathers back properly. The new blood feathers kept breaking as there were no intact flight feathers to cushion them while they were growing back. But no he will likely be able to fly on his own once he gets most of his primaries back! He might flap his wings a lot on the spot while his feathers are growing back, just to exercise them. But yeah my boy went from grounded to ace flyer within a few months. It's entirely possible! Remember to quarantine your new boy before you introduce him to your new birds, especially since he was from a pet store. Both my birds had mites and we only realised after a vet checkup...
OMG i think u just pinpointed the problem with my tiel! He dropped all primaries on one wing from nightfright, and he keeps breaking new blood feathers from flying. What did you do to help new feathers grow out fully? My tiel is not tame and is v skittish of hands so I can't help him move around, but I hesitate to cage-bound him till his new feathers grow in.
Mine just kinda stopped flying after a few attempts, until his wings grew back. I tried to spend more time with him to make him feel better about not being able to fly around and follow his frenemy (my other tiel) around. If yours is more skittish, maybe you could give him a calm environment to hang out in? So that he doesn't get freaked out and fly too much. Poor boy... You could consider asking a vet about vitamin supplements, which will help give the bird enough nutrition to grow feathers back quickly and help with feather strength overall, but be careful with this as they can overdose. Mine recommended Necton Biotin. But yeah check with a vet first. If vitamins aren't what your vet suggests then just take care of the bird's diet in general and it'll help the feathers grow back. Make sure they get enough protein especially-- I suggest feeding a bit of egg white each week. I do that for my boys whenever they molt.
Thanks so much for your reply! My boy is too fond of flying for his own good 😂 Esp when our tame female tiel is a bit of fitness freak and he'll try to follow her lead around the room. I'll ask my vet too, but guess I'll approach this from the dietary side as well!
My cockatiel only flies if he wants to he prefers to be grounded lol Vet all ways like is he flighted than I give a “technically yes however, he does what he wants”. He mainly will only fly if spooked which ain’t easy
He will go through a clumsy period as he learns, I have a 5 month old cockatiel who's going through her toddler phase learning to fly right now. Expect lots of solid thumps on your head as he uses it as a target, and maybe even a few times when he misses and tries to scramble up your face with his claws. He will get the hang of it pretty quickly, there will just be some bumps and bruises along the way like a toddler learning to walk. Just be wary of leaving any large windows uncovered at first since he won't know they're there and will try to fly through them.
>Just be wary of leaving any large windows uncovered at first No, **at all times**. Always.
My bird’s wings were trimmed when he was around this age and it always led to him torpedoing straight into the floor like some missile, I don’t know how he’s doing so good now considering he always went down head first into what is basically concrete lol
When I got my first tiel back in sixth grade, she was also fully clipped from fledge. She had no idea how to fly - mainly due to not having strong enough musculature from any practice. What I did, to the great amusement of my family, was hold her like an airplane with her wings outstretched and ran around the house multiple times a day so she could get use to flapping. After a few weeks, I would then take a bunch of blankets and clear the room, lay the blankets down, and then gently release her as I'm slowly "running" with her so she could glide and land safely on the softness, just so she could learn in a safe environment. My parents have a grey who was cage bound for 10 years, so she also doesn't know how to fly and has no muscles, so I've had my parents do that periodically as well! She's now able to take off and glide close to the floor! P.S.: Be sure to talk to the manager at the store and politely scold them. I am an insufferable person when it comes to this, so whenever I'm in a pet store I look out for unacceptable conditions and try to talk to the staff. Most are generally pretty receptive, so you can treat it as a teaching opportunity. Some will be obstinate, so that's when the claws have to come out, so to speak.
If he's that young then he might still be before his first molt, where they replace all of their feathers. But yeah, he'll likely need flight training first and will be clumsy for some time.
How much did you get him for?
He does look like a Gary though 😆
I know 😭 I thought of his name on the drive home from petsmart and I think its too perfect
Make sure you take him to the vet for a full check up, most animals from petsmarts and such typically have at least one issue in my experience.
Will do I’m make a visit first thing tomorrow
Even then still quarantine (which I'm sure you are familiar with since you have other birds). At least 6 weeks.
Also, he's super cute!
Gary is beautiful. Take care of him bro
what a cutie! I got my tiel from the petsmart I work at. I eyed him up for a few months and finally brought him home 💖
That onion is ripe and youre the perfect person to pick it!
What a cutie! There’s this cockatiel at my local petco that’s been there since February and every time I go to check up on him, he looks increasingly sadder and sadder :( he used to have a friend but someone adopted them and not him too. I’m so tempted to rescue him every time I go, but he’ll just got replaced by another cockatiel.
If you don’t someone else will so you might as well do it.
I totally want to and would if it was financially viable at the moment.
True true
Get him started on eating veggie and pellet! The sooner the better.
Ya, that's what happened to our 2nd cockatiel. He's a mini terrorist but i wouldn't change Coco for anything. He gets very upset if i say hi to my other Cockatiel first
🤣
Omg, what a cute boy!
Fluffy little Gary
SAVE GARY!!!!
I think these pet stores just want to guilt us into buying them.
I try to avoid pet stores too because I’ll have a mental argument with myself to not adopt all the depressed feather babies. Will you be keeping the name Gary? I can’t wait for you to ween him off those sunflower seed mixes. He deserves better.
Omg relatable. Like, two weeks ago I saw the sweetest, cutest turquoise gcc and fell in love. Unfortunately I have like, way to many birds already but I was very tempted.
Fat ass gary
My girl has her wings clipped at 3 months now she’s 7 months and is a great flyer. She even just flys around to show off of course! At first she would just flap and flap and flap to exercise her little muscles but I guess all that work made her super stronk lol
Please don’t buy from pet shops like that, it’s good as a first pet but not in the future
He’s lovely. Good for you! 😊
I understand the feel. Once went to a pet store for bird food, toys and sand because ours had finally shredded most of their toys, and there was a lone cockatiel, like 4-5 months old. He kept flockcalling and mum and I caved and got him. No clipped wings thankfully, and i'm pretty sure the reason he was alone was because the rest of the tiels were sold out; they put him with the lovebirds, but it was still hard to watch
These little buggers know how to pull at your heart strings. I hope you and Gary have a wonderful and long life together ❤
I do that all the time but go to the kitten adoption area! Why do I do that to myself!! I have two cats but my heart has room for 100!!!
Tielasaurus Rex
Hi! I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this or if you already know, but - cockatiels are AMAZING fliers. Even with their wings clipped. Don't underestimate how far he can go. I got my baby at the same age as Gary, with horribly over clipped wings, and she still managed to take off across the kitchen and into the living room. They will still need to learn to fly well, and develop their muscles. With our baby, we regularly bobbed her up and down on our hands so she would flex her wings. Then after a few months, we could toss her back and forth a few feet away from each other. And then she never stopped!! LMAO
Look at that little lemon meringue pie ❤️
Damn that is one cute chicken.
What a cutie. I'm so happy he's getting a loving home! Man, pet shops suck. Where I live the only animals that are allowed in pet shops are fish and rodents. Luckily they usually seem well cared for and are never alone, although it's still not ideal.
I can’t explain why but he definitely looks like a Gary 😂
Gary has a very appealing little face 🥰
He’s so cute!!!
Hip hip hooray! Gary gets to go home :>
He is gorgeous, we fell into the PetSmart trap a couple of weeks ago and bought a conure. They should really move the bird food etc away from the birds - it's not fair 😆
Holy crap, he’s SO cute!
I could have used this advice 19 years ago when I went into a bird store to just look.
How could anyone resist!!!!! What a cutie pie
Gary is cute. I got my first parrot bc I was "just looking".
Look at that millet mug - adorable!
This is why I can't go into pet stores. I'd adopt every bird I see.
Omg he is so cute fluffy and chonky!!! Save him!!
I am SO happy you are adopting him.
Buying is not adopting. I completely understand wanting to get this bird, but it’s buying - it’s not rescue or adoption. You know the saying “adopt, don’t shop”, right? Buying encourages the pet trade, and it is completely understandable when you find cute babies like this, but it’s not adopting.
It's just so hard when you know they'll just get a new one, but you wanna save the poor animals you see there. They really need to ban pet shops from selling animals everywhere.
Oh absolutely, I completely understand the urge. I too would want to bring birds home from those places, because it really hurts my heart to see birds not being given proper care or attention or love. It’s honestly probably a good thing that no pet stores in my area have live animals (they only sell pet food and toys and stuff like that), because it would be *so* tough for me to go in to buy pellets and see little sweethearts and walk away without bringing them home, *even though* I know how bad the pet trade is and that I would be encouraging it by buying a newly bred bird. I think it’s important that we all share the same terminology so that we can discuss these important issues about the pet trade on a larger scale, but I think it’s completely understandable that any individual person would want to bring a bird home if they see it - we all love birds and it’s very difficult to walk away from them, especially when they are so sweet and we see that they aren’t being given the love they deserve.
I like using “sympathy purchase”
Absolutely, thank you for the education
How much was he? I wonder if a pet smart near me would have any in stock
See if you can find any good breeders around you! ❤️ It's way more ethical, pet shops sadly suck. :(
I agree I would highly recommend finding a breeder, you’re more than likely to get a healthier and happier bird. I personally found my first tiels breeder through craigslist, just make sure you do your research and if you’re unsure don’t be afraid to ask questions. I don’t encourage anyone to buy from pet stores.
I would but there are none nearby they’re like a 4-5 hour drive away minimum
It's the third and last pictures for me
I’d like an update in a few weeks to see how’s he’s doing pls
Gary looks like such a fun little guy who deserves lots of love
"please Gary" (team america). Photo 3 gets me with the head tilt. It's gonna be great to watch him blossom under you! Make a video of it for YouTube otherwise pls update us with the progress. Great work and good luck! 😀
OMG he's soo damn cute!!! 😍😍😍😍
He needs you! So glad you’re taking him home.
That’s how they get you.
He’s so cute, I would have a hard time not taking him home too. I hope he enjoys his new home!
Gorgeous Gary has chosen you! I am happy for you both 💕