Ask Lafeber

pairing cockateils

Hi i have recently acquired a rescue cockateil. It is all white with dark eyes. I have no idea if it is a male or female or how old it is and we have not had any luck finding its owner. It is quite happy for me to talk to it and does not freak out when i am doing things with the cage but does not like hands it hisses and looks like it is going to bite but only nibbles. It seems to be wanting to relate to the local birds and i am wondering if i should get it another cocktail for company but i am not sure what to get. I feel it is a male but not sure why i say this. I was also wondering if a young bird would be accepted more. Would appreciate any advice

Hi Sue,

If you want to try to handle the bird, then I would not get another bird. And even if you get another bird, there is no guarantee that they will get along. And then you might have to deal with breeding behavior and egg laying if one of the birds is a female. Since you do not know the age, it’s also hard to know what age another bird should be. If you put a young bird with a mature bird, it can cause issues because the older bird may be ready to breed and the young bird isn’t. Whatever you decide, if you get another bird, they need to be in separate cages to begin with and introduced very gradually.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda