If you know anything about cockatiels then you’ll know that these birds are highly communicative to both you and to other birds in the environment, one way that these birds communicate is by crying
This article explores why your bird is crying.
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Cockatiel crying:
Because cockatiels can’t talk to us humans they communicate to us, or attempt to communicate to us rather, in a variety of other ways, one of these ways is to cry.
Here is why your cockatiel may be crying:
Begging for food:
If you’re dealing with a baby cockatiel that is crying, making a noise similar to TV static, then the bird is either hungry or wants to be comforted by you.
This crying is simply how these little birds beg for things from you.
The birds who do this are usually the ones who are hand fed and thus depend on you for food and look to you to feed them rather than being able to get food for themselves out of a food dish.
The bird will also bob their head while making this static noise when they want to be fed.
What to do:
This is a very common thing that these baby birds do so you don’t have to worry that something is wrong with the bird.
You simply have to check that the bird has access to enough food when she cries, also, give the bird the comfort that it wants when it makes this noise
You would also need to make sure that the bird actually eats what you are feeding it.
If the bird doesn’t like the food being fed then it won’t eat.
If the bird isn’t feeding then consider giving it a different formula to the one it is currently having, play around with different formulas to see which one she responds well to.
You can also try eating the food in front of it, exaggerating how good the food is, and then offering the food to the bird to get it to eat.
Continue to show it that this food is delicious until the bird eats the food on its own.
If you can’t tell if the bird is eating then you may want to weigh the bird to make sure it isn’t losing weight.
Weigh the bird at the same time daily, in the morning before she eats, to see if she really is progressing.
A mild infection can also make the bird feel as though it is hungry all the time, so, you may want to take the bird to the vet to be checked.
Mating behavior:
Mating behavior is another reason why your bird may be making these crying noises.
A bird that is expressing mating behavior will not only make this crying sound but she will also crouch and raise her tail feathers as a way to communicate that she wants to mate
What to do:
If the bird is showing mating behavior then you have the option of giving the bird a friend of the opposite gender to mate with or to wait it out until the bird mating season ends and the birds hormones are back to normal
You’d also need to make sure that you don’t feed the bird from your mouth or stroke the bird back as the bird will become sexually stimulated by this.
Wanting attention:
The baby may be used to getting picked up and being given affection when it cries and the bird may simply be doing this to get more attention from you. If you’re dealing with an older bird then this may be what is happening.
The older birds will beg for reassurance if they are feeling overwhelmed by something and they want comfort from you, they don’t necessarily do this to get food.
What to do:
If your bird is crying because it wants reassurance and affection then you should give it to them.
These birds are social and intelligent animals who will want attention from you and stimulation on a daily basis.
If you start to regularly give the birds enough affection then the crying should stop as the bird will feel satisfied with you.
If you feel as though the bird is crying for too much attention then you can try not picking the bird up and not giving it attention when it cries, this will help it realize that there will be no reward for crying
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: What Do Cockatiels Like To Do For Fun?, What Are Cockatiels Allergic To?, Cockatiel Mating With Hand, Are Cockatiel Bites Dangerous?, How To Clean A Baby Cockatiel, How To Clean Baby Cockatiel Feathers, Baby Cockatiel Crying
