Why cockatiel is the best pet bird for the beginner.Written by Tanin Eh Boon
Cockatiel bird have been kept and breed successfully in many countries all around world. Cockatiel bird can be considered as most widely kept parrot other than parakeet or budgie (budgerigar). Lots of research or expert of cockatiel emerge and many keeper have lots and lots of knowledge of cockatiel bird and their care.I prepared this topic especially for newcomer birds enthusiast who still unable to make decision about what species of parrot that they would like to buy. Well, there are lots and lots of parrot out there in market. Some is very good for petting but some may not. However, for many people who haven’t own any pet parrot or any pet birds, many will feel that parrot will be same, with good personality, very friendly, good talker, a cuddle creature and a good friend when we are lonely. However, in fact it is not. Some parrot may be very nippy (bite) and rude, some parrot will tend to attached to only one person (and rude to other people), some parrot may not talk at all, while some other species may not give permission to anyone to cuddle them. Okay, now we may go some of reason why in my opinion, cockatiel is one of best pet bird for beginner. Having said this, I didn’t mean that beginner should only keep cockatiel or cockatiel is only choices – pet bird enthusiast actually have other option, lots of them but that is only if they are willing to learn more about species that they choose or interested in. Price Price can become major obstacle for pet bird or pet parrot enthusiast to own their dream bird. Since price of a parrot can range from few buck up until ten of thousand dollar, price is sometime a critical in deciding which parrot that new comer should choose. In Malaysia and I believed it happen to many other countries all around world, price of a cockatiel is not expensive. Price may be different based on colour mutation of cockatiel and whether cockatiel is handfed or parent fed. Normally parent fed cockatiel is cheaper than handfed coaktiel. This is because for handfed cockatiel, breeder have to spent more time, effort and cost to feed baby, while for parent fed cockatiel, breeder didn’t have to put extra effort to bird and definitely they will have lower cost. If we compared price of a pet cockatiel ( a good, healthy handfed baby cockatiel which can make good pet) with other species with similar quality (healthy and handfed baby birds) of bigger parrot , price is totally different. For beginner, I think price of a pet cockatiel is reasonable (even it is not cheapest). Noise level Personally I think all parrot will make some noise. Some of them will have rough squak while some other may have melodies whistling. However, for normal rule bigger parrot it is more likely that they able (able but not necessary they will do) to make higher level of noice. I highlight this topic up because I understand that not everyone have priviledge to own a very big house (and area) which will able to prevent noice from their parrot to disturb their neigbhour. In many occasion, new comer in pet bird or pet parrot keeping fall in love with their dreamed parrot in first sight or from their reading. They may heard or read about parrot ability from books or from internet or they may have some friend who have this species of parrot and parrot able to ‘speak’ (mimic) or perform some trick. However, many fail to realise that different people will have different level of tolerance towards noice level. For some people, they are okay with noise that their parrot have (in morning, afternoon and evening and sometimes all day until middle of night). We also should consider this with people live around us a.k.a our neigbhour. Cockatiel will create some noise or whistling sound every now and them especially in morning and late afternoon. However, if only one individual cockatiel noise level that they able to create is not much and still at minimal level compared to other parrot. Cockatiel didn’t have high pitch sound like lovebirds. They also normally not always ‘sing’ like budgie do. Generally one can keep cockatiel in all type of house – whether it is an apartment, a single house, a link house (terrace house) or a banglow.
| | Quickstart Guide to Making Your Own Pet Food at HomeWritten by Bridget Mwape
As a pet owner, no doubt you want to give your dog or cat best care possible. And caring for your pet means feeding him best diet you can. By making your own pet foods, you'll be saving money, up to 80%. And to top it off, it's easy; making pet food at home is probably a lot less time-consuming than you may have thought. With hundreds of websites offering free pet food recipes online, it's now easier than ever to make your own pet food. To prepare healthy and nutritious food for your pet you should study your pet's natural habitat and food sources, and then prepare foods that most closely resemble their own natural or original diet. Animals, because they are color blind, choose their foods by smell. Most dogs like gamey flavors best, as well as liver, fat, garlic, onions, horsemeat, lamb, beef, cheese and fish. Cats enjoy chicken, liver, fish, turkey, lamb, and yeast, and prefer fresh to aged flavors. Cats are fussy eaters and it is not wise to continually feed them their favorite foods. Soon they will refuse to eat anything else; it is your job to see your cat has a balanced diet. Animals do not need salt added to their diet as natural salt in food is enough for them. Dogs may eat any vegetable they want, but cats should not have any starchy veggies, like peas and corn. Some dogs and cats even enjoy fruits! It's a good idea to always add a grain, such as Kibble, wheat germ, cooked oatmeal or whole wheat bread to meat dinners. For dogs use 75% carbohydrate foods (grains and vegetables) to 25% meat; for cats use half carbohydrate foods to half meat.
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