Cockatiels are right next to budgies, in terms of popularity. Cockatiels require daily care and attention more then a budgie and can be louder and messier due to the dander they make. With proper care, they can live for more than twenty years. Cockatiels are not very expensive to purchase ( 100-200 $ ), however they need sizable cages, and plenty of toys and other enrichment items.Cockatiels generally don't like to be man handled, but they do love to hang out on their owners shoulder and have a good head rub.
The cage should be a minimum of 24″ x 24″ x 24″ for a single cockatiel, and bar spacing should be NO MORE than 5/8″, a larger cage is always recommended. Stainless steel cages are the best choice. Because zinc and lead are poisonous to birds, the cage should also be guaranteed to not contain these materials. You must purchase a cuttlebone for calcium; this is particularly important for female Cockatiels, who are prone to get egg binding problems (females will lay eggs without a male; they'll just be unfertilized). You should also feed your Cockatiel healthy vegetables and sometimes fruit. When you choose fruits and vegetables to feed, organic ones are recommended. While males are best at speaking and whistling, females can learn how to whistle and can learn a few words. Cockatiels are prone to be afraid of the dark and have "night frights" where they essentially freak out in their cages. If your cockatiel is afraid you can put a nightlight in the room your Cockatiel sleeps in, and don't completely cover the cage at night.
When sexing young cockatiels remember young males and females look the same so it is difficult to decipher their sex until they have been through their first molt at around six to nine months of age. Only then will the adult coloring show. You will notice that the coloring is more defined with the male having a bright yellow face, whereas the female has a gray face with traces of pale yellow. The male's body is a dark gray but the female's appears duller. Also, until their first molt both sexes have barring patterns on the underside of their tail feathers. After the molt the male's tail feathers will be a solid gray color with no barring, but the female's will remain patterned.
The above is applied for normal gray cockatiels but other color varieties such as albinos, cinnamons, lutinos, pearls and pieds are more difficult to sex. But there other ways of telling. Males have a great vocal ability and whistle a lot, males whistle and call, whereas females tend to screech, females are often more likely to hiss and bite, males tend to strut around - they lift their wings slightly, stick their chest out and parade and strut, normally calling at the same time and normally a male will be fascinated with a mirror.
The above is applied for normal gray cockatiels but other color varieties such as albinos, cinnamons, lutinos, pearls and pieds are more difficult to sex. But there other ways of telling. Males have a great vocal ability and whistle a lot, males whistle and call, whereas females tend to screech, females are often more likely to hiss and bite, males tend to strut around - they lift their wings slightly, stick their chest out and parade and strut, normally calling at the same time and normally a male will be fascinated with a mirror.