I've been lurking for a few weeks now, so I'm finally getting around to saying Hi! I"m a working mom with a husband and a son and a zillion pets. I have an elderly giant cat, a middle aged miniature poodle (both rescues), we have a red eared slider turtle and some koi in a pond in the back yard and I have 3 budgies named Cloud, Ninja and an english budgie named Waffles. I also recently added a 4 month old 'tiel to the family and my son named him Coyote. He is, from what I've recently learned, a "dirty face" pied and is super cute. He's picked me as his person and likes scritches and to hang out on my shoulder. He's been with us for about 3 weeks now and I've started clicker/target training him and he's picking it up faster than I can cope with! I read the info here on clicker training and am going to try to teach him how to fetch since he picked up the target stick idea in literally 1 day.

So far, my only issues are 1) I am mildly allergic to his powder down and so I'm working on ways to combat that and 2) I have a small home and his cage is in our living area. I realized that he was not getting enough sleep and I've read so much about issues that come up when they have long days, so I just started putting him in a small cage that I take to a back room so he can sleep somewhere more quiet and then put him back in his main cage immediately every morning. He seems to be taking it well.

I also have to keep an eye on my cat. I really can't have them out at the same time because even though he's a very old guy and has literally never caught a living thing in his entire life, he immediately went into pounce mode the other day when Coyote flew to the floor. He didn't get anywhere near him because we were all keeping a close eye but it was a lesson to be learned, that even at that age he can and will go for Coyote, no ifs ands or buts. So I have to keep Coyote in the cage longer than I'd like and I have to keep my old cat locked in a back room for longer than I'd like. It is, however, a situation that will resolve itself within the next year or so I think. My poor old man is running out of steam.

Anyways, that's enough about me! I'm probably going to go back to mainly lurking and enjoying reading everything here.

Hello and ...
great forum here to get help and advise about your bird, also other animals...
Very good idea putting your tiel in another cage at night time...
I cover all my cages... but I do live in a cool part of the world...
Enjoy the forum.... would luv to see some photo's of your tribe of animals, especially your tiel...

Hey Cloudy!

I recognize you from TC.

Hello, and welcome.

Welcome to the group! One thing that she didn't mention is that she bought Coyote from me. He's the chick formerly known as Horatius and is the son of Pip and Ladybug.

Running an air purifier will help with the powder down. True HEPA is the best type. Dealing with the filters is a nuisance, but this type is very effective at removing particles from the air. Avoid ionizers and other ozone-producing types, they're not good for either birds or humans.

Yes, Coyote is TCFKAH (the cockatiel formerly known as Horatius)! Thanks for the info on the HEPA filter. I have already asked for one for Christmas (I know, thrilling Christmas present but hey, I need one!) Right now I am misting him frequently with warm water which he enjoys-ish and wiping down his cage and perches and stuff after I put him to bed. That seems to help a bit.

I had no idea that ionizers and stuff were bad, I'm glad I brought it up!

There are a lot of air purifiers that produce ozone. It does help remove particles from the air... but it's OZONE!! Not a good thing for anyone to breathe.

Ha! Well when you put it like that, it makes perfect sense! I have been checking air purifiers out a bit online and I've already figured out that I have to beware of "HEPA-like" purifiers, which are nothing like actual HEPA filters. Actual HEPA purifiers are not cheap, hence it going on my Christmas list.

It's a strange reaction. I don't get all sneezy and teary eyed, instead I find that after hanging out with Coyote for a while, I start building a killer headache, my sinuses feel funky and my throat starts getting scratchy/hurty. I'm not allergic to anything, so I never even considered that I might be allergic to him until after a week or so when I put two and two together. It's a bummer, but he's worth it. He is so smart and sweet and good natured. The whole family loves him to bits.

He was a real sweetheart when he was with me too. A very affectionate little guy.

It's always possible that the symptoms might actually be due seasonal weather changes or something else new that you're being exposed to. Hopefully the problem will go away on its own, but if not there's always Christmas!