cockatiel confusion,. HELP!?

There is no need to worry ,your bird will be fine,the cage is big enough and she will definitely not die because of lack of exercise.

As long as she has food and water and your neighbour knows what they are doing there should be no problem.

But I would ask the neighbour not to let it out of the cage in case they have difficulty in catching it,they may frighten it by doing this.

As your bird is Hand reared it will soon settle down with you when you return.

Have a nice holiday.

I would recommend getting a how to talk course for your parrot for while you are gone. That way it has something to do when you're not there - here's how it works (the good courses anyway) they are audio cd's of actual birds talking and not humans (birds learn faster from other birds than from humans) and they play with lots of time between the words so the bird doesn't feel nagged by hearing the same thing over and over again. You can leave it going and your bird will start to pick up what the recordings are saying and try to mimic it. It's something to keep your bird from getting bored while you're away and no one is running around in the house with him :)

Here are some links;

http://wwwwz.websearch.verizon.net/search?qo=how%2...

http://www.parrotspeech.com/

Your bird may or may not lose tameness. If he is bothered by the other people and stuff then he could associate that with your hand but I've never had a problem from being away a week :)

Your bird can't die of lack of exercise in the time it takes to go on vacation. Try this instead:

Find a room in your house where there are no wires, heated objects, or other dangerous or fragile things. (Bedrooms are usually okay) Bring your bird in there for a few days to get him accustomed. Leave the cage door open while you're away. Yes of course the bird will poop on everything. Leave a drop cloth on the floor. Cover what you can't clean and just wash the rest when you get back. Your bird will get all the exercise he needs and will satisfy his curiosity, too. You'll still need your neighbor to fee the bird.

Downside: when you get back, you'll undoubtedly want the bird back in its cage. Birds don't like having less freedom. He will still be tame, but grumpy for awhile.

Your bird will not die from lack of exercise for one week.

But leaving a social bird like a cockatiel all alone for a week does trouble me. She may get less tame, though you could probably win her her back again when you return.

Is the neighbor willing to spend some time with her, even if she doesn't take her out of the cage? Just keep her company?

You might also want to leave a radio on playing softly, to keep the bird company; that might help.

Mine stays in his cage for the week when I am on vacation. As long as your bird is getting fresh water & food that is the important thing. I do find that he is a bit obnoxious for several days when I get home. He wants constant attention & to see people even when he is in his cage. He's always yelling if we walk away & wants to run up & down my arm over & over again like he can't make up his mind. He calms down after that & goes back to his routine.

She will be fine, but allow for a lot of 'make-up' time when you return. Can you set a clock radio or telephone answering machine near her. Bear in mind if you keep ringing the house to set the machine off, she just may learn to call out like a phone ring, very confusing!! Leave her plenty of toys and a mirror. Put some unshelled peanuts inside a papertowel roll, so she has to dig around to get the treats out. Check out a good pet shop for activity toys.

An alternative is to look in the phonebooks for a "Pet Sitter". You can take your pet to their house for a week, and just pay them to take good care of it.

Another option is to purchase a small cage and take the bird with you on the trip. However, if you chose to do this, do a lot of research as there can be some complications and challenges.

Your bird will be fine, a week without leaving the cage will not affect your bird at all.

In my experience they don't loose their tameness. I had a rescue that wasn't handled for a year and she was still fine, a little jumpy the first time I put my hand in but perfectly fine after that.

Your bird will be fine as long as you have a toy in his\her cage.

About the hand tame thing, it is more than likly your bird will be fine maby just a little frisky the first time you put your hand in the cage but just in case put your hand in slowly.

I am sure of what i said as i have alot of experience with birds and hand rearing.

she should defiantly be let out of her cage

she could become distressed and they do need the flight space in there cage they should be able to flap there wings without hitting anything