When looked after properly, cockatiels are generally very happy.

As long as they have a spacious flight cage, things to destroy and forage through, and a few friendly companions, hardly anything will bring down their mood. 

An unhappy-looking cockatiel is usually just bored or in need of social interaction.

Or they could be sleepy 🦜 💤

No matter what’s happened, this article will teach you 7 simple ways to make a cockatiel happy and active.

But first, what does a happy cockatiel even look like?

Note: An extremely sleepy, inactive, or lethargic cockatiel might need to be taken to the vet. I’m not trying to scare you, but sick cockatiels are usually inactive for most of the day and no amount of cheering up will make them better. Don’t hesitate to take your cockatiel to a vet if you believe something is wrong.

Quick Navigation:

• Behaviours Of A Happy Cockatiel
• 1) Give Them Scritches
• 2) Talking To Your Cockatiel
• 3) Providing New Toys
• 4) Out Of Cage Time
• 5) Giving Their Favourite Treats
• 6) Training Sessions
• 7) Flying And Exercising
• How To Make A Cockatiel Happy (Conclusion)
• Sources

Behaviours Of A Happy Cockatiel

Happy cockatiels will display the following behaviours in their owners’ presence, as a way to tell their flock that they’re happy:

• Singing, either learned tunes or whistling their own made-up songs
• Head bobbing
• Beak grinding and puffing up (a sign of contentedness)

Cockatiels also like to show their “heart wings” when they’re happy…

What Do Cockatiel Heart Wings Mean?

They’re referred to as “heart wings” because cockatiels look like a heart shape from behind when they spread their wings away from their bodies.

They do the heart wings when they want to show off some dramatic display, like the video below:

This one is just too cute 😂

Since it’s a “showing off” behaviour, it’s primarily males who do the heart wings. Females could do it if they wanted to, but they often aren’t as keen on showing off as male cockatiels.

If your cockatiel presents heart wings within your presence, you make them very happy!

Now, let’s get into the 7 ways you can help make a cockatiel happy.

1) Give Them Scritches

It’s no big surprise that scratching a cockatiel will make them happy as all parrots enjoy a good scratch.

Cockatiels enjoy gentle scratches around their head and neck area rather than anywhere else on their body. Touching anywhere else on their body such as their back or wings is considered sexual contact and will cause sexual mating behaviour.

(Basically, it makes them horny, which you don’t want)

Always keep scratches near their head.

I swear they go into some sort of trance while getting scratched.

That must mean they really enjoy it.

But cockatiels don’t appreciate constant scratches all day, they find it annoying and will probably start to bite when they’ve had enough.

Just a few scratch sessions throughout the day are much appreciated 👍

2) Talking To Your Cockatiel

Cockatiels enjoy socialization and interactions with their flock, of which you as their caretaker are an honoured member.

Simply speaking to your cockatiel is good socialization. They love to be spoken to or whistled to.

Whenever I go up to my cockatiel and start whistling to him, he’ll always show the heart wings while whistling and making other cute noises.

Here’s one of Arthurs cutest videos while I was talking to him:

He gets all cute and happy when I’m talking to him.

Whistling tunes that you like will make your cockatiel happy, as well as teach them a new song to sing back to you.

Once they learn a tune, they’ll love it whenever you sing it to them and they sing it back.

My cockatiel and I whistle “Another one bites the dust” back and forth to each other, it makes him super happy.

Since these guys love and crave attention, they’ll always want to be spoken to.

3) Providing New Toys

Cockatiels spend quite a lot of their time playing with different toys.

Toys provide lots of mental and physical stimulation, a well-made parrot toy will help them mimic their natural foraging and shredding behaviours.

However, cockatiels will get bored of the same toy if it doesn’t get replaced for a while.

Just like humans, birds require lots of variety in what they play with.

If you notice your cockatiel losing interest in a toy, it might be time to buy or create another one.

Cockatiels will get curious when a new toy appears in their cage, they love the feeling of exploring something new and they get very excited.

So, how long has it been since you gave your cockatiel a new toy?

If you’re in the process of seeking out some new toys, I highly recommend you view this list of the 7 most amazing toys for cockatiels.

This list is full of enriching, engaging, and exciting toys your parrot will love.

Note: Don’t overwhelm your cockatiel with toys, 4 – 5 different toys inside the cage are plenty. Ensure there is still plenty of room inside the cage to move and climb around without hitting any toys.

4) Out Of Cage Time

No matter how big the cage is, your cockatiel will not want to spend all their time in it.

They prefer to be outside the cage and involved in whatever their humans are doing.

To help make your cockatiel happy, you should consider giving them more time outside the cage to let them play with the flock and fly around.

I have my cockatiel outside the cage all day unless I can’t supervise him.

When I can’t supervise him, he’s back in the cage until I return.

You should include some perches around the room outside the cage to make it easier for them to move around as well as give them some more hangout spots.

Cockatiels will become depressed if left in the cage all day, especially if they have no cage mates.

Although they are fine if left in the cage for a little while (a few hours), they wouldn’t like staying in there for most of the day.

5) Giving Their Favourite Treat

This one may be obvious, cockatiels are heavily influenced by food, especially their favourites.

Common cockatiel favourites include:

• Sunflower seeds
• Millet Spray
• Fruit
• Seed mix

Figuring out your cockatiels’ favourite food is a task, but when your figure it out (through trial and error), you’ll be able to use that food to motivate and influence their mood.

Who said treats are just for training?

How about a treat just for being a good birb?

Giving your cockatiel a treat will make them feel loved, appreciated, and happy.

6) Training Sessions

As well as improving their behaviour and learning new things, training is actually enjoyable and fun for cockatiels.

They are happy working for their favourite treats and interacting with their human.

Training is a good way to bond with your cockatiel while also challenging their intelligence.

It’s good mental stimulation for cockatiels as they try to figure out what they need to do to earn their reward.

At first, it’s a complicated game, but it becomes fun as they start to understand what they need to do.

Forced training, on the other hand, is not fun.

If you’re forcing your cockatiel to learn something, they won’t enjoy it which is why it’s important to always make sure they are wanting to engage in the training session.

Their body language and response to the training will tell you if they want to engage or not.

Some beginner training programs for cockatiels include:

• Step up training
• Recall training (fly to you on command)
• Target training
• Clicker training

7) Flying and Exercising

Having the opportunity and space to fly around is one of the best ways to keep your cockatiel happy AND healthy.

Flight is what birds were built for, they get a lot of mental and physical stimulation from it.

Unfortunately, there are people who think it’s ok to clip their cockatiel’s wings, therefore depriving them of flight.

And yes, wing clipping IS horrible and should not be done to birds!

Not only does flying make cockatiels happy, but knowing that they CAN fly makes them more confident and trusting in the household.

Cockatiels and any other pet birds are always much better off with their flight ability, it’ll simply improve their pet life. They’ll be much happier with their independence as they won’t need to rely on you for transportation.

Beak exercise is also great stimulation.

Parrots get beak exercise from shredding, which is why shredding toys are so important.

In general, any type of exercise will provide mental stimulation to your cockatiel, making them happy.

How To Make A Cockatiel Happy (Conclusion)

The 7 ways you can help make your cockatiels happy are:

• 1) Give them scratches
• 2) Speaking to them
• 3) Providing new toys
• 4) More time outside the cage
• 5) Offering favourite treats
• 6) Training sessions
• 7) Flying

However, even if you provide these 7 things on a regular basis, cockatiels will not be happy unless they are in a loving home with lots of companionship, engaging activities, and freedom.

No toy or treat can make up for a lack of companionship.

Cockatiels who have their basic needs met and are regularly offered these 7 things will live a happy life.

Sources

• ^{https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/02/harvard-study-shows-parrots-can-pass-classic-test-of-intelligence/}
• ^{https://parrotvolancy.com/trimming-wings-mental-health/}
• ^{https://www.avianenrichment.com/learn-mobile/16-emotional-needs/mental-stimulation}
• ^{https://www.avianenrichment.com/index.php/learn/emotional-needs}