News & Events

   Once again we have a lovely selection of cockatiels in the store, so I thought I would mention a few things about the different color patterns.

   Normal- this is the color pattern you would find in the arid areas of Australia where Cockatiels occur in the wild. As babies, they are grey with some white and pretty red cheek patches. As they mature, the males faces around the cheek patches turnes bright yellow while the females continue to look like the babies. With all the color patterns, the females chirp while the males do an elaborate song.

   Lutino- White with variable yellow. These birds also have the red cheek patches and they have red eyes.

    Pearl- The polkadot pattern on the wings distinguishes a pearl cockatiel. If the bird is a male, that pattern disapears by the time it is a year old and the bird looks like a normal male.

   Pied- irregular areas of white distinguishes thes birds. With lots of white, they look almost like a Lutino but there eyes are dark.

   Albino- an all white bird with no red cheeks. These birds will probably be named ” snowball ” or  ” snowflake ” or some other similar name . They are just beautiful animals! We have a lot in the store right now.

   White face- these birds have no red cheeks.

   Cinnamon- Instead of grey, these are a tan color.

   There are all sorts of combinations of these patterns, so yes you can have a cinnamon pearl pied or many other types

   The baby hand fed tiels we have at Animal Exchange right now include some of the most wonderful heavy pied birds we have had this year. Be sure to see them when you are in.

As winter approaches, the air flow in your house changes. Since heat rises and cold falls, you need to be sure any pet you have that is in a cage is out of drafts and in an appropriate temperature. Birds have their own down jacket to insulate them so I don’t worry about their ambient temperature. Reptiles are the most affected since they and any other ” cold blooded ” pets depend on the environments’ temperature for digestion. A heat source that was adequate in the summer may not be enough now. My betta that is very happy all summer, can’t wait until I put her heater back in the fall.