My family is going to buy a ****atiel for a first pet for our 9 and 11 year old boys. I have done enough Internet research to know more than enough to do a smart buy and one of the keys that keeps getting pointed out is the need to find a local breeder that can help with a hands on purchase of the correct pet. Pet stores are a c**p shoot, even the ones that seem reputable, you can tell by looking at the "babies" that they do not get the attention in this "taming" part of their life to get the best combination of human contact and nutrition to satisfy what I am looking for. I am on Long Island in New York and if there are any members in the general vicinity that can recommend a breeder, I would be most grateful.

Damn that dirty word editor. A ****atiel is the small parrot variety of bird that makes a great family pet (called the "Yellow Lab" of birds), and is the small cousin of the big "Baretta" bird called the ****atoo. Can't wait to see wahat the editor does to this follow up post.:D

You pervert.















haha, kidding - I think it's hilarious.

I can't speak to reputable breeders in New York... We have a "pearl pied" that's about 8 years old. He got a virus several years ago -- we though we'd lost him -- and after all the hand force-feeding, he has an aversion to leaving his cage.

As an aside, the 'tiels are quite smart. Ours has "discovered" that certain tones will cause our dog to wail. Some evenings the bird cranks up & take evident enjoyment from torturing the dog. (If we hold the dog up to the cage, the bird begins making "romantic" purring sounds -- so yeah, the birds are perverts! :D)

If you do let the bird out, be SURE to keep the wings clipped. Our daughter lost one 'tiel that way...