I want to know. I feel like I want to give mine away. They don't give me pleasure or happiness. It's become a burden to feed them. Im tired of family members calling me a baby because I own birds. When do you think it's time to say goodbye?

I'm not sure, but I feel if you rehome them, you might regret it later.

Or, perhaps you need a species change? Maybe you are losing interest in just cockatiels.

Your birds have meant so much to you in the past that you should go slowly with this, in case it's a passing phase. If you still feel the same way at the end of the summer you might want to rehome some of your least favorite birds to see how that feels, and if it's a big relief then you could gradually rehome the others. Don't do anything hasty or impulsive.

I assume that the school year has just ended or is about to end, and having more free time could make a big difference in how you feel.

that's a good point. Try to imagine you don't have a single bird, and what it would be like, and see if this is what you want. This is just for an experiment.

not long ago you wrote

has this changed?
Let me guess. Family members who call you baby because of the birds are not adults, and not your parents, but some teenage cousins, I bet? You need to screen what people say about you, because not everything somebody says is true. You need to protect your point. You can reply that being involved with birds could make you a better husband and a father in the future (if this is what they value LOL which I doubt). Or you may say that at your age you are a professional breeder. Can they brag about being professional in anything?
I remember you said that all your friends have birds. This is a bid thing , as you have a strong support from their side (you are not a weirdo, the only one who has birds around).
All this applies if the main reason of the problem is what people say. If you truly believe that you are tired of birds, that's a different story.

2 threads start with "When should a person....."
suspicious! LOL

I feel like I am losing interest in cockatiels. I was going to make a thread an hour after this one about wanting a conure but I didn't post it because it would send mixed signals. I love my cockatiels. I just want something more challenging and different. I can't possibly see myself without any birds. That would be like a human without a brain. I don't want to give Marshmallow away. I can't even imagine what pain I would go through.

Any ideas on how to solve this issue? I really want a conure but they don't mix well with cockatiels, I would be severely depressed if I gave away my cockatiels. I only have one aviary. Is this problem fixable?

Everything has a fix B.

That's why I said what I said. Personally, I see you as a sun conure kind of guy. I know, it sounds crazy, but I seriously see you with one. Just a hunch.

Conures are super birds! I am around them all the time. Yes, they can be loud sometimes, but with training, they have certain times they're allowed to be loud. They are very, very smart, easy to train all sorts of tricks. In fact, when I work with the conures (mostly suns) these are all the tricks I've taught them in a few months:

step up
being picked up by the beak
basketball
skateboarding
wings
turn around
and lie down

Of course, they were babies, but still, they learned all of that amazingly fast.

It's okay to have variety B. I do. If you really want a change, and are looking at conures, do some research on them, watch videos of them, check some out at the flea market or that Sinbad's bird store. Maybe you do need a change. There is nothing wrong with wanting something different. Really think about this, and then if you still feel this way, maybe start to go through the birds you think you could do without and the ones you cannot lose. If you reduce your numbers, it could be possible to have one conure share the aviary with a small number of birds. Although it does depend on the size of your aviary.

Really think about what you want to do. Write down some positives and negatives on a piece of paper and wait a week. If you still feel strong about this, maybe it's time to do something.

But conures don't mix well with tiels. It would seriously be a dream come true if they can. I would not be able to live without anyone that was homegrown. The only problem would be that I would feel guilty to separate George from Marshmallow. Here is a quote I made last October on getting decorations for my aviary



I think the real problem was that I wanted a new species. I have tried getting different mutations of cockatiels but I don't get that same satisfying rush of excitement as I would if I got a different species of birds.

I actually want a sun conure. My mom loves them (I showed her pictures).

I'll think about it some more. I just need a plan. Will I have to get rid of all my cockatiels to have a conure? Am I cheating on my cockatiels?