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Anonymous
Sup /an/, I got this cockatiel from my dad and I'm lookin fer some advice.

Apparently he was out in the wild (though obviously a former pet) and friends of my dads got him in a cage after he was in their yard for a few days. My dad sent him to me because they have too many pets up there.

I have had him for a couple weeks now and he seems to have settled down, he sees me several hours every day because I have him out by the computer.

Basically I'm looking for advice on how to make friends, tame him, etc. He is very scared of hands (he will make biting motions when hands get close to the cage, and freak out if the hand gets too close to him inside the cage) but not people so much. He also seems to just chill on his feeding bowl all day and then sleep up on his perch at night. My parakeets were always pretty active around the cage but he mostly just sits there.

He's also pretty quiet, once in a while he will do a wolf whistle or chirp at you in the mornings but 90% of the time he's totally silent unless he hears a wild bird. He also sings some weird song sometimes when I cover up his cage at night.

I have tried feeding him treats, small pieces of vegetables and fruits or little things like cheerios, but he doesn't eat them.

He is not a problem like some birds can be, he's not annoyingly loud and doesn't hurt himself or make a big mess. I just want him to have a life besides being in his cage all day.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
This is basically his coloring except a more yellow head.
>> Anonymous
>He is not a problem like some birds can be, he's not annoyingly loud and doesn't hurt himself or make a big mess. I just want him to have a life besides being in his cage all day.

try a bigger cage? or no cage?
>> Anonymous
>>45488
Nothing wrong with his cage now, he doesn't even use the space he has really. And no cage is no good because the chances of him flying out doors, into windows, etc is too much. I meant I want to be able to take him out and spend time with him so he gets time outside the cage.
>> Anonymous
He seems to be sad. In his position, I would, anyway.
>> chris
well i can help you on this, im a avian veternarian. cockatiels are timid creatures, owning one myself, they dont like to be pet(except on the very top of the head, only when they let you) cockatiels also will not be finger tame unless they were raised that way. also cockatiels are the most power flyer of all parrots(as odd as that seems) so the best thing to do is to let it out and let it fly around the room. keep windows doors etc shut and talk to it alot. but most def stop leaving it in its cage, all it wants is to be free


also the type of bird you have is a male wildtype(the literal name)

cockateils are also very intelligent if you continue to talk to it, it will start to talk back, etc i said hi amber(name of my bird) every day, now when i enter the room he says hi amber.

the best thing i found my bird likes is millet(you can buy it at a pet store) he gets all excited and starts to sing when he sees it

and in closing if your bird is afraid of hands, dont force him to accept it, after time and love he/she will begin to trust you

the largest sign of trust is when the bird will preen/sleep out of the cage in front of you. take good care of your bird, and NEVER clip its wings, it will only cause the bird to get fat and shorten its life.


thx
>> Mizu
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>>45515
You forgot to mention that cockatiels are evil. They'll peck anyone but their owner to death.

True story.
>> Anonymous
To the OP, this person>>45515speaks the truth. You should take his/her words seriously.

Far as I can tell, from your description the bird seems to just be in a strange environment and possibly somewhat traumatized by his experiences outdoors. If he's been in the cage for a few days, five or more preferably, he'll know that he's safe in there so you can likely let him fly around in the room. Do close windows and doors, maybe cover trash cans with something if the bird has the klutz nature.

Above all, talk to him. Feeding him treats as soon as he allows for it is a great way to get him used to you as something non-threatening (this works more or less with all smaller pet birds IME).

Also, stick around when he's taking a stroll outside the cage so he'll get used to you. Read a book or do something else that isn't loud or frightening. Cockatiels are by nature far less conservative (i.e. nosier) than budgies, and once he's got used to his new surroundings he should get a bit of an interest in you too. Might take a while. That's where it starts.

From what I've heard, some cockatiels do accept new people after a while. They might be monogamous in nature, but if their mate dies they will look for another. Same thing with people, though it'll take a while.

Here's to hoping the bird didn't eat anything poisonous while he was outside.
>> Anonymous
Also, if the bird survives its outdoor ordeal for more than a couple of months, you should consider getting him a buddy. 'tiels are very very social animals and unless you can be around for him more than six or eight hours a day, he'll get bored rigid.
>> Anonymous
>>45515
I don't have anything against letting it out of it's cage, however I have let it out before and it just flew to a high spot in the room and sat there. The main thing I worry about is getting him back in his cage after I let him out. Last time I had to pick him up with a cloth and put him in the cage, which really seemed to freak him out, and unfortunately I can't just have him out for hours because people go through the room and open doors.

>>45636
Thanks. I worry about letting him out because having a bird flying around a room to me seems dangerous, I'm worried he's gonna fly into a wall or something.

The only thing I've found so far that he seems to like is cheerios, but he doesn't seem interested in them at all when they're anywhere around my hand, so I basically hold it out for him for a minute or two without doing anything threatening and then put them in his food bowl.

And I did let him settle down for about a week without doing anything to him, it's been about 3 or 4 weeks now.

>>45651
From everything I've read if you get another bird they will either fight or bond with the other bird instead of you.
>> Anonymous
Hey, cockatiel twins! (Mine looks exactly the same and is asleep on my leg just now...)

The best advice I can give for getting him not to be afraid of you is just be near him a lot. Offer him food (Cockatiels seem to love anything bread-related), and back off if he's doing the "Get away from me!" hissing and rocking.
>> Anonymous
>>45925

I dont think getting him another bird will solve your problem. I have had parakeets for years.

As others have said, talk to him, constantly. these birds are smarter than you think, and might actually understand a word or two that you are saying. If hes flying up somewhere high that you cant reach, personally I think temporarily clipping their wings to force interaction with you is a good thing, and then allowing them free flight. If you want to do this differently, it may work as well. But I know with parakeets, talking is imperative. They will cock their heads and listen to what you are saying. Also, if hes hissing at your hand in the cage, just read a book one handed and have one hand in the cage for a long period of time, eventually he will realise you are not a threat, you dont want to hurt him, and you can work from there.
>> Anonymous
Yeah, I wasn't proposing getting him a buddy to help tame him. Unless they buddy was already extremely tame, but I've only seen that work with budgies.
>> Anonymous
don't sit on it
>> Anonymous
>>45485

Keep him away from your computer or he'll fly in front of the screen and not let u see ur pr0ns...