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Well, I am now the proud momma of a six month old cockatiel. I believe he is male, not just because that's what I was told, but because of his bright orange cheeks.

He looked like he needed a good home, so I decided to give him one. I have named him Kirby. We were told that he could "sneeze," but I believe the woman was mistaken. What he really does is hiss (like all cockatiels, I assume). Of course, he is very nervous and frightened in a new place with new things. He is supposedly hand fed, but I'm not too sure if I believe that.
Out of fear when the cage is approached, his crest goes up and he starts hissing.

He is, however, eating and drinking and becomming more vocal.

When I talk to him, Kirby looks at me and seems to be listening. It also seems to help calm him a bit.

He is flighted (for now) but it seems like his feathers are just growing back from a clipping as he is not good at flying, has to land shortly after take off, and is missing some long flight feathers. I have not seem him bothering them, so I highly doubt he pulled them; I just think the trimmed part is hidden from view.

Kirby is on the same pelleted diet he's been eating (Zupreem Avian Maintence), and we were told he likes strawberries and bannanas. I'm going to try other things soon.

Does anyone have any tips on getting Kirby to become more people friendly and less frightened?

Congratulations on your new little Kirby!!!
My cockatiel was not hand fed. She (Twinkie-Dink) was 6 months old when I got her. She hissed, bit, hissed some more, just generally didn't want human contact. What I did was every night when I got home from work I took her in the bathroom, shut the door and MADE her be with me. For a half hour every night. Sometimes longer if she seemed to be able to handle it. I taught her to step up in the bathroom. It took several months but she finally came around. She will now step up whenever I ask her, she'll sit on my shoulder and let me skritch her head. She isn't as sweet as a hand fed cockatiel, she'd rather be left alone (I force myself on her though) but she is MUCH better than when I first brought her home. I don't know if she'll EVER be sweet and cuddly but I love her nonetheless. She is extremely independent.
Oh, by the way............she can and does sneeze. Every morning.
Gloria

I think I'll have to try some "bonding sessions" with Kirby.
His crest isn't straight up as much as it used to be, and he is has definately become for vocal and comfortable. He's started throwing pellets around.
We have a little game where he whistles at me, I click or whistle back, and he whistles again. It's cute.

You're little one sounds very enjoyable. Maybe Kirby does sneeze afterall! That would be too cute.

I'll love him the same even if he never really bonds with me.

I also got my cockatiel at about six months, and they told me he is hand fed at the pet store, but I have the similar problems, he is not tame. BUT he does not hiss or bite. I have heard him hiss once or twice when I disturbed him sleeping(was near his cage) but during the day you can't get him to hiss if you try! or bite! He is very good natured, and always happy, never moody. I read so many things about taming my bird and I didn't know how to handle getting him tame. On one web site I found it says never to take him from cage or go into his cage-----to let him come out on his own------yeah right, and he just don't come out! I agree that you have to give them a little nudge sometimes, and that is what I do. About once a week right now we are taking him out against his will, and sit him on the couch with me and I hold up a blanket so he cannot fly away. After he calms down and gets over us bringing him out, he stays with me for quite a long time-------last time he stayed right on my shoulder and I let him climb up and slowly let the blanket down. He seems to like being near me-------just not my hands!

I had a tiel that was not very tame. I went right to the heart of the matter and emailed Diane Grindol, an author of many cockatiel books. She said you have to get the bird out and away from the cage to make any progress. You also need to have the wings clipped. That helps immensly!!! Your bird soon learns he has to depend on you to get around.
I worked with my bird for months and she became the sweetest, cuddly bird! Sadly, she died earlier this year. It truly broke my heart...

I got a new bird about 3 1/2 months ago. He was parent fed, but handled daily by his human parents. What a difference it makes. He's always stepped up on my hand and loves to have his head skritched. He rides around on my shoulder and is always at cage door ready to come out and play.

It takes patience and lots of it. You might think you're mean forcing your bird to come out of the cage, but every day or week, you'll see progress and one of these days, you won't remember when he didn't want to come out!

Welcome Sugar Cookie and Kirby -

I was very fortunate with Casper. She was really friendly from the start. But she is a cranky girl sometimes. When she is preening (ON ME!), but doesn't want me to touch her, she will hiss at me. But she also sneezes. You will be able to tell the difference. Sometimes her sneezes come in twos or threes.

I just love being used. She can sit on me, snuggle up to me, play with the strings on my shirt or the zipper, but sometimes she just does not want to be touched. As long as I am totally available for her convenience, she is happy!! I know who the boss is in my house!