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Hi all,

I bought my very first cockatiel three days ago & I called him Freddie. I am completly new to this and I need some general care advice to help Freddie feel more comfortable. Every morning I go into him and talk to him first thing. He is in the sitting room so we are always in and out, I am constantly talking to him & trying to mimic his whistles. Although every time I go near the cage he moves as far back on his perch as he can and he hisses, but I just keep reassuring him. I put my hand in the cage yesterday to change his water and he went mad flapping all around the cage & when I took my hand out & closed it he hissed at me a few times again !!! This morning (day 4) he seems more lively, he keeps letting out a screech every few mins, but he jumps down off his perch and is paceing back and forward down the bottom of his cage.

Does Freddies behaviour seem normal & am I doing the right things??

I'd appreciate any advice !!

Thanx, Tracey

His behavior does seem nornal. To me it seems like he was not hand raised so it will take time form him to get to know you and to know that you are ok. I would try putting his cage somewhere where he can see you and learn more about you so that you are not someone who is just "popping" in and out. The flapping around when your hand is in there is just him being scared. You are doing the right things so far, just take it slow and easy.

Hi Tracey,

Welcome to the group. Congratulations on acquiring one of the best little companion birds in the world. I know you will have a lot of questions, and we will do our best to answer them, but please, do a little reading for starters, and these links below will answer a good many questions people have about the birds care, feeding, housing, and a host of other subjects. You might want to bookmark these websites, and refer back to them from time to time.

As to Freddie's behavior, what you describe is perfectly normal, as he is under a bit of stress from being moved, placed in a strange place, and having no clue whether you will hurt him or not, so he is most definitely scared, and very insecure. Your job is to make friends with him, gain his trust, and show him you are his companion. It will take time -- sometimes lots of time, but you must be persistent and everything will work out great. One of the first things to remember is he is going to be afraid of your hand, and until you can get him to where he's not, you might want to use a wooden spoon, or a short stick to try to get him out of his cage. Once you get him out of his cage, take him to a small room, i.e., the bathroom, close the door, and if you have a shower stall, into there so he can't escape, and where there are no other distractions so you can work with him. Take along a stick of millet spray to entice him into working with you. Try not to make any sudden movements that would make him think you are going to hurt him, and offer the millet spray. See if he will get on your finger, or hand, and just speak quietly and calmly to him, and it won't take long till you can detect a change in his thinking. It will take time, so be patient. If you read the stuff on the links provided, there will be other hints as to how to gain his trust, and before you know it, you two will be good buddies and friends.

It will help us if you tell us what his age is, (if known) whether hand fed or not, and any other details about him you happen to know.

Here's the links for tons of great information.

http://www.cockatiels.org/articles/library.html

http://www.cockatielcottage.net/

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/index.html

The last website deals more with avian medicine, but there is some fantastic reading there about birds, and you can read about some of the illnesses they can have.

Last but not least, if you have any teflon or non-stick coated cookware in your house, get rid of it, or don't use it. The overheating of teflon emit a poison gas that WILL KILL Freddie in a matter of a few minutes. One other thing to consider, find an avian vet, keep his/her phone number handy, and shortly, take Freddie for a "well bird" exam.

We here at Up At Six feel we have the best message board going. While there are others around, our experienced, friendly people will try to help you as much as we can.

Again, welcome to our group.

Thats great, thanx for that. I was told that Freddie is approx. 8 months old, and as regards to the teflon issue, I read about that before and went through all of my cooking devices and my kitchen is all clear for teflon so no worries there !!!

Oh, and also, he was not hand fed at all. I bought him from a pet shop where there was 4 cages with 4 tiels in each.

Tracey,

You most likely have your work cut out for you if he was not hand fed. Getting him used to your hand will probably be a good test of your will vs. his

One other quick thought, if you have long fingernails, or wear nail polish, you might consider not wearing the polish around Freddy. It's been reported the color red does not sit well with a lot of birdies. The other thing is routine. 'Tiels are very sensitive to routines, and don't like things to change. The more you do everything at the same time, in the same way will go along way to helping him feel comfortable.

Are Freddie's wings clipped?

No they arent, but I would be afraid to do it myself yet. I presume the vet would be the best place to bring him for that? Also, what are your thoughts on covering his cage at night? I have read in some places that it makes them feel secure, but others say it isnt a good thing to do.!!

Welcome tracey,
It's gonna be a long slow road with freddie, but don't give up hope. My tiel was not tame when I got him, BUT he was hand fed. He wasn't as bad as what you describe with freddie when we first got him, he just would not eat for the first couple days, but never hissed or flapped. He only ran away if we put our hands into his cage, and he still does that most of the time. I have had woody now for eight months and he was about the same age as freddy when we got him. He has come a long way since we got him,-----he gets on fingers now, and loves being out on my shoulder-----sometimes when we go to put him back in his cage he doesn't want to go back! but he still has issues with hands and with coming out of his cage sometimes. I guess maybe because hands have always made him come out of his cage. I had read that your not supposed to put your hands into their cage and take them out---force them------but then I had read that it's ok to do that too. I think it was better that we just made him come out-----even if doing that made him a little scared of hands------I think he will get over that eventually too. One thing----there were times when I thought woody would never come around and be tame-----it's real easy to lose hope because it's a slow process. patience and time. Because he is so scared right now I think I'd give him some time to himself for a while to adjust to where he is and you, before trying to take him out. That is what I did with woody. Also a wing clip will probably help alot too. Good luck with your new friend freddie!
Kim

Welcome!!!
Casper does the pace back and forth on the bottom of her cage if she wants to come out. The funny thing is, her door is open on the front side of the cage and she will look at me from the back side and pace!!! I think she forgets the door is open.

Sounds like you have a normal birdie. Keep talking to him, give him his space if he needs it, but show him lots of attention. He will be a bothersome, loud, obnxious cockatiel before you know it!!! Perfectly normal!!

Look around for a place that clips wings. I was going to just take woody to the vet too----but they charge alot. I came across a little pet store here that raises birds and has reptiles, and found out they clipped wings, and they only charged 3 dollars! the girl did a good job too, his flight was limitted just right! didn't look too attractive, kinda choppy, but it grows back and it serves it's purpose quite well. As far as covering his cage goes----I keep just the back half of his cage covered-----it will give your bird more security if you do that, at least cover the area where he sleeps, and keep a nightlight at night nearby the cage----cockatiels are prone to night frights, and especially being in a new place, little noises or shadows at night could frighten him and he will flap and thrash around in the cage and could get hurt.

I would say the cage covering might be a birds personal choice. When i first gto rosie I covered her cage every night because if I did not she seemed to get "night fright". I would say try it, it sets a good habit and lets the bird know when it is night time. Rosie likes to pace at the bottom of her cage too to get out. My suggestion about clipping the wings is to do research your self on the topic and think about what you think will fit your needs. DO NOT clip because you are told to. There are pros and cons to clipping and not clipping, I feel it is a personal choice for the bird owner. If you do choose to clip, PLEASE make sure the person doing it good at it and they know what they are doing. Dont let them hack his wings, if he falls from his cage/stand/you he needs to be able to glide to the ground and not fall like a rock! I personally do not ever clip, I will trim however which I always suggest as a first step if you are not sure. If your guy is 8 months old and has never been clipped, then he is use to flying, a sever clip will cause a set back i feel.

You're right carters dad, I guess it is a personal choice and depends alot on the bird. In my case, I did spend alot of time thinking about it before I went ahead and clipped. I knew my bird's personality first and I just had a feeling that he would be ok with it because he is good natured-----and I was right! We took him out quite a few times with full flight and he would fly laps around the living room! that was fine, but there were times he would seem to fly into the wall. He wouldn't fly full force though, he would kinda slow down like he was trying to find a place to land that was on the wall. He also would go behind the tv, and I would find myself always taking a deep breath every time he flew hoping that he would never get hurt. He did improve as he got used to the room, but I just worry, and I really wanted woody to spend his time with me instead of flying around the room. I knew that I should get him clipped, but I worried too when I heard stories of bad wing clips where it would make the bird go backwards every time he tried to fly and ruin his tail----also stories of cutting blood feathers. I clipped because I wanted my bird to be safe and sit still a little more and stay with us----I must say that clipping his wings has really been a good experience for me---quick painless and had a good result---and the girl who clipped him was very experienced, has birds and clips her own birds, so if I decide to clip again, I will go there----BUT I don't want to clip unless I feel I have to, so I am hoping this was it for woody-----I want him to have his flight-----it's a really wonderful gift that a bird has and I would never want to take that from him permanently------just for a little while!

Unless you know of a reputable clipper in your area, I would have the vet clip. I had Pablo clipped a few weeks ago at a shop and they did it far too aggressively. He ended breaking a bunch of blood feathers during a night fright and the vet told me that his injuries wouldn't have been near as bad if he had been properly clipped. Fifteen bucks for a clip may seem like a lot, but compared to the $60 I ended up paying the vet to patch him up, I think it's worth the extra cost.

Clipping is a personal decision. I let Pablo's wings grow out but he started getting very aggressive. One day, he bit me hard enough to break the skin, so I decided clipping was worth a try. It was remarkable - he was back to his old sweet self by the afternoon. Of course, it absolutely broke my heart when he tried to take off for a flight and ended up on the ground and made confused bird eyes at me.

Freddie might want a little bit of quiet alone time so he can adjust to his surroundings. After that, I would go into the room, talk to him calmly, then slowly put your hand just inside the cage and leave it there. Hang out for a while. Do this more for a while until he seems used to your hand being in the cage. Over time, move your hand closer. If he'll take them, offer him treats (maybe millet, because you can hold it away from you) so that he'll come to associate a hand with something good, like a treat (or eventually a pet or a chance to come out and play)

Once he is not freaking out at your hand, you can try having him get on your finger. Press your finger lightly against his tummy and give a command (a lot of people use "step up"). If he gets on, praise him. Don't take him out of the cage or move around suddenly. Just get him used to the idea of sitting on your hand so he can start understanding that you're not a threat.

The main thing is to be patient. Don't push anything on him that he isn't ready for. Never scold him and never physically reprimand him (not even by tapping on his beak). If he goes for you, don't yank your hand away and if he bites you, don't make a big fuss. You have to show him that he can't control you. Since Freddie is scared and new and unused to people, he might bite pretty hard so you'll want to avoid getting bitten. If he's just kind of gnawing on you and it doesn't hurt, keep doing what you're doing (step up, moving stuff around in his cage, etc) so he learns that he can't beat you.

Also, if he had a particular toy he seemed to like at the pet shop, you might want to get one like it so he'll have something familiar. Good luck!

welcome to the family

mytielwoody wrote:You're right carters dad, I guess it is a personal choice and depends alot on the bird.

I am glad to see others feel the same way. i think too many people are to quick to clip. everyone has their reasons, I just hope people understand that every bird is different and may react differently to the clipping.