Pacing Cockatiel

[Jenw12]

i would be inclined to keep his cage door open when your in and hang a millet spray just outside his cage door so when he's feeling brave he can venture out for a nibble, even if he goes back in immediatly after thats ok, i'm sure slowly he'll come and take an interest in it, there's no rush. i've put a perch just inside my tiels door and one outside it as well, so he can take small steps to venture outside, in his own time. cockatiels i find are sensitive and dont like change, so slowly does it. i would definatley keep his door open though when your about and buy him a small radio as suggested, perhaps also put him near a window so he can see outside and cover a bit of his cage to protect him from the sunlight and to make him feel a little more secure. what a mouthfull, hope it helps!

Thank you for all that!

He is only pacing when he want to play or have interaction as I have been able to take out those dowels and completely change his cage! In October I will be adding even more. He has 5 toys and two rope perches, one sand perch that has sand only on the sides so it doesn't hurt his feet, a pedi-perch, and a calcium perch. I will be buying perches to add to the outside of his cage asap, as well as toys for the outside. I leave his cage open when I can and he has peaked out with his head. I have also been working on step up slowly, but steadily and he just touched me today... with his foot!!! He is fine touching me (I can't touch him yet) with his chest and wings, but not his feet. Silly thing. He calls for me through out the day, but as long as I talk to him from another room he is fine. As soon as he sees me now he runs to the end of his cage and/or wags his tail feathers, which when I researched it means he likes me, so I am super happy now! The progress we have made together has been phenomenal!!! He has a huge window in his room as well and it isn't in direct sunlight, but birds love to sing near it. I don't think I will be getting a radio as I feel he gets a lot of music time, and TV time (from another room), and people time. Today he and I listened to music for around 4 hours! I would love to teach him how to explore his cage more as he is still a bit unsure about it. Maybe I shouldn't have just changed everything at once as you said they are very sensitive, but he has ventured some and is trying out the new perches. Oh! He hates any kind of covering on his cage, he will just hiss and hide at the bottom. So I just make my room very dark at night. Plus I wake up before the sun does so he doesn't bother me in the morning until 8.

I do wonder how I am going to get him to eat veggies and pellets, though. He hardly eats his new seeds and the foster people said he barely ate his old one, so I am kinda stuck on what to feed him. He LOVES millet so that's what we have been training with. But he can't live off it. The last few days he has been getting cauliflower and part of the lettuce, peas, sprouted lentils, and mango (I know cockatiels don't care for fruits as much, so it is very little), but he won't touch it. Then two hours later I was doing a pellet and seed mash but he hated the mushiness. So I decided to just give only seed and he ate a few and decided he didn't want anymore. He has been over there looking at it though and seems to be tempted, so hopefully he will start trying it out more. I am just lost. I think that when he is better tamed and I can weigh him I will start adding pellets as that way I can watch his weight. Any tips would be great!

Also, I have been wondering if 30 minute training intervals are good for him. He seems to like it, but I was just wondering if that was pushing him. I have been doing 5-10 with my budgies and slowly increasing it while watching if they are enjoying it or not, so I have been feeling like 30 is too much for him. But if I stop after 10 minutes or so, he paces and calls out like he wants more. Should I do what he wants? I don't want to spoil him lol

Sorry for such a long post, I just haven't been on for a while! Just want to start off right with him.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

You guys have made some great progress!

Maybe try the pellet and millet mix, but not so wet this time? Make sure the pellets are very small, but not dust.

I would say 30 minutes is a long time to actually train, but you can tell by if he looses interest. Of course you can give him attention for longer than that, which he seems to want because he's pacing. Hopefully he will come out when you get the perches on the outside of his cage!

 

[Jenw12]

Okay! I will definitely try that!!!

And Mickey is an attention addict lol, so he doesn't leave me and if I try to give him a break and walk away he calls out for me to come back. But I will definitely give him a break at 15 minutes (or sooner if he wants it) and just leave his cage door open to encourage him to come out. Do you think that would work?

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Maybe he will come out in your sleeve if you lure him with millet? Or sit and read to him with the door open and have your arm or shoulder right at the threshold if possible. He needs a surface to step out on. Even a box or something that's is flush with the door.

 

[Jenw12]

I could try that!!! Good ideas! I think he is still too scared of me but a platform by the door may work!

 

[hellen]

you could also look up about preparing your own chop for parrots. i make a batch and put it in ice cube containers. every morning my tiel gets a small portion, i'm still hoping he'll aquire the taste! i sometimes put some sunflower seeds in it so he picks them out with a bit of the veggie flavour on it!

 

[finchly]

Try sweet potato (cooked) and boiled or scrambled egg. also one of mine loves peas.

 

[Jenw12]

I found out he likes broccoli!!!! I also figured out that if I ignore him in the morning and eat my own breakfast in front of him, he will try his. We did that this morning. Then we went to training after he and I was satisfied that he ate enough. He still had enough space for millet. LOL Tomorrow I will see if my whole group will like some boiled egg I will definitely look up some chop for my birdies and see if I can put some in a container, that will make mornings soooo much easier!

Oh!!! And today he almost completely stepped up!!! And he put one foot on my finger for around 30 seconds while eating some millet! I am so happy I could explode!!!!!

 

[finchly]

You're doing great!

 

[vanyasmom]

My cockatiel (when I was younger) loved corn. I would eat it for lunch and he would help me. He would take some right out of my bowl. I had the frozen kind. So it was cooked and soft. He only ate the hearts. I know I probably shouldn't have let him have some of mine, but give him his own, but I didn't know any better. There was no internet with avian avenue in those days.

So glad your 'tiel found a good home with you. Sounds to me like you are doing great with him.

 

[finchly]

My cockatiel (when I was younger) loved corn. I would eat it for lunch and he would help me. He would take some right out of my bowl. I had the frozen kind. So it was cooked and soft. He only ate the hearts. I know I probably shouldn't have let him have some of mine, but give him his own, but I didn't know any better. There was no internet with avian avenue in those days.

So glad your 'tiel found a good home with you. Sounds to me like you are doing great with him.

Yeah I had a tiel in the pre-Internet days as well. We all just do the best we can!