A bit worried about my new Cockatiel?

[antarctica]

Hi. First, i would like to note that I know training birds takes time. I have owned many parrots in my lifetime, and i know that it’s not guaranteed that my bird will like/bond with me at all, not to mention only in the first week.

I got phantom a week ago, and it seems that I have not made much progress with her.

she is TERRIFIED of hands. She seems to like when i talk with her and will tolerate me sitting next to the cage, ONLY when she CANT see my hands. i have to sit on them. She bites the absolute fudge out of my hand whenever i change her food/water. She also hisses and rocks back and forth when i get too close to the cage with my hand. I avoid doing this as much as I can and keep a cover nearby so i don’t scare her so much.

I haven’t done much to actually touch her besides try to help her out of a bad situation (i freaked her out changing her water once and she flew out of the cage, tried to cling to my tapestry, and fell behind my bed. i gently scooped her up as soon as possible because i didn’t want her hurting herself between my bed and my wall— she accepted the help and she perched on my hand but also bit the H- E- double hockey sticks out of it!)

Usually, i would think she just needs more time to adjust. However, some of her odd behaviors legitimately lead me to believe she has some sort of....bird PTSD? not only is she terrified, but i’ve noticed that she prefers to sit at the bottom of her cage unless she’s sleeping, then she will go to her rope perch. I’ve also noticed that she doesn’t seem to have a very strong grip strength. i think there’s something wrong with her feet. one of her claws is missing and another toe seems oddly bent. this is definitely something i’m having the vet check out, but i’m wondering if something happened to her before she got to me and now she’s afraid of people.

i’ve never had a new bird this afraid of hands. i’m at a bit of a loss because i like to think i’m a good bird owner, but i’ve never started THIS close to absolute square one. I hope that i can help her warm up to me and realize that i’m only here to love and help her. But, i don’t know what to do.

if you have any advice, tips, or help, i’d be grateful.

i can clarify anything that needs to be clarified, and ignore spelling or grammar errors, i’m typing on my phone during break!

cheers

 

[Lady Jane]

What is the background of this cockatiel?

 

[sunnysmom]

It sounds like you're on the right path. Just spend time sitting with her and talking to her. Is there anyway you can let her out of the cage when you change her food and water? I used to do that with one of my foster birds as he would attack my hands too when I went to change them. As you said, a week is not much time. I even sat and read magazine articles to my tiel just to get him used to me in a nonthreatening way. If she's still super scared you can cover her cage on 3 sides leaving the front open until she calms down a bit. That way she isn't on alert for "danger" from all sides.

 

[antarctica]

What is the background of this cockatiel?

i got him/her from a pet store near me that gets all of their birds, supposedly, hand-fed from nearby breeders. not much more info was given to me. odd thing, she was pretty social in the shop and she seemed like she liked me which is the main reason i picked her. there was a pearl too and he was super nippy.

 

[Lady Jane]

I think birds act differently when they are from a store when you get them into you home. It might be fear of the newness. Sunnysmom has some good suggestions for you. Just a matter of time until your wonderful new bird will begin to feel comfortable with you.

 

[Kodigirl210]

It’s very possible that your tiel has PTSD. The rescue Sennie I got definitely did and she had only been with one other owner prior to me. She was missing toes off each foot and couldn’t grip properly. She was 1/2 the size she should be, had several medical issues and hated men beyond reason. When I mean beyond reason, no matter what or where she was - she would head toward any man, beak gaping, feathers fluffed and hissing. Nothing short of putting her away would stop her from doing so. The family I got her from said she hated men but oddly enough the day I got her the Dad was able to touch her. Maybe because she knew somehow she was leaving? I honestly don’t know.

As far as her background-she came from a pet store and not much else was known. I can only think she was a bird mill bird which is an issue in the LA area. She was a very angry bird that much I do know. In the end I was the only able to hold her and care for her.

If there are issue with her toes, I would take her to the vet to see at least if there is anything that can be done with the crooked toe. If not, there are lots of things you can do to help her. It will require moving her out of the cage for a while as I think you would have too many things to do at once and it will scare her. These are the steps I would take to help:

Vet wrap any perches that are somewhat smooth or slick. Do not use any kind of pedi-or cement perch. These will be too abrasive and her one foot will sit abnormally and this will cause wear and rubbing that might lead to more damage or lesions.

Get platform perches. This are flat perches that can go anywhere in the cagebut do not require her to wrap her feet around them. This way she sit/stand however she needs to and still keep her balance and minimal pressure on her weaker foot. I cover mine in non-pill fleece to make them even softer.

Place towels on the bottom of the cage and cover those with puppy pads/newspaper or whatever you use to catch droppings. This way if she looses her grip she land softly.

You may find these changes also help her outlook. If she has a weak grip, she may feel insecure when you work inside the cage. You may be triggering the flight mode but since she is so hesitant about her feet working properly she is, in her mind, only left with fight.

I don’t remember much but do you remember if she was in a flat open enclosure when she was at the pet store? I seem remember they do that a lot to tiels and budgies. If so, that would explain why she was more confident there than at home.

Also work with treating her every time she has to see your hands. I understand that tiels are usually spray millet hounds. Maybe try offering her a little every time you have to work in the cage, prior to doing whatever it is you have to do. But definitely make the changes I suggested with the hope that it improve her grip and confidence which will hopefully translate into a better relationship between the two of you.

Best of luck

 

[antarctica]

i cleaned phantom’s cage today and she got a treat of spray millet because she let me work inside the cage without lunging at my hands. she was on full defense-mode the entire time, but basically watched me and hissed instead of attacking my hands.

it’s not much, but i’d call that progress and i was very pleased with her. my fingers were starting to hurt!

also, while playing around with her cage, i noticed she seems MUCH more comfortable around me if i keep blankets over her cage like this.

she must feel comfortable and secure in a corner where she can observe me without worrying about what’s behind her.
pretty close to what you suggested, @sunnysmom, so thank you!

I reckon she’s just a scared, anxious bird and i need to work with her anxiety so she can get more comfortable with me. I don’t want to scare her by shaking the cage around while she’s in it, but i think next step will be trying to move her cage near a corner and see if she’s happier there.

thank you for the great suggestions @Kodigirl210! i’ll have to go get some flat perches and try them out in her cage. she has an appointment for a check up on monday, and i’m going to make sure that they take a look at her foot. she doesn’t seem to be limping or bothered by her feet, otherwise i would have called back and ask she be seen earlier.

 

[antarctica]

Another update, I was just sitting by the cage and i noticed phantom pulling aggressively on her ID band.

i tried to see if i could lure her out to look closer, and something interesting happened — i discovered she will actually jump onto my hand as long as it is FLAT, palm up, with no fingers out. a very big step forward that i was not expecting. she is still beaky, but she basically plops herself in my cupped hand.

i was able to bring her out and towel her to check out her feet. her banded leg seems way more irritated than her other leg, and it seems like her band has warped her ankle however, the bent toe and missing nail is on her other leg, so she may have more than one leg problem going on.

she would squirm in the towel until i touched her band, then she would stretch her leg out. such an intelligent little tiel, she really wants it off. ive never had a bird do anything like that. i think she’s been afraid of any hands getting close to her because it hurts to touch.

after checking out her legs i got her to sit on my stomach and she even fell asleep for a while. so, she seems to be relatively comfortable with me, she’s just afraid of fingers!

i’m happy that i’ve realized this, but i need to get this band off and get her legs checked out ASAP. i just arranged her cage so she doesn’t have to climb much, i ordered flat perches on amazon, and i’m looking around to see if any vet near me is open on sunday!

 

[antarctica]

praying i can find someone who will help her feel better tomorrow

 

[Kodigirl210]

I’m glad you’ve made so much progress in so little time. I have a feeling your relationship will go in leaps in bounds once her legs are better. And planking your hands would be the same as giving her platform perches in her cage. That will make her happy and more secure in her cage as well. I hope you are able to find someone to help her quickly!

 

[sunnysmom]

It sounds like things are going well. My tiel also preferred to step up on my hand rather than fingers- even once he was completely tame. I would put my hand out flat and he would step up on the back of my hand. I hope you can find a vet soon to check her out.

 

[dumpling98]

If your birdie is afraid of hands you can try picking her up with a stick. I used to let me untame cockatiel out of cage and I would get her back in with a long stick. First 2 times she would run away and you would have to try until she is tired but after that she caught on that stick is used only to get her back in cage and next times when she would see the stick closing in she would climb on it no problem.

You could also try target training. Helps with bonding in general and it is hands free in a tiel's eyes.

You are really brave to put up with such a bird. The tiel might not be able to verbalize, but I am sure it feels so much better in your home. Don't lose hope! Cockatiels are lovable and forgiving birds. As soon as she gets used to you ( maybe 1-3 or even more months) she will tolerate you/bond with you better! I used to think my cockatiel hated me too but she got used to me and now she is a velcro bird!

I wish you both the best!

 

[antarctica]

this thread is well overdue for an update!

I did end up getting Phantom's band clipped off, she had a rash around her ankle that the vet agreed was obviously bothering her. Doc gave her some ointment after and now she's all healed up.
(flat perches have also helped her with her grip a lot!)

It has been over a month since then and she has come a long way. she still doesn't love hands, but she is getting braver every day.
She is starting to act interested in toys and she has become a little more vocal. She is even exploring the area around her cage more, and she's slowly becoming confident enough to fly to perches around the room.

This morning, she slowly came over to step up on my arm while I was sitting at my desk. However, she made sure to give my fingers a little hiss & nip beforehand!
My boyfriend jokes that she's warming up to me but stubbornly doesn't want to accept it. It seems that way sometimes!
She's definitely a bit sassy, and it's like she's saying "I want to sit on you, but don't you dare move these fingers!"
thank you again for all of your earlier posts & suggestions. after getting to know her more this past month, i can't wait to see how she grows in the future

 

[Kodigirl210]

I personally think bands are mostly about vanity. Other than the breeder, unless you have an extensive decoding chart, you will never understand the information on it. I also know that some states require banding. Luckily California doesn’t so my CAG never had a band and my GCCs removed the day after I got them at the Vet’s office.

It’s wonderful to hear you are making such great strides and I’m also glad that getting the right style of perch also helped.

Sometimes it’s the small things we don’t think of that matter the most.

And how exciting that so much has changed since you got her a month and a half ago! Keep up the awesome work & let us know as soon as she decides she likes your fingers lol