Hello! Some questions about a male Cockatiel?

[Banana Budgie]

Hey everyone! I've had my birds Ranger and Banana for a while now after getting them from a next door neighbor and I registered to this forum for some help.

My Cockatiel Ranger is a male and he's extremely aggressive. We got him from our neighbor about a year or two ago and all he does is squawk, squeal, and try to bite. We don't know much about his past life but our neighbor didn't handle him much. Is this cage aggression? He does it when out of the cage too, he's drawn blood before. We also got a budgie from our neighbor. He's considerably sweeter than Ranger and lets us play with him a little, but he is ornery sometimes as well.

Another thing: The birds aren't that old at all, yet they have a LOT of trouble flying. Our neighbor said they haven't ever gotten their wings clipped so what's going on? Is their eyesight going? Banana is a Budgie and he's about 2-4 years old. Ranger is about 4-5 years old now. They both had trouble flying since the beginning. The neighbor said once that they are good together (not same cage) but Banana can be annoying and Ranger tries to bite/hiss through the bars sometimes. So I took Banana in my room and Ranger is all alone. Usually we leave the birds alone but we want to tame them, they need a lot of work, especially Ranger.

I'd appreciate any help! Thanks for reading my comments!

-Meghan

 

[cassiesdad]

Welcome to you, Ranger, and Banana!

Since yo had these guys for awhile, have you had them checked out by an AV..always a good idea!

The birds aren't that old at all, yet they have a LOT of trouble flying.

They probably didn't have much of a chance for free flight before...again make sure you mention all of your concerns when you visit your vet.

We don't know much about his past life but our neighbor didn't handle him much.

This fact will make it more of a challenge for you to build trust in you...but with patient, calm interaction you should win a place in your bird's heart. Most tiels really do like being around and interacting with people, if people are nice around them. I have one exception to that rule, though...Mocha doesn't like people at all...but that's all right with me.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome. If the birds are used to being together- at least seeing each other, separating them might be stressful for them. Even though they aren't "buddies" they're still a form of companionship. I would work on building trust. Spend time sitting and talking with them. Even just reading out loud to them so they (mainly Ranger) get used to your presence. Try feeding them some treats to show them that hands aren't scary. Does Ranger come out of his cage by himself? I wouldn't force him out. You can leave the cage door open and put a perch just outside of it with a favorite toy or treat. Just try to take things slowly at his pace.

 

[Banana Budgie]

Both birds enjoy being out of their cages and will come out almost immediately. We cant feed them treats yet, they will either get scared or try to bite our fingers off. I will try sitting by their cages and talking to them, I already do that with Banana in my room. My family cant afford to take them to the vet, we'll only do that if they're obviously sick or injured. I could try keeping them beside each other again at least to 'visit' because they are definitely not good out of their cages together. Thanks for the advice guys

 

[Banana Budgie]

Also, when we got the birds they weren't banded. What does that mean?

 

[nu2birds]

Absolutely LOVE the name Banana!

 

[Garet]

Also, when we got the birds they weren't banded. What does that mean?

Nothing, they were likely bred by someone who didn't use bands. Trust me, bands only cause trouble and you dodged a real bullet here.

Even if they're afraid of you, you can still give them treats! Two of my birds are super afraid of people and will threaten me or fly away, but I still spoil them. I have a little feeding station set up in my room and I'll go give them a thing there. They know if I come into the room and go there, I'm bringing them something good, like scrambled eggs or millet or whatever I have on hand that's safe for them. One has started landing on me on his own accord, and the other is slowly coming around as well. Both were neglected and show signs of being abused (one I know was abused), so it's a slow process.

You can also try offering them spray millet through the bars of their cage. They come on long sticks, so if you grab one end, they may feel safe enough to feed from the other.

 

[Banana Budgie]

Thanks Garet! I know Ranger loves millet so I'll try feeding it to him. Banana not so much, could you give me some tips on how to introduce birds to new foods? They don't seem to like trying new things. We've tried to give them crackers, pieces of fruit, and rabbit pellets for variety and Ranger will only nibble on some things out of his cage and Banana doesn't eat anything different.

 

[sunnysmom]

Thanks Garet! I know Ranger loves millet so I'll try feeding it to him. Banana not so much, could you give me some tips on how to introduce birds to new foods? They don't seem to like trying new things. We've tried to give them crackers, pieces of fruit, and rabbit pellets for variety and Ranger will only nibble on some things out of his cage and Banana doesn't eat anything different.

Cockatiels typically don't eat fruit and I'm not sure if rabbit pellets are good for them... Do they eat bird pellets? Vegetables are a better choice than fruit to try to get them to eat. You can try chopping up raw broccoli into small pieces. It looks like seeds and tiels often like that. They also tend to like greens- just not ice burg lettuce as it doesn't really have any nutritional value. You can try hanging a big piece of lettuce in their cage. My tiel also liked cooked sweet potato. You can try sprinkling some seeds on top of it to get them to try it.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Welcome to AA. Post some photos of Ranger & Banana when you get a chance. My 'tiels like mixed veggies. I get the frozen ones and cook them and then let them cool a bit. They will also eat small pieces of Granny Smith apple. Used to give 'tiels celery leaves and carrot tops but can't find those now. The stores just chop the tops off and toss them.
Don't give rabbit pellets. Try Avicakes and Lafeber popcorn. Both of mine like those.

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome, and enjoy the site!