New 4 week old Cockatiel

[Suzy]

Hey there, i got this male 4 week old cockatiel named Kiwi
i've had him for 2 days now and i was wondering what steps you guys would take in trying to handtame him (step up, getting pet and so on). just yesterday he accepted millet spray from me, then would freak out that my hand is close by. i tried letting him out, and it was nice till i got stuck having to hold him to put him back in his cage, for a little guy he has such a nasty bite haha.

id like to know if this was normal, he has these moments while screaming he'll jump all over the cage from toy to toy looking all crazy, and its sometimes painful to watch then he paces at them bottom of the cage, so letting him out was easy, he took the chance straight away when i opened the doors for him. is that normal though? for him to be all hyper moving rapidly around the cage smashing into everything while screaming?

i can see hes more relaxed around the family, crest down not always alert, im really excited to start creating a bond with him but i know i gotta slow down.

Thanks in advance

 

[Princessbella]

Are you sure that it is not a 4 month old cockatiel? A bird that young should still be fed formula. Can you post a picture?

 

[Suzy]

he was in an aviary and the man i got him from said they came out of the nest around 4 weeks ago. sorry maybe i understood wrong, might be older then?

could definitely tell a difference between the adults and the younger ones but now im confused haha

 

[Princessbella]

This is what a 4 week old cockatiel looks like. Your baby is older than that. You just have to be patient with him. Imagine that you are taken away from all that you know and are placed with a stranger. Just talk with him and let him get used to you. Besides pellets and seed, offer him vegetables such as peppers, green beans, carrots, lettuce, and kale and things like pasta and grains. Millet is a great way to let him know that you are not going to eat him. Welcome. What is his name?

 

[Suzy]

oh wow, i feel really silly right now
so what do you think he meant by they were out of the nest 4 weeks ago?
how old do you reckon he looks?
i will do, thank you

and about the crazy moments he has, is that normal? sometimes painful to watch him smashing into everything, moving from place to place really quick while screaming. ive been told pacing is from being anxious and wanting to get out and i can see that he does want to, but is that why hes doing that crazy behavior?

Thanks Princessbella

 

[Princessbella]

Maybe it meant that he was weaned 4 weeks ago. The crazy moments are normal. Baby tiels are very clumsy and do smash into everything. The pacing and screaming is a sign that he wants to get out. Maybe just leave the cage door open and see if he wants to explore his cage. Also, is there a toy in the cage that is frightening him? Or do you have a cover on the cage? I keep a cover on half of Bella's cage so she can have a safe area when she is frightened. Is he eating? Do you have a food scale? A way to see if he is eating is to weigh him every day to see if he is losing weight. He could be distressed because he isn't totally weaned or has regressed and is hungry. When I first got Bella, she had that same behavior. When I got some hand feeding formula and showed her the syringe (you can use a spoon), she decided that I was the best. Unfortunately, tiels cannot tell you that they are hungry. If you are not sure how to hand feed, maybe you can ask the breeder to show you how it is done. I have a feeling that he could be hungry.

 

[camelotshadow]

Guessing he was parent raised. Maybe he saw them 4 weeks ago or they were weaned 4 weeks ago.
He looks older but just make sure he is eating. How did they know he is male? I really can't see the photo as its so small.

If he was parent raised in a aviary likely being alone in a small cage is very stressful to him. If he hasn't been handled by humans things will go slower as he needs to become comfortable in his new home first before you should try handling him.
Grabbing him now will only make things worse. Hopefully with time & offering treats he will get used to you but it might take a long time.

I think the pacing in this case means he is uncomfortable in a cage as he is used to a aviary.
It could mean he wants out as the cage is not something he is used to. He seems pretty agitated maybe you should at least partially cover his cage to give him a place to feel safe. I think I'd let him get used to the cage for a few days before letting him out. Can he fly?
If he gets out you might have a hard time getting him back. Since he's so scared now he could fly into a window or something dangerous. Grabbing him at this time should be avoided as it may only make him more afraid of hands.

 

[Suzy]

he for sure wants to be let out, but i wouldnt know how to get him back in.
i only cover the cage at night for him to sleep, also he drinks plenty of water and for the past two days i gave him small bird seeds no sunflower/ with a mix of dried fruits and veggies
he ate well but went for the seeds, today i put him fresh carrots and apple with a sprinkle of his seeds so he goes for them and tastes the fruit and veggie but he has not touched them yet, and no i dont have a scale.

he was in a medium sized cage, with his 6 other siblings, no parents in the cage and he has been on a seed and pellet diet for 3 weeks

i dont feel he is scared in the cage, he just observes everyone then he'll just start whistling a little, then get really excited then jumps around everywhere. thats the only part i dont know what its meant to mean but i understand the pacing because the second i opened the door yesterday he shot out. he has his left wing clipped, so he still is able to fly but pretty low

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Hi and welcome to AA! Congratulations on your new bird. It sounds like the jumping might be from something scaring him. Is his crest up and his feathers all tight when he does it? Try covering just a part of his cage in the day as already suggested. Is his cage near a window? Maybe something outside is scaring him. Against a wall in the main room, but not in the middle of a room, is best. I remember when I first got one of my birds the sunlight reflecting off my phone onto the ceiling would freak out my bird. It could be something easy to overlook like that. Since he's new, he's probably scared in general, so just take things very slow. Sit and talk to him quietly, give him treats through the cage bars, etc. Try not to ever grab him or force him to do anything since this will break any trust he has with you. When he seems ready, and more calm, you can try taking him out again. If he's afraid of your hand, you could try training him to step up onto a perch at first.

 

[mekat]

He is a great looking bird and you have a nice cage for him. Congrats!

 

[alicat]

My baby tiel would (and still does when she gets angry and really wants out) run back and forth super quickly, she'll jump from perch to perch on the bottom and run and run and run back and forth until we let her out. My boyfriend would watch her and be amazed that she wasn't tired out from it. It's just her wanting to come out.

try not to grab him to force him back in, you'll scare him and he might become afraid of your hands! since he wants to come out, maybe when you have time just leave the door open and let him go in when he wants. put his food and water in there, and some millet and he should go back in when he's ready. if you have to grab him, I'd use a towel or blanket. they tend to work better than hands and then that fear isn't associated with your hands.

taming can be slow and hard with parent raised birds. feeding millet through the bars is good if he'll take it, but just talking to him, reading to him, will all work towards him getting used to you and building that trust .

his one wing is clipped? but not the other? i definitely wouldnt recommend that, he must be so off balanced. i personally at this point would get the other one done so he'll at least be even? unless it's that drastic of a clip that he'll fall like a rock if it's even.
it would "help" (debateable) a little with the taming process, because he'll be more dependent on you to get around, which is obviously something up to you. but I don't see having one wing clipped being comfortable. I feel like it might be an issue when they grow in normally too, because then he'll be used to having to counterbalance. as far as I'm aware clipping one wing is a little outdated and phasing out because of that. but I'm not positive..

he gets excited and jumps around and whistles? is he just playing? or is it frantic?

 

[Suzy]

hey there, thanks heaps as he does all this his crest isnt up and he can do this without any movement around him. ive also noticed that he would sometimes during this crazy period he would try to stick his head through the bars, and would go from place to place attempting to fit it through even though he cant haha kinda cute to see but maybe he really really wants out?

i have his cage against a wall in the living room, and will definitely cover a corner like suggested, i really feel hes comfortable in the cage even if were sitting right infront of him, moving slowly close to him hes fine with that but any fast movements will alert him and causes him to take a few steps back. he has started taking treats from me yesterday, and today i got him following the treat from one place to another kind of like target training but using the millet spray and also put my hand through the small door with a handful of his normal seeds, at first he was hesitant but he slowly moved towards then had one foot on which was sooo adorable. ive always only had large parrots like my sulfur crested cockatoo and galahs so its super cute having these tiny feet step on hahaha i love it.

i posted a video on youtube of him being hyper if you wanted to check it out to understand what i mean, please excuse the background noises haha. here is the link

 

[Suzy]

about the one wing clipped, as i went to pick him up i asked the guy to clip him for me and he just did the one, i didnt question it. Researched into it and its not a problem for them it allows them to still get away but not that well? haha i can see what you mean though its just odd i guess
i would like them both done but will need to get someone to do the other wing for me

 

[alicat]

Yeah, the one wing clip is something that there's no real right answer for.. it's just an opinion.

honestly it sounds like it's moving along well and quickly, 2 days is a nanosecond and he's already taking millet from you and seed. it sounds like it's going really really well actually. i basically had aviary raised adult lovebirds, and it took us a good solid few months before they'd take seed from my hand.
I'd just keep going slow. Piper always stepped up immediately for me so I'm not sure how to start that really.

the video totally looks like him wanting to get out. if I don't let piper out when she runs for a while, she'll get kind of hyper and start playing and flapping her wings to get my attention and show off. she'll cling onto the door and flap her wings too.

I've only ever had small birds but I still love their little feet, they're stinkin adorable

 

[Suzy]

im glad you think so, thank you
super excited to work with him haha just gotta take it slow like you said

yeah its tough being patient and not being able to do anything about it, faced the same issue with my galahs as they were ex breeders but im sure you would agree that its really rewarding.
with step up i will give it a try when hes more comfy with us but might try a few ways like a perch at first or if i can get my hand in the cage without him running away to gently press against his chest for one.

such smarties haha like little kids, will do anything to get what they want
totally agree

 

[Suzy]

sorry for the million and one questions, hope you guys dont mind me asking
do you think i should move the cage in a small room just to let him out? rather than the living room which he has been in for the past 2 days and has plenty of places to hide and fly around.
but i was thinking, moving the cage back and forth with him in it scares him as its not exactly a smooth move, so that might frustrate him

 

[sunnysmom]

I've been told that one wing clips really aren't good as it keeps them off balanced. Has the baby learned to fly yet? It's not recommended to clip until a bird is flighted because it makes it harder to learn later. I personally am not in favor of wing clipping but if you do decide to clip in the future it would be better I think to have them both clipped. Why do you want the wings clipped? It's really better mentally and physically for them to remain flighted. I think if you could move the cage into a small room to work on taming with him that would be great and then move the cage back. You may want to let him settle in a bit more though if he still seems really nervous. You can try putting a perch on the outside of the cage near the door and hang a treat or toy to see if he will come out on his own. Also, cockatiels typically aren't fruit eaters so you may have better luck in trying to introduce vegetables to him. Also raw carrots may be too hard for him to eat yet since he's young. You could try cooking them just a little to soften them for him. My tiel also really likes different kinds of lettuce and broccoli. Tiels are wonderful little birds. Just be patient with him.

 

[alicat]

if it doesn't scare him too much, I would move him just to let him out for now. I'd move his cage uncovered though, so he at least knows he's moving. I made the mistake of thinking moving Piper covered might be less scary but it made her basically have a freight. But I feel like moving it a little is good too so they get used to change, I used to wheel Pipers whole cage into the bathroom for showers but now that we're closer she'll sit on my shoulder and we'll walked down the hallway without it.

 

[Suzy]

yeah i totally agree, not liking the idea as well but i cant really do anything about it for now with the one wing clipped.

unsure if you saw the video as to how desperate he is to get out, he literally jumped out that one time i opened it
although he is scared of me he jumped right out. i have a t-stand i can place outside like you said or a perch to place through the bars but on the outside fr he can camly step around and hop on but he is just so hyper that i dont think he'll go for it. with my sulfer crested cockatoo he paced himself, took him time to climb up the cage making sure no one was around that would scare him. but with Kiwi he just shoots out without looking around if that makes sense haha

thanks for the veggie tip, will give that a shot tomorrow
i obviously need to do a little more cockatiel research lol

im sure he would be up for that, I'll try that tomorrow as well
should be fun to see how he reacts in a smaller area

 

[alicat]

I've watched cockatoos and they definitely move a lot slower than little birds, tiels I would still consider to be a little zippy if they want, not as much as a lovebird or parrotlet, but Piper definitely has bursts of energy and moves quickly!!