Taming a cockatiel

[lilith_]

Hello, and happy New Year!

Things have gotten better with my rescue cockatiel.

She now eats from my hand through the bars of the cage. She doesn't move away when I sit next to her, but we've reached what I would call a miscomunication moment, so I wanted to ask for some advice since this is the first time owning a parrot.

I put my hand inside the cage? Fine. I feed her from my two fingers? All good. I put the miller in the palm of my hand to let her eat it? She eyes my hand like she doesn't like it, but she eats it.

However, as soon as I put the millet a bit far out and invite her to step up, she starts lunging at my hand and biting it. She doesn't hurt me even if she touches my hand with her beak. It's more of a threat than anything else, but I'm clearly not understanding how to approach this due to my inexperience.

I'll mention that the first few times she did that, I removed my hand as a reflex because she took me by surprise. I wonder if that made things worse?

 

[sunnysmom]

You can try to get her to start stepping up on a perch instead. Hands can still be scary and depending on where you got her, I think baby birds are grabbed a lot which teaches them mistrust. Also, I often have new birds step up on the back on my hand with my hand on flat. That way, they can just walk onto my hand. And I am glad things are progressing with her!

 

[lilith_]

You can try to get her to start stepping up on a perch instead. Hands can still be scary and depending on where you got her, I think baby birds are grabbed a lot which teaches them mistrust. Also, I often have new birds step up on the back on my hand with my hand on flat. That way, they can just walk onto my hand. And I am glad things are progressing with her!

I've tried! She lunges and bites the perch, too.

 

[sunnysmom]

I've tried! She lunges and bites the perch, too.

Are you trying when she's in her cage or out of the cage?

 

[lilith_]

Are you trying when she's in her cage or out of the cage?

Inside the cage. I keep the cage door open when I'm home but she doesn't come out.

 

[sunnysmom]

Inside the cage. I keep the cage door open when I'm home but she doesn't come out.

She could be cage territorial. It's pretty common. When you have time to sit with her for awhile, I often do it in a small bird safe room, you can put a perch just outside the cage door and hang some millet to encourage her to come out on her own.

 

[Aestatis]

My newest bird was also very wary. Try taking a slight step back. Here are some ideas to try and bridge the gap you could try:

*If you haven't already, get her eating millet pieces (the round balls) from your fingers. It makes the millet last longer and is a convenient "treat unit".
*Keep feeding her with millet in your palm so she feels less wary. If she is nervous try to hold the millet in the tips of your fingers before moving it to the palm.
*Try holding the millet in a spot where she can move towards it (and you) without getting on your hand. So, on another perch or another part of the same perch/her cage. This way she is the one that has to come to you for treats, not you invading her space.
*Once she is reliably moving to your hand to get the millet try having your other hand nearby. If she starts getting nervous move your second hand away until she begins to relax.

*Once she is desensitized to your hands, you can see if she is willing to follow the millet (held in your fingers) onto your hand. If trying this, make sure to reward every little try she does.

Also consider giving her a bigger reward/piece of millet when you make a breakthrough, or leaving a bit in the cage when you finish your session. Also, make sure to end each session on a good note even if you have to go back a step to be able to reward her. It also sounds like she has good self-confidence if she is giving you warning nibbles. If you retreat and show her you respect her signs then I think that's actually a big part in earning trust too!

 

[lilith_]

Thank you for all the tips!
I'll do my best to put them into practice and let you know how it goes.

 

[Monica]

From what I can tell, you haven't had her for too long. Simply just working on getting her used to you, taking treats etc is fine. Once she's starting to fell more confident, you can start asking her to move TOWARDS you. Doesn't need to be your hand, simply near you. Once more comfortable with your hands, then you can work on teaching her to walk toward your hand before even asking for her to touch your hand. You go from a touch of a toe, to a foot, then eventually two feet.

Imagine it to take a few weeks or longer as long as you work with her every day.

 

[lilith_]

From what I can tell, you haven't had her for too long. Simply just working on getting her used to you, taking treats etc is fine. Once she's starting to fell more confident, you can start asking her to move TOWARDS you. Doesn't need to be your hand, simply near you. Once more comfortable with your hands, then you can work on teaching her to walk toward your hand before even asking for her to touch your hand. You go from a touch of a toe, to a foot, then eventually two feet.

Imagine it to take a few weeks or longer as long as you work with her every day.

You're right, thank you.
I think I've gotten discouraged by all those stories of people taming their birds quick. She clearly needs more time to start trusting me, and I shouldn't rush her.

 

[Monica]

These are from several years ago... but perhaps they'll help in some way

An Experiment with Budgies

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forums.avianavenue.com

"Self-Tamed" Cockatiels

This thread technically begins from another thread http://forums.avianavenue.com/budgie-boulevard/45246-experiment-budgies.html I can't recall when, but sometime after I had been feeding the budgies by hand, one of my hand-raised but not worked with tiels (at the time) was also interested in...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Aestatis]

Feeling discouraged is understandable, especially when it feels like progress has stalled. I've had times with my birds (especially my newest) where it feels like we've gone backwards and I've worried about what I must have done wrong.

It's always an adorable story when you hear of birds that fall in love with their new home right away. But if you stick with it, you'll look back on all the struggle and feel rewarded once it all works out.