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1 week home quiet female tiel

Rae B

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Hi, seeking some advice - first tiel. We are 1 week in, she is so quiet. Doesn’t really have any excitement to her. She will come to hand and come out of her cage. Sometimes we get a contact call but otherwise we haven’t heard anything out of her.
When she came she was cradling her leg but with a flat perch she seems to be feeling more comfortable with it. I thought originally this may be why she was quiet and reserved but now we are a week in she still is.
I sit with her all day whilst I work talking to her… but nothing.
she will willingly come out of her cage, will land on my hand and wants to land on my head. She tends to just fly around then choose somewhere else in the end. She will eat millet from my hand, even my toddlers… but not a peep or any enthusiastic body language from her. Lots of toys, been offered a variety of food - seems happiest with seed but I am trying to add other for her health. She just seems a conundrum… like she is bonding with us but won’t make a noise or play. Please advise… should I be worried?
 

Chris82

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I found it took my tiel a few months to become comfortable in my house. They are naturally wary birds. Give her some more time to acclimatise to her surroundings. Then you will be chasingafter her to stop chewing
 

Rae B

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Thank you, did you continue to interact - step up, treats etc
Last night she sat on my knee whilst we watched TV. If this isn’t helping I will hold back, don’t want to overwhelm her.
 

C_Leigh

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A bird does not exist to excite. Give her time and care and security. She sounds distressed atm which is normal. Please give her more than a week..
 

Rae B

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Oh no, I don’t want her here to excite. I just mean she seems really subdued. She has all the time in the world if she just needs to settle, I just want to make sure I have nothing to worry about - sickness etc if it were the latter it’s straight to the vets but if it’s the former and it’s just time she needs then I’m here to hand it to her. What I don’t want to do is stress her and take her to the vets unnecessarily when stress is actually the last thing she needs. If she is just going to be a quiet wee thing but healthy that’s completely ok
 

soundsfun

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My budgie Kimchee was really similar - super quiet and inactive through his entire quarantine period of 45 days. He was also willing to step up, nibble millet, etc. But I realized that he was actually terrified and was only doing all those things for us because he was too scared to resist. What helped him finally come out of his shell a bit was when he got to meet our other budgie, Tofu, who’s fully tame and very interactive with us. It’s been a few weeks since then and Kimchee’s loosened up some but is still quite wary. Hopefully your little tiel will come out of her shell in time.
 

Wardy

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Last night she sat on my knee whilst we watched TV. If this isn’t helping I will hold back, don’t want to overwhelm her.
This is positive if she is choosing to sit on your knee then there is some trust from her just give her time to settle it seems you are going in the right direction.
like she is bonding with us but won’t make a noise or play. Please advise… should I be worried?
Things will just take time for her to settle into her new surroundings keep doing what you are doing i think you are going in the right direction she is contact calling this is a good thing .

I am going to tag some experienced tiel owners in for more specific advice but IMO you are doing fine

@Sunni Tiel @sunnysmom @Sodapop&Co.
 

Sunni Tiel

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Some birds, female cockatiels in particular, can be more quiet and reserved. it also might just be a temporary thing and she'll open up after a little while. Is she a DNA tested female?

It's always recommended to take your bird to an avian vet when they come home and again yearly, just like any other pet. Was she a hand fed baby or parent raised? If she was parent raised she might be less compelled to seek human interaction, but hand fed babies sometimes will do anything to play with you. Of course it can be the other way around, but it's common for them to act this way.

Where is her cage located? In a louder environment where there are a lot of people she could be scared or intimidated for the first few weeks, though an environment like that can be beneficial when she's accustomed to the sound and people.

You also seemed unsure about diet, it takes a while to see what foods they prefer. As a general rule of thumb, they should have about a 50/50 ratio seed to pellets. that should make up 75% of her diet, the other 25% should be fresh veggies and a little fruit. Too many seeds can lead to health issues like fatty liver disease, while all pellets is hard on them too.

I don't think you have reason to worry, she could just be a quiet bird who isn't used to your house yet. If you do however see frequent naps throughout the day and lack of any activity, she could be sick. A vet trip couldn't hurt!
 

Sodapop&Co.

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Good advice here already. My tiel was the direct opposite when she first came home; stressed and yelling for her old flock constantly, but different birds will react differently. She sounds healthy to me in her behaviour; that's the only thing that would worry me. The fact that she's flying and searching out contact with you guys is a great sign. Some birds are just quieter than others, but a week is really no time at all for a bird so you're going to keep seeing changes in her as she starts to settle in. Tiels are also naturally calmer birds than some, especially the girls, but at one week in you're not seeing her completely herself and comfortable with her environment yet. Just keep going at her pace, interacting without overwhelming, love her lots and she'll come out of her shell by and by! A checkup to make sure everything is as it should be definitely wouldn't hurt though, and would put your mind at ease.
Congrats on your girl! It sounds like you guys are doing great. What's her name? Would love to see some pictures. :)
 

sunnysmom

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A week is really a short period of time. It can take weeks for a bird to settle in. Just give her time. How old is she?
 

Rae B

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Just a little update, by day 7… she gave us everything she has. She is now incredibly bonded to the family. She calls to be out of her cage and cannot resist a scritch with the loudest baby chirp you could imagine. Such a change in no time at all! She has well and truly settled in and by day 9 she was succeeding at flight recall. Honestly, it was like she just woke up and thought - hey, here ain’t so bad! The pic is day 9 after some training. B93AA61F-5D8B-433C-BEE2-2B6361BA099B.jpeg
 

Tiel Feathers

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What a great update!
 
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