Candylicious
Checking out the neighborhood
- Joined
- 2/20/15
- Messages
- 4
I bought a handfed 10 week old male cockatiel a little over a week ago. Within the first few hours he started begging to come out of his cage, so I took him out and he seemed like a happy little baby. Over the next few days, the more comfortable he became the angrier he got. I was told by the breeder he was handfed from day one and she described him as a Velcro bird. I should have known something was up when she took him out of the cage he immediately flew towards the playstand near his parents and kept doing so when she would bring him back. He wasn't nippy or lash out though so I didn't think it would be a big problem.
He lashes out and hisses a lot; however, he is also very Velcro-y.
I have been careful to read his body language, tried keeping him off my shoulder, practiced stepping up. Millet seems to make him extremely angry. I've used it as a treat for allowing me to put him on his perch, since he wants to be with me 100% of his awake time, staying on his perch is a very big deal. His perch is attached to his cage and I have it arranged so he can come in and out of his cage as he pleases. He has started flying down from his perch and obsessively hunting me down. If anyone else tries offering a ride he lashes out at them. If I bring him back to his cage or perch, he lashes out at me. When he lashes out I lock him in his cage as a time out. I am careful not to react and not pull back but keep doing what I'm doing ignoring his nasty behavior.
Another problem is he hungry baby cries several times a day, despite having plenty of food... If I don't quickly tend to him he becomes angry and will lash out. The only way I've found to stop the hungry baby cry is to change out his food, even though I changed out his food a couple of hours earlier. He baby cries before bed too. I put him from his perch into his cage for bedtime and he lashes out yet again.
He goes to bed angry with me and wakes up refusing to speak to me!
I don't know if I am doing something seriously wrong or if this is just his personality. If things don't change rather soon the breeder will be taking him back.
This isn't my first cockatiel but I've only had females in the past and am wondering if that is the difference... but I didn't think there would be this much difference in male and female cockatiels.
He lashes out and hisses a lot; however, he is also very Velcro-y.
I have been careful to read his body language, tried keeping him off my shoulder, practiced stepping up. Millet seems to make him extremely angry. I've used it as a treat for allowing me to put him on his perch, since he wants to be with me 100% of his awake time, staying on his perch is a very big deal. His perch is attached to his cage and I have it arranged so he can come in and out of his cage as he pleases. He has started flying down from his perch and obsessively hunting me down. If anyone else tries offering a ride he lashes out at them. If I bring him back to his cage or perch, he lashes out at me. When he lashes out I lock him in his cage as a time out. I am careful not to react and not pull back but keep doing what I'm doing ignoring his nasty behavior.
Another problem is he hungry baby cries several times a day, despite having plenty of food... If I don't quickly tend to him he becomes angry and will lash out. The only way I've found to stop the hungry baby cry is to change out his food, even though I changed out his food a couple of hours earlier. He baby cries before bed too. I put him from his perch into his cage for bedtime and he lashes out yet again.
He goes to bed angry with me and wakes up refusing to speak to me!
I don't know if I am doing something seriously wrong or if this is just his personality. If things don't change rather soon the breeder will be taking him back.
This isn't my first cockatiel but I've only had females in the past and am wondering if that is the difference... but I didn't think there would be this much difference in male and female cockatiels.
