Cockatiel dislikes the cage

[Bluburry]

I'm a very new bird mom and I'm only 17 so I have yet to learn a lot of things about birds and how to take care of them.

Right now I have a White-faced cockatiel and he (i think its a he because he is quite talkative) is only, i believe, a month and a half. His name is Saki, still a baby. I got him when he was about 2-3 weeks old from my dad's friend who is a breeder. For the first few days I kept him in a big box with wood chips which he liked so much but after a few days he started trying to get out of it. After a while I started putting him inside the bird cage and well he was cool with it but sometimes he wants to get out and pace around.

Now, after weeks of trying to let him get used to the cage by putting him in there and leaving the door open, feeding him there sometimes, playing with him while he's on top or inside the cage, he just seems to dislike it more as time pass and I'm worried, because I need him to get used to the cage. If I ever need to leave him alone, he needs to be in the cage where it's safe. But i also dont want to leave him there all alone and stressed because he wants to get out.

So I wanna know how to effectively get him used to the cage without him getting stressed.

He does sleep every night in the cage now, it takes him a while to stop pacing around tho, what i would do is put him in and pet him and then close the door and cover the cage with a towel and play music so he calms down. I don't know what I'm doing. Please help me o_o I love Saki and I don't want to be a horrible and stupid mum to him.

Thankyu

 

[NightOwls]

What do you have setup inside the cage?

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum. With white faced tiels, as they mature, males will have an actual white face and females with have a grey face. So you should be able to know it time for sure what sex your tiel is. Six weeks is still pretty young. Have you done hand feedings with him? Do you spend time with him in his cage? You don't want him to associate "cage" with you going away. You can also try a cage only treat- like millet spray or something that he really likes. So he starts to associate his cage with good things too.

 

[Bluburry]

What do you have setup inside the cage?

Well, there's a big cuttle bone, 3 perches (2 small ones and a long one) A tiny bowl of seeds and a round swing. I also put a small turtle stuff toy in there because he likes it and a handkerchief which is where i would put him when its time to sleep. There is also an empty ice cream tub because my dad let Saki eat in it and Saki seemed to like it. It's like a small bathtub, without water.

There's no toys yet. I'm hoping to get toys for him, if my parents would let me.

 

[Bluburry]

Welcome to the forum. With white faced tiels, as they mature, males will have an actual white face and females with have a grey face. So you should be able to know it time for sure what sex your tiel is. Six weeks is still pretty young. Have you done hand feedings with him? Do you spend time with him in his cage? You don't want him to associate "cage" with you going away. You can also try a cage only treat- like millet spray or something that he really likes. So he starts to associate his cage with good things too.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Yeah, I have been hand feeding him from the start. Would feed him baby food (which the breeder suggested and ofc no milk in it) and sunflower seeds. When we first got him he kept hissing and hated the syringe so I had to crack open a bunch of sunflower seeds and pinch them to smaller pieces to feed him with he loved. When he started to trust us I started feeding him with the baby food which he loves. Now he can eat seeds by himself but I still hand feed him to make sure he is eating well.

I don't spend much time with him in the cage, mostly just at the top of his cage. He just likes to chill there and look at the window. I spend a lot of time with him on my desk. I'm in 11th Grade and Online Classes is tough. I have classes Mon-Fri and even in Sun I am still working on schoolworks. Sooo, I'm mostly on my desk and he would sometimes fly to me and just chill at my desk, sometimes play with my pen or my phone. But I've tried before to play while he is in the cage but he would eventually want to get out. And because of my poor time management, he spends more time outside of his cage and I don't get to play with him inside the cage.

The only time when I leave him alone in the cage is when it's bed time. The past few days that's how its been. I'll try to play with him more in the cage. I've been trying to feed him inside his cage but most of the time he is like NOPE and jumps into my face. I still have to buy millet spray. It's not common here so it's hard to get.

 

[ParrotNuts]

There's no toys yet.

I still have to buy millet spray. It's not common here so it's hard to get.

Out of interest, in which country are you? That way we may be able to recommend places to get toys and treats for you.

 

[Porter]

Toys?
THATS EASY.
Cardboard, Cut into shapes and strung on twine. Old paperback books and phone books.
Stainless steel bits and pieces strung up by twine.

Ya know things you can find around the house =D

10 Ideas for homemade parrot toys

1. Wire coat hanger climbing frame.
2. Ropes in house, aviary and bird room. We keep hooks screwed into the picture rails of our rooms where the birds have access in their out of cage time. Ropes are attached at either end. ...
3. Homemade foraging toys.
4. A Willow Wreath.
5. Homemade swings.
6. Flowers.
7. Foliage.
8. Charity Shops.

 

[sunnysmom]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Yeah, I have been hand feeding him from the start. Would feed him baby food (which the breeder suggested and ofc no milk in it) and sunflower seeds. When we first got him he kept hissing and hated the syringe so I had to crack open a bunch of sunflower seeds and pinch them to smaller pieces to feed him with he loved. When he started to trust us I started feeding him with the baby food which he loves. Now he can eat seeds by himself but I still hand feed him to make sure he is eating well.

I don't spend much time with him in the cage, mostly just at the top of his cage. He just likes to chill there and look at the window. I spend a lot of time with him on my desk. I'm in 11th Grade and Online Classes is tough. I have classes Mon-Fri and even in Sun I am still working on schoolworks. Sooo, I'm mostly on my desk and he would sometimes fly to me and just chill at my desk, sometimes play with my pen or my phone. But I've tried before to play while he is in the cage but he would eventually want to get out. And because of my poor time management, he spends more time outside of his cage and I don't get to play with him inside the cage.

The only time when I leave him alone in the cage is when it's bed time. The past few days that's how its been. I'll try to play with him more in the cage. I've been trying to feed him inside his cage but most of the time he is like NOPE and jumps into my face. I still have to buy millet spray. It's not common here so it's hard to get.

It sounds like you're doing great with him. Don't play with him per se in the cage. Just sit and talk to him or even read to him. You want him to learn that the cage can be okay too. And for bedtime, same thing. Just don't put him to bed and leave him. I have a bedtime routine with my tiels. I put them in. Give them a bit of millet. Sing them some songs. They start to beak grind and then I cover them. I try to make bedtime pleasant.

 

[Bluburry]

F

Out of interest, in which country are you? That way we may be able to recommend places to get toys and treats for you.

I'm from the Philippines
Specifically in the Visayas (Islands)

 

[Bluburry]

Toys?
THATS EASY.
Cardboard, Cut into shapes and strung on twine. Old paperback books and phone books.
Stainless steel bits and pieces strung up by twine.

Ya know things you can find around the house =D

10 Ideas for homemade parrot toys

1. Wire coat hanger climbing frame.
2. Ropes in house, aviary and bird room. We keep hooks screwed into the picture rails of our rooms where the birds have access in their out of cage time. Ropes are attached at either end. ...
3. Homemade foraging toys.
4. A Willow Wreath.
5. Homemade swings.
6. Flowers.
7. Foliage.
8. Charity Shops.

Thanks for the ideas! I've been trying to make homemade toys but I was hesitant because I might do it wrong and might use a material I shouldn't. I wasn't able to find time to put a lot of effort and research on homemade toys, but when I get the chance to, I'll try! I'm still a Senior High School student and online classes are brutal. Very few discussions and a lot of schoolwork @w@ but FIGHTING!

Can you maybe give me a list of No-no's for materials to use for homemade toys?

 

[ParrotNuts]

1~ Check toys regularly and frequently for loose strings more than 1" long and for frayed edges that can entangle or be swallowed by your bird.

2~ Your bird should not be able to fit it's head into any holes in a toy that are small enough to get stuck in and strangle.

3~ Links should be completely closed so as not to allow beaks to get wedged between the link ends.

4~ Only stainless steel or nickle plated metal hardware should be used to avoid potential metal toxicity.

Here is a good thing to know when making toys. There are few threads on safe and unsafe things, I'll link them in a minute

 

[ParrotNuts]

!! Dangerous toys list !!
Safe wood?
Safe and Toxic Plants
These forum, might have good reads
Safety Avenue
Toys & Cages Bypass
Enrichment and Foraging Park
A good thread for DIY toys,
Foraging; An easy How-to

 

[Bluburry]

UPDATE:

For the past few days Saki is able to sleep in the cage without panicking or pacing around wanting to get out. YEY!

It was like 4 days ago? It was around 12 am nearly 1 am and I was making a ppt for my report and I had to put Saki in the cage to sleep and I was in a call with my boyfriend. He helped me put Saki in the cage.

He suggested that when I put saki in the cage:
- don't cover the cage
- stay very close to the cage (but not near the "door")
- talk to him like you would normally do
- give kisses (cuz Saki love those)
- try to reach and pet/massage him
- play some calming guitar music in the background (Saki likes the uke and guitar)

When Saki got in the cage he immediately wanted to get out but I closed the cage and did all those things my bf told me to do (which idk where he got those, think it was just his ideas) He was pacing back and forth at first but after a LOT of kisses, talking and petting, he finally was able to sit still. Saki would go to the corner of the cage where I'm near and press his head against the bars asking for pets and then after a while he would get up and just start preening.

I was AMAZED that it worked, he was actually getting comfy and was just preening. I didn’t want to leave yet because I was afraid that he would just start pacing around again so I pulled out my uke and sang songs to him and he eventually started to get up to his perch and got comfy.

I did this the day after (twas a success) then on the 3rd day I was able to put him in the cage and he was calm, he just stayed on the perch where I put him and I didn't need to play the uke or calm him down. And last night he wasn't exactly calm. I was able to put him in the cage but he was walking around checking the door, his food and then up his perch, soo I had to play the uke for him and he eventually sat still.

It sounds like you're doing great with him. Don't play with him per se in the cage. Just sit and talk to him or even read to him. You want him to learn that the cage can be okay too. And for bedtime, same thing. Just don't put him to bed and leave him. I have a bedtime routine with my tiels. I put them in. Give them a bit of millet. Sing them some songs. They start to beak grind and then I cover them. I try to make bedtime pleasant.

My bedtime routine isn't pleasant, that was my mistake xD And I'll try to read to him while he's in the cage! That does sound nice since I love to read HAHAHA Thank you for the advice! It really helped, it's great to hear from people who does have birds and have experience. My parents would try to give me advice and they're mixed and confusing @w@

Again, Thank you so much!!

Here's a photo of Saki chilling in the cage, preening. He brought his green ribbon up the perch xD.

 

[Bluburry]

!! Dangerous toys list !!
Safe wood?
Safe and Toxic Plants
These forum, might have good reads
Safety Avenue
Toys & Cages Bypass
Enrichment and Foraging Park
A good thread for DIY toys,
Foraging; An easy How-to

Thank you so much ParrotNuts! I'll check them out sometime for sure

 

[sunnysmom]

I'm glad things are going better!