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Cockatiel help

Allu

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Allison
So I got a new young cockatiel from a breeder (i don't know the gender since they didn't tell me so i decided to call my cockatiel Pearl for now) a few days ago. Pearl can step up onto my finger but whenever I try to pet Pearl, they hiss and bite at me. Am I rushing in this? And if so, what can I do to not rush and scare Pearl?

-Allu
 

sunnysmom

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Welcome to the forum. If you just got her, I think you may be rushing things. The fact that she's already stepping up is great. :) Cockatiels only like to be petted on their heads and will often put their heads down when they want scratched. Just give it some time. Fingers and hands can be scary things at first so your tiel needs to learn to trust you. Just spend time hanging out with her, talking to, see if you can hand feed her some treats, etc. Also, is her name Pearl because she has pearl markings? If so, gender will be easy to tell in time. Males tiels lose their pearls as they molt. Females tiels retain them.
 

blewin

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Rushing it, depending on the bird. Buddy wanted to be out and about right away. In fact, I called the vet all freaked out because she was non-stop calling. He yelled at me to let her out already. Move at the bird's pace, or you might accidentally make her not trust you. Is she hissing when she's in the cage or out of it?
 

Tiel Feathers

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Congratulations on your new tiel and welcome to AA! As others have already said, just let her get used to you and her new home. She will have to learn to trust you first before she will let you pet her. Just spend a lot of time talking to her, giving her treats, etc. It might take several weeks or even months before she lets you pet her. There's no guarantees, however, and it's also possible she might not ever like to be pet. One of my tiels is strictly hands off, but that doesn't mean he's not a sweetie in many other ways!
 

Allu

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Welcome to the forum. If you just got her, I think you may be rushing things. The fact that she's already stepping up is great. :) Cockatiels only like to be petted on their heads and will often put their heads down when they want scratched. Just give it some time. Fingers and hands can be scary things at first so your tiel needs to learn to trust you. Just spend time hanging out with her, talking to, see if you can hand feed her some treats, etc. Also, is her name Pearl because she has pearl markings? If so, gender will be easy to tell in time. Males tiels lose their pearls as they molt. Females tiels retain them.
Yes her name is Pearl cause of that. Ah, thank you for the information. Also just another thing about Pearl: I don't necessarily pet Pearl on the hand but Pearl even tries to bite when I try to get her up. She hisses and bites a few times before getting on my finger. Should I stop doing this until Pearl stops hissing?
 

Allu

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Rushing it, depending on the bird. Buddy wanted to be out and about right away. In fact, I called the vet all freaked out because she was non-stop calling. He yelled at me to let her out already. Move at the bird's pace, or you might accidentally make her not trust you. Is she hissing when she's in the cage or out of it?
Pearl hisses when she's in and out. Mostly at my finger.
 

Allu

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Congratulations on your new tiel and welcome to AA! As others have already said, just let her get used to you and her new home. She will have to learn to trust you first before she will let you pet her. Just spend a lot of time talking to her, giving her treats, etc. It might take several weeks or even months before she lets you pet her. There's no guarantees, however, and it's also possible she might not ever like to be pet. One of my tiels is strictly hands off, but that doesn't mean he's not a sweetie in many other ways!
Ah thank you for the welcome and thanks for the information.
 

sunnysmom

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Is she in her cage or out when she hisses?
 

sunnysmom

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Will she come out on her own? Is she hissing when you try to take her out? I always let me tiel come out on his own. You can also try when she's out of the cage to see if she will step up on a perch until she gains a little more trust in "hands".
 
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