Cockatiel too excited to eat, too hungry to hang out (desperate for help)

[Cannie]

My cockatiel's name is Starscream, she's 4 years old and I got her on September 13, 2019. She was originally a breeder's bird but the breeder didn't want her anymore so Star was sold to me as a pet. She was extremely hand shy and I trained her myself. She now loves coming out of her cage, stepping up on my finger and receiving endless head scritches. She's very sweet and smart but I fear there are some psychological problems going on with her right now.

My cockatiel is way too hyperactive in the morning, she chirps loudly and hops back and forth on her perches. When I give her her breakfast she initially comes over to eat it but she runs back and forth from her food dish to the other side of her cage. I have to tell her "come here" and "eat" in order to get her back to eating, but it never lasts, she always hops away chirping and yelling. She'll even continue to chirp AS she eats! I think she may be excited to come of her cage to hang out with me, but she has to eat first! If I try to take her out of her cage during this period she chirps A LOT, like hungry desperate chirps not a pleasant happy chirp. I also have to be in her sight while she's eating or she'll stop, she's very particular about having me in her sights!

She wakes up at 10am and usually calms down by 3pm. In the late afternoons and evenings she is a very good bird! She'll eat on her own and happily come out of her cage to hang out without any fuss or hungry chirps.

I noticed this hyper behaviour began to happen in December of 2019 when I went to house sit for a week. When I came back it was like she was SO excited to see me that she never wanted me to leave again. I hang out with her every day all day so me being gone for a whole week must have felt like forever to her and I haven't been gone from her that long since. Her morning hyper behaviour wasn't so bad at first and she'd calm down after I gave her a nap. Lately though the naps aren't really doing it and when I put her alone in another room by herself she will desperately call for me, even if she's in there for a whole hour. I feel like I've failed her as a mom and I really can't afford to take her to the vet right now... when I get the money to I will definitely take her there for a checkup.
Here is everything I've tried so far:

-Sprinkling her favourite treat (millet) on top of her food
- 1 hour naps after she's eaten a bit (but still hyper)
- Putting her alone in the next room with her favourite calming music playing for a half hour or so
- Eating with her beside her cage
- Sharing what I'm eating with her as she's on her food dish
- Ignoring her (this one is the hardest )
- Changing her food multiple times throughout the morning-early afternoon
- Taking her food dish out and mixing it up for her (she gets interested at first but then hops off)
- Telling her "good girl" when she starts to eat (sometimes talking to her excites her more tho...)
- Feeding her outside of her cage (i've tried food in a bowl and sprinkled out on a table)
-Setting up a routine for Starscream (wake up, eat food, nap, eat food, come out of cage)
-Instantly letting her out of her cage after she's finished eating (sometimes it works and sometimes she's still yelling)

It really feels like I'm doing something wrong here, I wouldn't be surprised if I've caused some awful pattern of behaviour in her and I'm pretty torn up about it.

PLEASE! I need help! I've looked all over the internet but I can't seem to find anyone with the same problem (or any answers that work).

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Maybe she’s feeling hormonal, or maybe she just wants to be with you. She sounds like one of my birds when my husband is home. She gets excited and calls for him all day. Your bird won’t starve herself, and she will eat eventually, so I wouldn’t worry about her eating before she comes out. I also wouldn’t put her in another room for a nap. It just might make her more anxious. How big is her cage? Does she have foraging opportunities? You said you tried a routine, but what kind? I think it helps if they can associate your routine with their own. For instance I always let my birds out at breakfast, but first I shower. They know that after I shower and make breakfast they get to come out. Similarly, after I vacuum in the afternoon I let them out, so they come to expect this. This way, even though they contact call and chirp during the day, they only get really excited right when they know their time is coming soon. If I have to change up my day for some reason, it’s no biggie, but they know in general this is how things work.

 

[Tazlima]

A couple thoughts off the top of my head.

1) what kind of energy do you have in the morning? If you're wound up, she could be feeding off that. Make sure you model calm, relaxed behavior.

2) it sounds like you're putting a lot of effort into calming your bird, but what about the opposite? What opportunities does she have to burn off energy throughout the rest of the day? Nothing like regular, good extended runs/flights to help a critter feel calm and relaxed, not to mention increasing their appetite so they focus more on meals. Multi-room recall training + hide and seek are a good starting point.

 

[Cannie]

Thank you Tiel Feathers and Tazlima for responding!! I really appreciate all the advice.

This is going to sound silly but the day after I posted this thread I figured things out (go figure!). It really was that she wanted to hang out with me SO BADLY and I should've just listened to her instead of pressuring her to eat. She quite the diva so she really hates to be pushed

I established a new routine that involves taking her out of her cage first thing in morning. After she's had some hangout time and a loooooot of scritches she's happy to go back in her cage to eat (and immediately come back out when she's done). I've been keeping this routine up for a few days now and I can tell she's much happier and so am I! Plus she doesn't need that nap in a separate room anymore, hurray!

 

[Tazlima]

That's wonderful news! I swear, half of living with birds is solving this sort of puzzle, and it's such a joy when a solution is finally found. Congratulations!

 

[sunnysmom]

Just let her out. She'll eat when she's ready. My cockatoo is insanely excited to get out and play in the morning. There's no way I could get him to eat first. Also, I think tiels should have access to food 24/7. Do you leave her food over night? If so, she's definitely fine to just come out and play.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I’m glad you figured out a routine and that she seems much happier now!