First Time- Baby Tiel. Help?

[Maqpie]

Update
He started chirping more just a while ago. Some normal chirps, a few super loud ones, and even some whistling and clicking! Is this good too?

 

[Maqpie]

He just broke out in song oh my, lol!! Its so cute

 

[datlamb]

so nice to hear!!! him singing and chirping means he's adjusting very well a noisy bird is a happy bird, haha

keep up the good work! he seems to really be getting comfortable with you

 

[Catherine89]

What a cutie .

 

[Maqpie]

He was very vocal for an hour or so but after having a tantrum with his toy (he got mad at it) he quieted down again and just did his own thing in silence as usual. Is it normal for them to get all loud one minute and quiet the next?

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Yes, perfectly normal. One of my tiels frequently gets mad at a toy. Usually he has a reason, which in his case is that he has too much pent up energy and needs to come out.

 

[Maqpie]

Haha, silly little fellows.
Is it normal for new tiels to hiss at you occasionally? For the most part he's fine but for example, when I'm putting a blanket over his cage at night he hisses a bit, and when I take it off.
Its truly an experience owning one for the first time. More than anything I just hope I can bond with him and that he will like me-- I just always feel bad when he hisses, I hate making animals scared.

 

[rocky'smom]

the hissing is normal, his world has been rocked and he needs to adjust in his own time and space. if possible add a low wattage nightlight (5 watts) near his cage. tiels can be prone to night frights, a huge amount of flapping and flipping all over the cage. the night will serve to give him a small amount of light and not be so scared. with my tiels when I put them to bed I sing a soft little calming song every night. if they have night fright I sing the same song to them so they know mom is near and taking care of the problem.

 

[Maqpie]

Okay, thanks! There's no plugins by the cage but ill try to see what I can do

 

[Maqpie]

So far i was able to get him to eat a few bites of millet from my hand cautiously, but mostly he stuck to the whole millet spray I provided with my other hand (which I put right on my hand with the millet seeds) in attempts to lure him. Although he was cautious he seemed to enjoy it, millet gets him very excited. I did that for maybe thirty minutes. Then aftrewards when I closed the cage back up he started chirping here and there and watching me as I cleaned out the old newspaper and such.

 

[Maqpie]

Another update, he now recognizes the millet bag and rushes to the cage door and chirps. He ate a lot more from my hand.

 

[Maqpie]

He chirps and sings sometimes, but once and a while he will start screaming super loud-- it sounds like this (random video i found of some tiels screaming lol)

 

[Maqpie]

Does the screaming mean anything bad?

 

[iamwhoiam]

Nothing wrong with those sounds you are hearing in the video you posted.
Your 'tiel seems to be doing well.

 

[Maqpie]

I'm glad to hear
Here's a very low res pic of Gideon (that's his name ) eating from my hand this morning.
He is usually careful at first, but if shown a stick of millet spray (and given a nibble from it) he will start eating from my hand.
Still not quite used to my hand. Doesn't freak out if I'm in the cage but sometimes scoots away or watches from afar. But he's getting good at singing and talking and he loves to play!
I will keep repeating the handfeeding process on a daily basis. How will I know when he's ready to be taught to step up?

 

[finchly]

You are doing great. I would slow down a bit. Give him some time to settle in and when you can tell he's really comfortable start the stepping up.

Did we say this already? Don't stare at him (predator thing) when he scoots away just look off to the side and act normal. Sit near his cage and talk, sing, or read out loud.

 

[Maqpie]

Alright!
Yeah, I always try to look away. I never look him in the eye either

 

[Maqpie]

So far last night and this morning i didn't hear him hiss when I put on and removed the blanket from his cage (for nighttime and morning) and he no longer needs a millet spray bribe to eat the millet seeds from my hand. When he sees me grabbing the bag, he rushes to the front perch of the cage and waits, and eats it excitedly from my hand. He still backs away a little when I replace his food and water, but nothing more than that. Definitely still hand shy. But he would do anything for that millet..! He is playing with his toys right now. I hope I'm making progress. My main goal is to get him comfortable enough with handfeeding that I can teach him to step up. Right now he will hiss and attempt to bite if you're too close to him, but usually he just scurries away so I guess he prefers the latter. Though I know its common for even comfortable tiels to bite when stepping up. What are you guys' experience with training a new tiel to step up and getting up to that point? When do you know they're ready? Ill give him all the time he needs ..

 

[Maqpie]

Cool update.. today I tried moving the millet seeds to my palm so he couldn't reach them. At first he put one foot on my finger very carefully and started eating, then he had both feet on my hand and ate. He did well, but when I accidentally moved towards his perch too much he got angry (that cute little squeal they do when they're mad you know) and hopped back on his perch. I gave him a few minutes and tried again, and he jumped on my hand with much less hesitance than before. He ate for a while then this time when I turned him towards his perch just slightly at the end, he got back on with no fuss.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Great update! Just take it slow and go at his pace. I have one tiel that will only step up on the back of my hand, and one that will only step up on my arm when wearing long sleeves.