Mizzely
Lil Monsters Bird Toys
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I think you are farther than you think you are with him
Tau sounds so much like Mocha was...except that Mocha never did show that 1% that Tau shows oh so rarely...Tau is a hissy bitey beast. I can't ask him to step up or anything, he just wants to be left alone. That's him 99% of the time. He's the most stay away, stand-offish bird I've ever met.
HOWEVER, every once in a while he'll come to me and pull leg hairs until I offer my hand for a step-up, and he'll spend 15 minutes just being the sweetest bird I ever met. And that makes him special to me.
I love making toys too! It's really a great feeling when you make something for them and they obviously love it! Plus it keeps my crafty nature busy
Birds have different personalities and they take a lot of time and patience and despite this, you may not get the behaviors that you want. I have a female tiel named Bella. Yes, I look at all of those videos also and wish that she would do some of those behaviors. When I first got her, she thought that I was going to eat her and didn't want anything to do with me. Over time (I have had her for 5 years) she grew into her personality. She is not a big cuddler but will cuddle occasionally. Honestly, she would rather hang out with all of her toys than on me. But she wants me around because she flock calls when I am not near her. What I wanted her to do is to have rhythm. When music is on, she just sits there. She will never talk, except for the word no but she is a character and I wouldn't trade her for anything. It may take a long time to gain his trust. You just need time, patience, and to keep letting him know that you are there and you are taking good care of him.Hello all! I'm new to the forum, so I'm sorry if something like this has been posted before. I am also new to owning birds, so I'm sorry if this might seem obvious.
I got a cockatiel back in May. I love him, he's so cute. I got him from Petsmart. I really wanted to get one from a breeder, but I just live too far away to be able to drive to one. I thought that even if I didn't get one from a breeder, I would be able to make it work out. When I got him, they told me he was about four months old, so he should be about seven months old now.
So far, I think he's doing okay with getting used to me. I've gotten him to step onto my finger and to eat from my hand. But only if he's in a certain mood, and only if there is food involved. I'd say about half of the time he will willing come to me, and the other half of the time when I try to get him onto my finger he backs off and hisses at me. I wonder if he only interacts with me at all because he knows that I give him food, but he doesn't really appreciate my company. When I offer him food, I can tell that he's trembling, and then gets over it and climbs onto my hand.
And he doesn't let me touch him. I got a cockatiel because I wanted a bird that I could be "friends" with, and could be cuddly with. I want to give him scritches and all that. I really want to spoil this bird. But he won't have any of that. The closest I've gotten him to do is this little thing (and I don't know how/why this came to be but I think it's funny) where I will offer him some millet, then say "boop" and he will let me gently touch his beak, and then I will let him have the millet. Again, it's only if food is involved.
I also think he's been a bit hesitant to be completely comfortable with me because I had to take him to the vet twice. Once to get his wings clipped (didn't want him accidentally hurting himself) and to get him checked up on. They couldn't do it in one go, due to some scheduling thing. So I had to kind of grab him to get him into his carrying case so that we could go (I would try to gently scoop him up into both of my hands so I wouldn't accidentally hurt him). Needless to say, he didn't like that at all. There was biting. But I really didn't know what else to do.
I've seen all the videos where cockatiels are singing and being cuddly, and I really want that. I've posted about this before on some other places, and I've gotten mixed answers. Some have told me that I'm doing okay and that I just need to continue to work with him and just be really patient. Others have told me that I shouldn't have a bird at all if I don't know how to handle one... Some of been pretty mean about it, and it's been getting to me, honestly. I want to be sure that my bird is happy.
Sorry this is long, but I thought that those details would be helpful. I thought I would see what you guys think. Thank you!
Just something I noticed, almost all females don't have rhythm. They don't go out of their way to show off to others very often. The males, they are the show offs . Some of them have some rhythm !Birds have different personalities and they take a lot of time and patience and despite this, you may not get the behaviors that you want. I have a female tiel named Bella. Yes, I look at all of those videos also and wish that she would do some of those behaviors. When I first got her, she thought that I was going to eat her and didn't want anything to do with me. Over time (I have had her for 5 years) she grew into her personality. She is not a big cuddler but will cuddle occasionally. Honestly, she would rather hang out with all of her toys than on me. But she wants me around because she flock calls when I am not near her. What I wanted her to do is to have rhythm. When music is on, she just sits there. She will never talk, except for the word no but she is a character and I wouldn't trade her for anything. It may take a long time to gain his trust. You just need time, patience, and to keep letting him know that you are there and you are taking good care of him.
I didn't realize that it was only the boys that have rhythm. That is so cool that your bird can do that. Unfortunately, I do not have the patience or time to teach Bella too much.Just something I noticed, almost all females don't have rhythm. They don't go out of their way to show off to others very often. The males, they are the show offs . Some of them have some rhythm !
One thing you can do that can be a fun bonding experience is train her to move her head up and down ! You can teach cockatiels tricks with training , it's very fun for both of you if you do it in short sessions at first ! My tiel can wave, spread wings, shake hands, target a stick, fly to me, fetch a small object (plastic toy or vine ball), turn in a full circle, ring a bell for a treat. It took anywhere from 3 days to 1.5 months to teach each trick. The fetch trick took the longest, she would grab her toy then run off with it, fun times!
It really doesn't take much time. I started with 3 -5 minute training session once per day. Eventually did twice per day , then slowed down to once per day. Nowadays its wheneverI didn't realize that it was only the boys that have rhythm. That is so cool that your bird can do that. Unfortunately, I do not have the patience or time to teach Bella too much.