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Starting the Hand Taming Process

Nukavine

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So if anyone has kept up with my posting where I said we had to grab Sol, a cockatiel, and freak him out to get him in his cage, well it happened again a week or so ago, I tried to let him out to begin the process but he didn't feel like letting me, he'd just fly away. So now sadly he's been grabbed twice. I can tell he's getting tired of being stuck in his cage but I'm not sure where to begin so that I can get him on my finger or hand when I need him back in. He tried flying into his cage but kept failing like he couldn't aim himself well. My mom is thinking that we should clip wings since I'm new at this and there's a good few places Sol could fall after a failed flight that could get him stuck, like behind my desk and computer monitor. That's a lot of info but all in all I want to ask, should we clip his wings, if so how do we keep him still, and how should I begin to hand tame him? Oh and he'll hiss if my finger gets too close while in his cage, he doesn't care if my hand gets close while out of the cage.
 

Monica

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Start with feeding Sol his favorite treats. Millet is usually pretty common with cockatiels as a favorite treat. No clipping required! But it can help to start working from the cage where you don't need to chase Sol around - but *DO* let Sol come to you. That is, don't stick food in his face. If Sol wants to eat those treats, allow him to go to you to get them.


"Self-Tamed" Cockatiels | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
 

Nukavine

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Alright, thanks. I was just thinking clipping for reasons like my room has a good few places Sol could get trapped and a only a few that might hurt him, well getting stuck might hurt him so yeah. I was just worried about that.
 

Monica

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Even clipped, they are likely to get stuck somewhere... where there is a will, there is a way!

A lot of people do recommend clipping, and many still do clip, but I don't. I used to, but I no longer do as I realized that clipping only gave a false sense of security. That said, there *are* pros and cons to clipping if you ever want to look more into it.
 

Gazimon

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How old is he? Is he currently partially clipped?

Do try to think of a way to stop him from getting to those places if you can, especially if the fix is simple, such as cardboard and tape.

As it sounds that he is not used to flying, clipping when he is too young can impair flying in future as a young bird needs to learn HOW to fly. Also, clipping only gives humans a false sense of security and gives the bird a huge blow to its own sense of security. The bird can become more nervous and distrustful of humans. It can also be shocked when trying to fly but unable to. Birds are smart and remember many things for a long time. The trauma of not being able to escape a predator or a frightening event will be kept in his mind.

My fischer lovebird came to me already clipped. The breeder said he had just clipped her freshly. The shock on her face when she tried to fly and dropped like a rock off the table edge was heartbreaking and since then she's very aggressive and fearful.

You have to consider the bird's point of view and their emotional and mental health.

Also, some birds just need more time to figure out where the door is. They may prefer to land on the cage bars then climb in. Don't rush him. He needs to familiarise himself first with the cage and the room, both from inside the cage, and also from outside the cage, just like us humans when we realize that buildings can look different from a different perspective. The bird does not know what you know of the room, including spatially and possible threats. Start with closing windows and doors and turning off any ceiling fan, and then leaving the doors of his cage open. Its okay if he doesnt want to come out, but let him process where the "hole" between the cage bars is. Later when he's able to step up and be carried outside, allow him to perch on top of the cage. Leave him there if he gets nervous. Give him time to be more confident of having no dangers in the room. Do these when you have at least an hour or a few hours to spare and buffer in extra time to slowly and calmly get him back into the cage. Don't panic and chase immediately if he flies off to somewhere that is still a safe spot. Let him calm down for a few minutes then try to get him on the perch or finger that you are using for step-up.

The most important thing is to ensure that any "out of cage" time is not stressful for him. Taking him out for 10 or 20 minutes and then rushing him back into the cage is only hampering the bonding process as it reinforces and proves to him, both in his own fear and the stress that birds pick up from human movement and voices, that the outside of cage environment is dangerous.
 

Feathered up

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It would be helpful if you could tell us what his diet is and post a picture of the cage. If you have already, a link to the thread would be great.

You’re rushing the bird. No amount of attempting to handle a scared bird is going to further taming. They have a different impression of time than we do and they have very long memories. Every time you “grab and freak him out” sets you back to square one or beyond.

Stop trying to handle to him. Be sure he has a large enough cage with plenty of toys and foraging opportunities and be patient. Also that he has enough distance to move away to what he sees as safety while you are changing food and water and cleaning his cage. It sounds as though he isn’t yet sure his cage is a safe place. Don’t touch the cage except to give him food and water for a week and always, anytime you go to that cage put a treat in that Dish. Let that be the only time he gets that treat. If millet is his thing, don’t hang a millet spray. If Apple is his thing, don’t give any with breakfast.

If he does get out, let him find his way back in himself. If you don’t have time to just monitor him until he’s ready to go in, don’t open the door. He doesn’t need to step up on your finger. He sees you hunching over him to pick him up as a predator about to pounce! He’s afraid of your hands. Get a long dowel to use as a perch to pick him up off the floor or get him out of a sticky situation.

Put a dish separate from his seed Dish and try putting treats in it every time you have to put your hands in his cage.

His behavior that you think is He is tired of the cage may well be him looking for a way to flee.

Do keep sitting where he can see you. Play soft music or read out loud to him and DONT attempt to get him out. He has to have time to acclimate to the fact that you aren’t going to grab him and eat him. Don’t walk to the cage just to look at him or try to poke food through the bars. I wouldn’t like it if a crazy neighbor kept throwing food through my windows and that is what Sol sees right now. Stay a distance away until he sits quietly with you there and shorten the distance a little bit everyday.

He has to relearn that hands aren’t bad. And that is going to take a while.

And finally, if you can’t bird proof your room, move him to a room you can. Once it’s time for you to try to work with him, take him to a smaller space like a bathroom. Also be sure he is not sitting somewhere he can see a mirror. Some of his anxiety may be him trying to get to “that other bird”.

Edit: I just saw the video of him playing like a very happy parrot. Obviously the cage is plenty large and he’s comfortable in there. Lol. Hands are just going to take him a while. During taming a scared bird, you learn to become the most patient person on earth.
 
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sunnysmom

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I am one of the people against clipping. It's better for a bird's mental and physical health to be flighted. And clipping is really forced dependency and not building trust. Why don't you look into target training. Go on youtube and check out some videos and you can maybe work on him stepping up on a perch rather than your hand or finger.
 

Feathered up

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@Nukavine just needs to go slow and gain trust before trying to handle or train. This little tiel is going to be a lesson in patience more than anything. Lol. He is so cute and definitely has his own mind.

I don’t like to give bird’s mirrors long term but sometimes the bird in the mirror can be an effective training tool as thinking they have another bird often calms them enough for that all important step up from one perch to another and eventually onto a finger. It’s how I got Pavi stepping from the perch to my arm and then to my hand. I’ve used mirrors with many birds while gaining trust with a lot of success.
 

Nukavine

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Ok let me explain a bit on when he was out. The first time he was out for about an hour and we wanted him in the cage so he could know that was his safe place, so that was why we had to the first time. The second time he was outside of the cage for about 3 hours and I was talking to him and watching him the whole time, then my mom wanted him back in because she was afraid of bird poop and it was getting late so if my step dad went to bed, I wouldn't have been able to grab him and put him back in. That was 2 hours into his outside of cage time. By the 3rd hour my mom just sent in my step dad to do this. I understand he needs to get out on his own and hang out, outside the cage but my mom doesn't like him outside of it if I for sure don't have a way to get him back in. Give me a moment and I'll get a picture of his cage.
 

Nukavine

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20180818_111449.jpg
There's 3 doors, one is small, one is big and the last one is up top
 

Nukavine

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And about bird proofing this room, I'm sure I can make it much better, but I can't move him elsewhere. My mom likes him and all but she's just is a person who gets worried very easily. She's told me many times he won't be leaving my room. Also we have a cat that has brought us dead wild birds to our doorstep and I don't want Sol anywhere near him.
 

Nukavine

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Oh, and I've tried feeding him things other than his seed but he won't have it. So as it stands now all he's had is seed. I tried giving him fruit and stuff like lettuce and other leafy greens but he won't try it. He's ate millet once and he seemed to really like it but I don't know how much I should be feeding that to him since it's a treat. If someone can give me a good answer on how he'll get back in his cage or what can get him back in once I let him out so my mom doesn't care as much I'd love to know. Thank you all so much for your help.
 
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Feathered up

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Since he like the millet so much, just pull off a couple of seed buds or break a half inch piece off and try using that when you go to his cage. Give him a separate treat Dish and make sure he sees you put that millet in there.

You also may be able to use a millet spray to entice him back into his cage by hanging it in a very visible spot when it’s near time for him to go back in.

Have you tried avicakes for him? They have some pellet very well disguised and most birds love it. I usually crumble them when I first start feeding them. But I have not had a single bird that wouldn’t eat them.

Try hanging an outer romaine leaf inside with a clothes pin and just leave it for a few hours. If it’s hanging like a toy, he may nibble at it a bit then decide it’s actually good.

That cage is a good size. It can hold lots more toys. Lol. I sometimes wonder how my birds move.....
 

Nukavine

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I believe I know why Sol flies so poorly. It might not be true but the place we got him from had many birds in small cages with multiple birds in them. Sol was no exception, he was in a small cage and had one other Cockatiel in there with him. I doubt they let him out so I doubt he flew much. I don't know if that's correct but that's my current theory.
 

M_Riddly

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I suggest clicker training and target training. My tiel is flighty and I believe most tiels are to some degree. I have a bird room and she has a spot in it where she sleeps. She dosent really sleep in a cage. She had one but never went in it and preferred to just sleep on top of it. Oh well. I think routine also helps. She knows by sound of the doors opening and me telling her it's bedtime that she needs to fly over to her spot. I had to man handle her at first but after a while she just kind of realized that she could go in there by herself instead of me putting her in there. When I say man handle I mean pick her up and put her in a perching position on my finger and covering her back with my other hand. It makes her feel safer I think because she is much more calm when I cover her. Target training would help a lot with your bird though. You could target it back to its cage and then into it. Bigger doors are easier to target your bird through than smaller ones. Speckles likes to fly around a bit in the evening before going to bed. I also give her a special treat in her bowl when she goes in there. She is on a strictly pellet diet and only gets seeds and nuts when training which is pretty much daily. Maybe give your bird something special so it has a drive to go inside? Like a piece of walnut. I will also say that I think cockatiels are hard to get use to foreign foods unless they experience them when they are young. None of my tiels would eat anything that wasn't granola level crunchy. So I bake treats with veggies and stuff in them. Try baking the veggies into birdie bread to acclimate them.

Oh. Just thought about another way to get your bird back into its cage. Try measuring their food out and feeding two meals a day. That's what I do with my birds. They get two meals instead of having food out all the time except for any babies I might have. They need food available all the time. Just make sure you know your measurements. Before you feed a meal, try introducing a new veggie or something. Crunchy ones should be a starter because they are more like crunchy pellets. I'm not saying starve the bird into eating healthy. Just set yourself up for success by trying to introduce new foods when your bird is hungry.
 
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