Catti
Meeting neighbors
- Joined
- 7/3/21
- Messages
- 38
Hello! I wasn’t sure if I should put this in Behavior Byway or here in Cockatiel Corner, but I wanted to make a thread to keep track of Gabriel’s progress as I try to tame him and give him a better life. I'd also be grateful for advice and opinions. Gabriel is my very first bird and though I have done a lot of research before adopting him it doesn't make up for lack of experience.
A month ago I adopted Gabriel from my grandmother. She told me she had him for at least ten years and took him from a previous owner. I'm unable to get any details on his past besides that. He was kept alone in a big cage with nothing but food and water bowls and a single dowel perch, and he was never socialized. He was kept in the corner of a spare room with a couple of chihuahuas that are constantly barking. Getting food and water, and the newspaper bedding changed are the only human interaction he gets. He is unable to fly (I only ever see him open his wings to stretch) and has to climb around his cage to get anywhere. I’ve been adding more perches to try and make his getting around easier. He’s terrified of hands and cagebound, and I’ve had to use a towel to remove him from the cage for the big move.
I've added toys, perches, and mineral blocks to the cage after taking him in. He ignores the toys but he loves the new perches and I often see him chewing on the mineral blocks. He’s been on an all-seed diet and will only eat the millet and sunflower seeds within the seed mix. So far I have been unable to get him to take to any other food and as he doesn’t trust me none of the tricks, such as eating in front of him, are working. It took him a while to understand that millet spray is edible, but now he loves it and I'm using that for training. I am also trying to sprout some millet seeds in hopes of getting him to eat somewhat healthier and one day get him to actually eat vegetables. Whenever I leave the room for a period of time, such as for work, I have videos of cockatiels playing on my computer. The apartment complex I live in only allows one bird unfortunately.
For the first week I left him alone. Besides changing his food and water I hardly interacted with him to let him get adjusted to his new environment.
The second week I’ve been sitting beside his cage (it’s right at the foot of my bed) so we’re close together. I talk, sing, and whistle to him and play my Nintendo Switch, and let him get used to my presence.
The third week, a few times every day, I put my hand in the cage and offer a spray of millet. The spray provides distance between Gabriel and I. I put it at the opposite end of the perch he sits at so he has to come to me to get the millet. After the first day of doing this he began to run to the spot of the perch I offer the millet and stare at me, so I’ve been doing the millet training whenever he does this. I figured if he’s inviting me to the cage I should reward him for it.
This week I’ve been putting the millet in my hand and resting my hand on the perch so he has to come very close to me to get to the millet. He’s eaten seeds right out of my hand and even touched his head to my hand a few times. He takes a few quick nips at my hand itself, but there is no aggression and the nips do not hurt.
Today as of the making of this thread, he was bobbing up and down when I grabbed a bag of millet spray, and he eagerly ran to my hand to start eating. He is still nervous as his eating pattern is to eat a few mouthfuls of seed then retreat, or nip at my hand and retreat, then return to my hand and repeat. He will sometimes stop within two-three inches of my hand and groom himself or take a catnap. He still sometimes hisses at me when I come near the cage or touch it, but he does it far less than when I first brought him home. He makes little quiet noises of protest when I interact with his cage or pull my hand (and the millet) away during training. I do get the impression that he wants interaction, but it’s still too scary for him.
I know there is a possibility that he will never be fully hand-tame, but I am surprised and happy with his progress so far. At least ten years of little interaction to eating out of my hand within a month’s time of training is amazing to me. I really want to get him to a vet as he’s only been on an all-seed diet and his talons are in great need of trimming, but I’m afraid of further traumatizing him.
A month ago I adopted Gabriel from my grandmother. She told me she had him for at least ten years and took him from a previous owner. I'm unable to get any details on his past besides that. He was kept alone in a big cage with nothing but food and water bowls and a single dowel perch, and he was never socialized. He was kept in the corner of a spare room with a couple of chihuahuas that are constantly barking. Getting food and water, and the newspaper bedding changed are the only human interaction he gets. He is unable to fly (I only ever see him open his wings to stretch) and has to climb around his cage to get anywhere. I’ve been adding more perches to try and make his getting around easier. He’s terrified of hands and cagebound, and I’ve had to use a towel to remove him from the cage for the big move.
I've added toys, perches, and mineral blocks to the cage after taking him in. He ignores the toys but he loves the new perches and I often see him chewing on the mineral blocks. He’s been on an all-seed diet and will only eat the millet and sunflower seeds within the seed mix. So far I have been unable to get him to take to any other food and as he doesn’t trust me none of the tricks, such as eating in front of him, are working. It took him a while to understand that millet spray is edible, but now he loves it and I'm using that for training. I am also trying to sprout some millet seeds in hopes of getting him to eat somewhat healthier and one day get him to actually eat vegetables. Whenever I leave the room for a period of time, such as for work, I have videos of cockatiels playing on my computer. The apartment complex I live in only allows one bird unfortunately.
For the first week I left him alone. Besides changing his food and water I hardly interacted with him to let him get adjusted to his new environment.
The second week I’ve been sitting beside his cage (it’s right at the foot of my bed) so we’re close together. I talk, sing, and whistle to him and play my Nintendo Switch, and let him get used to my presence.
The third week, a few times every day, I put my hand in the cage and offer a spray of millet. The spray provides distance between Gabriel and I. I put it at the opposite end of the perch he sits at so he has to come to me to get the millet. After the first day of doing this he began to run to the spot of the perch I offer the millet and stare at me, so I’ve been doing the millet training whenever he does this. I figured if he’s inviting me to the cage I should reward him for it.
This week I’ve been putting the millet in my hand and resting my hand on the perch so he has to come very close to me to get to the millet. He’s eaten seeds right out of my hand and even touched his head to my hand a few times. He takes a few quick nips at my hand itself, but there is no aggression and the nips do not hurt.
Today as of the making of this thread, he was bobbing up and down when I grabbed a bag of millet spray, and he eagerly ran to my hand to start eating. He is still nervous as his eating pattern is to eat a few mouthfuls of seed then retreat, or nip at my hand and retreat, then return to my hand and repeat. He will sometimes stop within two-three inches of my hand and groom himself or take a catnap. He still sometimes hisses at me when I come near the cage or touch it, but he does it far less than when I first brought him home. He makes little quiet noises of protest when I interact with his cage or pull my hand (and the millet) away during training. I do get the impression that he wants interaction, but it’s still too scary for him.
I know there is a possibility that he will never be fully hand-tame, but I am surprised and happy with his progress so far. At least ten years of little interaction to eating out of my hand within a month’s time of training is amazing to me. I really want to get him to a vet as he’s only been on an all-seed diet and his talons are in great need of trimming, but I’m afraid of further traumatizing him.
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