Tiel hates hands

[Syrav99]

Hi,
I just got two cockatiels. One male one female. Female was hand raised and is very friendly. The male, we are unsure how he was raised. We can get close to him but he hates fingers or any sort of touch even with a dowel. He will eat out of my palm but backs off if he sees my finger move. Wondering if he will ever warm up to us like the girl. He supposedly is 4 months old

 

[hrafn]

Four months is extremely young, and he's only just come into your home. Even if he were accustomed to handling he might have been wary of stepping up for a complete stranger in a new environment, and if he's never been handled he'll be even more leery.
The fact that he'll readily accept treats and food from your hands is a promising sign; you're teaching him trust by showing him that your hands and your presence mean good things, but he's still only just learning, so when he gets nervous and backs away, let him. Give him his space, don't push him, and let him step out of his comfort zone only when he takes the lead. Don't try to touch him, with your hands or with a dowel, as that will only reinforce any mistrust he feels and make him more anxious. Try to imagine being in his shoes: if a colossal, unfamiliar giant was poking and prodding at you, just after the already distressing upheaval of being moved into an entirely new world, would you be willing to take any more treats from their hand, or would you learn to run away at the sight of it?

Patience is always, in my opinion, the most important thing you can give to a new bird. Patience, and restraint, and understanding.

 

[sunnysmom]

@hrafn gave great advise. I will just add that my first tiel was initially very finger shy. So I got creative. It started out having him step up on a throw pillow. Then we worked up to my arm covered in a towel, then without the towel. Next I had him step up on the back on my hand out flat. As long as he was stepping up, I didn't care how he did it. Even once he lost his fear of fingers, the back of my hand was still his preferred way of stepping up so I just kept doing it.