When to let a new cockatiel out of his cage

[Ageha1304]

So yesterday I got a new cockatiel and while he was mostly calm at first, now he is going all over the place - climbing on bars, chirping really loudly, biting some toys and quite often just clumsilly flopping to the floor.

He's 3 months old and is not used to human hand, but his previous owner let him fly around the room all the time. I imagine he reallly wants to fly around but I'm apprehensive about letting him out so soon. What should I do? When should I let him out of the cage? Should I try taming him first?

 

[BirdLady13]

I just want to chime in on the first part: "climbing on bars, chirping really loudly, biting some toys" is normal behavior. Moving around and playing with toys should be encouraged.

 

[Farlie]

Good gosh! I hope you never tame him. It's best to let him get used to you. Don't rush anything. Leave him in his cage untill he no longer is afraid of your hand. Slowly change his water and food and offer treats but don't force the issue. Let it happen. If you let him out you will most likely have a very frightening situation on your hands trying to get him back in his cage again. Be patient. There is no hurry, you both will live another 10 to 20 years or so still.

 

[April]

My 5 month old CBC acted like that as soon as I got him home but he was super spoiled at the breeders so I knew he was tamed and would want to be with me. If you have a safe small room you could open the cage in and if he does come out he wont be able to hurt himself in there maybe best. But its hard to know what his reaction will be he may just wanna climb around the outside of the cage or do a few loops around the room and then be happy to go back inside but on the flip side if he wont go back in that could be detrimental to your new relationship if you have to chase him down to capture him. I'd give him treats that you know he likes to help show that your not a threat,you can just sit next to this cage at a non scary distance and read or talk softly to him so he gets used to your presence in a non threating way.

 

[Ageha1304]

My 5 month old CBC acted like that as soon as I got him home but he was super spoiled at the breeders so I knew he was tamed and would want to be with me. If you have a safe small room you could open the cage in and if he does come out he wont be able to hurt himself in there maybe best. But its hard to know what his reaction will be he may just wanna climb around the outside of the cage or do a few loops around the room and then be happy to go back inside but on the flip side if he wont go back in that could be detrimental to your new relationship if you have to chase him down to capture him. I'd give him treats that you know he likes to help show that your not a threat,you can just sit next to this cage at a non scary distance and read or talk softly to him so he gets used to your presence in a non threating way.

Alright, thank you! It seems like he's not too scared of me and I do basically the whole day in the same room where he is, so I'm sure he'll grow accustomed to my presence soon enough.

 

[April]

That's encouraging if he seems to not be frightened of you. I'm sure yall will be best buddies in no time

 

[Wardy]

I hope you never tame him

Dont understand that comment ?

 

[Wardy]

I wouldnt rush things, offer treats through the cage do some target training through the cage bars.
Dont rush get to know each other

 

[The_Mayor]

What are your concerns about letting him out?

My birds are "no touch" and I was definitely apprehensive about letting them out of their cage. What would happen if they went someplace that was dangerous to them? Or, really, how would I get them back in if they didn't want to, or couldn't figure out how to get back into their cage?

First, take a look at the space where you would be letting the bird out. Is it bird safe? Are there plenty of perches that the bird would give the opportunity to stop and rest somewhere out of the way? Is it secure so that he can't get out into other parts of the house and/or no one's going to be opening a door at just the wrong time?

If you've got a safe space for him to fly, I'd start by setting up a perch inside and outside the cage to make it easy for him to see how he can get out and then get back into the cage when he wants to. Then, I'd pick a day that will be quiet and you can simply let him come out of the cage when he's ready. I made sure to leave the food and water in the cage so I knew my birds would go in eventually. And then we just hung out. Honestly, the first few days even if they came out they mostly hung out on the highest corner perch they could find, but the important thing was that they were getting accustomed to getting out of their cage and had more room to use their wings.

Since it sounds like your bird already knows something about this, he might find this all pretty easy. I'll admit that Esme used to get lost and didn't know how to get back into her cage - fortunately, Mustrum would go down to the entrance and wave her in. That was probably the biggest problem we had and I mostly solved it by stringing a rope from across the space so she could fly to the rope and then walk down the rope into the cage.

For me, the important thing was having a safe space so that I knew I could simply wait them out and I didn't have to worry about trying to catch them.

 

[Ageha1304]

What are your concerns about letting him out?

My birds are "no touch" and I was definitely apprehensive about letting them out of their cage. What would happen if they went someplace that was dangerous to them? Or, really, how would I get them back in if they didn't want to, or couldn't figure out how to get back into their cage?

First, take a look at the space where you would be letting the bird out. Is it bird safe? Are there plenty of perches that the bird would give the opportunity to stop and rest somewhere out of the way? Is it secure so that he can't get out into other parts of the house and/or no one's going to be opening a door at just the wrong time?

If you've got a safe space for him to fly, I'd start by setting up a perch inside and outside the cage to make it easy for him to see how he can get out and then get back into the cage when he wants to. Then, I'd pick a day that will be quiet and you can simply let him come out of the cage when he's ready. I made sure to leave the food and water in the cage so I knew my birds would go in eventually. And then we just hung out. Honestly, the first few days even if they came out they mostly hung out on the highest corner perch they could find, but the important thing was that they were getting accustomed to getting out of their cage and had more room to use their wings.

Since it sounds like your bird already knows something about this, he might find this all pretty easy. I'll admit that Esme used to get lost and didn't know how to get back into her cage - fortunately, Mustrum would go down to the entrance and wave her in. That was probably the biggest problem we had and I mostly solved it by stringing a rope from across the space so she could fly to the rope and then walk down the rope into the cage.

For me, the important thing was having a safe space so that I knew I could simply wait them out and I didn't have to worry about trying to catch them.

Thank you for your advice! The room where his cage is at is rather large, but I believe it is relatively safe. There's no sharp objects, no giant wardrobe or shelves were I wouldn't be able to reach him. The window is covered with a curtain so he shouldn't be able to hurt himself if he accidentally heads for the window like some birds do. There's also no spaces where he could get stuck unless he decides to crawl underneath the couch which I assume is rather unlikely. My only concern is that there's place outside there cage where he could sit.