Rio - New Cockatiel + New Owner Help me ?

[aliezsid]

So i just bought this cockatiel like 2 - 3 hours ago from a store and the store owner din't seem to know about its age. The bird is super scared and i can only go as near as 2 feet from her cage. I saw the Store employee be really rough with the bird when shifting it from one cage to the new cage and I'm sure that this is the reason for it being scared. I would like to know what steps to take to tame and train it. The cockatiel looks a little big and her crest is down when I'm 2 feet away.
What steps should i follow to turn her fear into trust.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

I believe that cockatiels are the most loving and forgiving of all the parrots. Of course I only really know 2 species. You have only had him for a few hours so he hasn't even gotten over the ride to your home.

Because of the way he was treated in the pet shop I would call him a "war orphan". Even though you brought him home and want to love and care for him he still doesn't know what happened to the world you took him from. He does not know you and does not know where he is or how he got there. Hands have been hurting him so keep palm down when you go in his cage and don't look at him when you do. Let him think you don't know he is there. Stay away from the cage but in the room. Sing and talk to him so he learns your calm voice. Whatever you have to do that you can carry to that room, do it there so he can watch you without you watching him.

Give him respect and alow him his own space until he starts making contact with you.

Read "How to tame a lovebird". He is going through about the same thing.

[aliezsid]

Thanks for the reply... and I've been trying to get close since morning and i guess its gonna take some time.
the thing is even though the door of his cage was open he din't come out and after 8-9 hours he is now trying to bite when my hand goes above the cage which he wasn't doing before. This is gonna take a lot of time to tame her.

[liz]

Never go above. He should be at face level. Don't go near the cage except when he needs food and water then keep your palm down and don't look at him or talk to him while doing it.
That cage is the only thing that little bird has of his own. It is his and he will protect it. Until he come out on his own to your world, stay out of his.
Talk to him, sing to him and do things in that room from the far side of the room.
He is scared out of his pee picken mind and until he is reassured that you and his new home are safe you cannot interact with him.
It may be hard to believe but he WILL come to you when he is ready.

[aliezsid]

I'll keep that in mind Thanks a lot!

[Wolf]

All that Liz has said is true.
I know and you know that you do not mean any harm to the bird but he is terrified. He was mishandled by a store employee which does not help you or the bird at all. Then you took him away from what little that he was familiar with and even with it being a bad place for him he was familiar with it. Now he is in a strange place with a strange giant that keeps trying to get him and so he has no choice but to try to defend himself. Consider this your very first lesson in caregiving a bird, patience is your best friend. Except for feeding him and giving him water or cleaning his cage stay out of it for a while. How long, will depend on the bird, which is lesson number two, listen to the bird and do not try to force yourself on him.
Now you do want to get to know your new friend and you want him to get to know you so this is best done from a distance. When you go into the room where he is stop and glance at him sort of like watching him from the corner of your eye and pay attention to what he is doing. Bird will try to talk to you like you are a bird, it is all they know, so pay attention to how he stand and how his feathers are laying on his body, with a cockatiel you have the added help of his crest to aide you in understanding his moods. So you need to learn to read his body language. if the bird moves away from you do not approach until the bird relaxes again. Spend as much time as you can for the next few days in the room with him just talking and singing to the bird as this will help him get over some of his fear of his new home and of you. Do this for a few days and then we can start working on getting you up to the bird.
I will return a little later with information on doing this and more, I have just been shainghied by my bird and can't type very well right now.

[liz]

If Rio was a scared kid you would keep your distance until he calmed down and tried to talk to you.

[Wolf]

In a further effort to help you, you need to learn a little about reading the birds body language and for that look at this link : http://www.drcockatiel.com/cockatiel-in ... ior-guide/
Now use these tips on the birds body language to help you to move from the edge of the room to right outside your birds cage and here are the steps to do this.
When you have a 15 minute period of time after the bird has eaten breakfast and before noon enter the room the bird is in and stop. Watch the bird from the corners of your eyes and not by looking directly at the bird or the bird will think of you as a predator out for lunch and he is the main course. Use the information on body language that I gave you to tell when the bird is relaxed. Some of the indications are that he will perch on one foot, his feathers are slightly puffy and not held tightly to its body. When you see this slowly move in a round about manner towards the bird in his cage. As soon as the bird starts getting nervous or starts moving away from you stop again and wait. Now also when you begin this process start talking to your bird in a calm reassuring manner and continue talking to him throughout this exercise. When the bird relaxes move towards the cage and stop when it gets nervous. regardless of where you are after 15 minutes say good bye and leave the room. You can do this two or three times a day until you are right outside the cage. You should carry something for a treat such as sprig of millet to offer when you reach the cage. The bird may or may not accept the treat. Once you are able to approach the cage successfully in this manner a couple of times then you should be able to slowly walk directly to the cage, sit down and talk to the bird and offer it treats up to three times in the 15 minutes, until the bird is comfortable with taking the treats from you through the bars of the cage also watch for the bird to move towards you when you come into the room as this is a good sign.
Once you are successful with these exercises and the bird in more comfortable with you and starts to look forward to your presence read and start using the following : viewtopic.php?f=11&t=227