Snapped Feathers.

[EleriDragonfly]

@Wolf Well when I use the spray bottle she tends to, run away xD Or try and fly away, she doesn't like it. I tried today and she tried to fly away, but landed on the floor and scuttled away. I'll try her again with the bird bath.

@KimberlyAnn I moved them next to a radiator, though they aren't directly in front of it just off to one side. And it isn't working very well, I think it needs to be bled. I had to move them away from the window though, seeing as with the strong winds its been so cold. I'll be sure to keep an eye on her feathers.

[Wolf]

My birds act a bit differently as they run and screech when I spritz them but always come right back to the spray for more ,sounds like I am killing them but they really do want it. My other is a Senegal and she wants a bath that she can splash in. she wants it fresh and slightly warmer than room temp but she will decide when to take her bath even if she is asking for it she may hop right in or she might wait a while, one never knows with her.

As for yours, I am all out of suggestions at this time but will let you know if I think of anything else that might be useful to you. Please keep us informed.

[Pajarita]

Tiels like to be sprayed from above as if it was rain (they hang upside down on the perch and open their wings to 'catch' the rain) but I would not do this very often as they go into condition with the rainy season and you are already giving her way too many hours of light for this time of the year so, most likely, the reason for her barbering is hormonal.

Also, tiels don't really eat fruits although some could be trained to do it, what they really like is leafy greens (mine don't even wait for me to stick it between the bars, they start eating it before that) and veggies like corn, baby peas, cooked and finely diced carrots, chopped broccoli (as well as whole broccoli) and sweet potatoes. Mine also eat wild blueberries (real tiny ones), pomegranate seeds and grated apple and celery so it seems to me that it's not so much that they don't like the taste of fruit but that they don't like to bite a chunk of it.

[EleriDragonfly]

I do spray it over her, same with my budgies, but Sugar gets over excited and runs towards the spray bottle and looks like she's trying to reach it.
There's not much I can do about the hours, if I lived on my own they could have their own room. But I'll try and have them go to bed earlier, though they do on the weekend.
I'll go shopping for some greens tomorrow for her, though I did try her with a leaf of lettuce, and she was afraid of it xD

[Pajarita]

Start with a smallish piece so it's not threatening to her and keep on offering a different one every day. Parrots learn what to eat and what not to eat from their parents so, when they encounter something new as adults and there is no other bird that is eating it (they are also monkey sees, monkey does), it takes a looooooong time for them to accept it as food. But, if you persist and do not give up, they eventually try it.

[Nokota]

I went through this exact thing with my cockatiel. She grew out of it by her second molt.

Young cockatiels are notoriously clumsy and a tendency for a young bird to break flight feathers is not uncommon. Vivi had a tendency to get them caught in the bars of her cage and they would usually fall outside it, up against the wall and out of sight behind the object the cage was on top of, except when they dangled for a little while. I also saw her break one accidentally when preening. Flight feathers tend to need to be bent in order for a bird to preen them to the end and young cockatiels don't know how much bend is too much, they don't have the experience. They have long wings and tail in proportion to their body size when compared with many other parrots.

My Vivi broke every last one of her tail feathers, all at different points, and a couple of them dangled awkwardly for a while before falling off. When the last two were dangling I took some scissors and trimmed it evenly. Then I clipped her wings because, sadly, with only 1/3 of a tail the bird had no balance in the air and was a danger to herself.

After her first big molt she continued breaking tail-feathers and such I kept her clipped, only to discover that this time she only broke 4 out of ten. After her second big molt she only broke one between that and her next molt.

Do not worry too much about it. But if the breakage starts to get excessive, trim the matching feathers on the wings so that they are parallel, otherwise it could lead to some flight injuries if your little ones wings are giving uneven lift.

I hope that helps.

[Pajarita]

I am afraid I don't follow this reasoning... why would young birds feathers be weaker unless there was/is a dietary deficiency? Because, think about it, if this was true, no fledging would survive in the wild but they do and with perfect plumage! I have very limited experience with baby tiels (just two of them, exactly) but they did not get broken primaries so I don't think this is something that happens all the time.

[Nokota]

Not all the time, no, but it's not uncommon and birds in the wild don't have to contend with things like cage bars and such. When I asked for help with Vivi's problem on a cockatiel forum, I was told several similar stories. They grow out of it.

[EleriDragonfly]

The info has been helpful
I tried her with a bird bath, and she used it, not that I was there to see her use it. My boyfriend saw her though, and when I had a closer look on her she was wet. So she preffers a bath to a shower.
I'm trying her out with different veggies, I tried her with some broccoli and she was licking it suspiciously. I'll keep trying.