Independence

[beakycheekie]

Hello all,
I am wondering about clinginess and fostering independence in my 6 month old cockatiel hen. This is the first time I've had a bird as a baby, I have always adopted adults/seniors so I'm not sure if this is just typical baby bird behavior or if I'm doing something to make my 'tiel girl needy.
She is very, very attached to me. She calls to me a lot and if I go out of sight for even a moment she is doing a contact call to me. When she is in her cage and she sees me she paces back and forth constantly, chirping, asking to come out. When I get her out she only wants to be sitting on top of me. I have a play stand but she refuses to stay on it, she just flies or hops onto the floor and waddles to me. She won't even sit on the couch next to me, she insists on sitting on me. I have no doubt that she would sit on me all day long if I let her. It's kind of frustrating right now to BE her play gym constantly and to not be able to just have her out of her cage, hanging out happily on a play gym near me.Is this normal baby 'tiel behavior or is she being especially clingy? Is there something I should be doing to encourage some independence?
Thanks

[Pajarita]

She is still very young, that's why she is so clingy. She will get better as she gets older BUT tiels are extremely flock-oriented and need to have company so, unless you get her a companion, she will continue to call to you all the time (hens only call for company, if they have a mate, you don't hear a peep out of them). As to what you can do, I am afraid that there is nothing. The need for constant company is a survival trait hard-wired into parrots and nobody can change that.... People will tell you to do this or that and, sometimes, you luck out and the bird resigns itself to a life of semi-loneliness but the need does not disappear. It's always there.

[beakycheekie]

Ok, thank you Pajarita. I am actually adopting a tiel companion for her this weekend from a neighboring state's parrot rescue (I have had a heck of a time finding a rescue tiel in my area!). I know you're right that they are very flock-oriented birds and I think it's sad when they are by themselves (it's why I have a flock of budgies and not just one ). So, maybe once she has a friend she won't be so frantic. I love that she is so into people and social, it's wonderful and I wouldn't change that I just want her to be able to be a little independent and not have to be on top of me all the time. I envisioned her being out of the cage all the time except for when unsupervised or sleeping and I thought I would have a play-area set up for her that would be near me. But, like you said she is still very young. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong! Thank you again!

[liz]

Don't forget to quarantine.
Cockatiels really want to flock. Mine always seem to know when another cockatiel in the house and not with them. They start calling to it as I bring it in the door.
Calling back and forth in the quarantine period helps them to know the new one and will accept it immediately. When put together it is almost like they are asking "what took you so long to get here".

[beakycheekie]

Thanks Liz! I've noticed how many cockatiels you have! That's awesome, did a lot of them come together from the same place or have you just adopted them as time has gone on? I'll bet they love getting to be in a big flock together. Do you house them in cages or do they have a bird room where they are loose?

[Pajarita]

You might need to keep them separate even after quarantine because she is a juvenile (not sexually mature yet) and the companion you are in the process of adopting is, most likely, an adult. Now, if the 'new' bird is another female and she is a nice, calm one, you should be able to put them together after a period of gradual introduction (I've never had a tiel that had an issue with another tiel and I had a flock of over 30 of them) but, if the companion is a male (which, in the long run, would be better for her), you might have to cage them separately for a while longer because you don't want the full grown male getting upset over her not 'putting out' - know what I mean?

[liz]

Thanks Liz! I've noticed how many cockatiels you have! That's awesome, did a lot of them come together from the same place or have you just adopted them as time has gone on? I'll bet they love getting to be in a big flock together. Do you house them in cages or do they have a bird room where they are loose?

Most of my refugees came as singles but I did get a few pair and even a family of 4.
They have their own room with a screen door so they are not separated from me. Gimpy is the only one who really uses a cage since he can't walk it was his security. He can fly now and I expect him to give it up soon.
I think I got them all in 2015 while looking for a female after my Sweetie died. I looked for the unwanted birds and there are just so many. Some are physically handicapped and all came with emotional problems. Some have no toes. Phoenix has a chopped wing and Gimpy is missing a leg.
Handicaps and abused or neglected birds are very happy to disappear into a flock. Many are now coming back out of the security of the flock and bonding to me. Lola was my most social and wanted to hold a conversation when I tended to them. My big surprise was when Jackie started following Lola and coming to me. Then one day she leaned forward and asked for a kiss. Her son Tweet never had human contact and was terrified of me but followed his mother and started coming close.
My reward is that they now know they are safe and can be happy. Those who only had seed have developed a taste for produce by watching others and learning as they would in the wild.

[beakycheekie]

Oh Liz, I love that! I wish I had a set up that would accommodate a big flock of tiels, I love them so much. Do yours eat chop, then? I'll be it is easier getting them to try new foods since they have each other to observe.
Pajarita, why do you say a male would be better for Kiwi in the long run? I told the rescue I would like to adopt one of their females because I didn't want to have to worry about breeding. Should I have asked for a male instead?
Also, I am assuming Kiwi is a female. I know it can be hard to tell when they are young but she's already gone through a molt and she's retained her "pearling" (she's a pearl tiel) and the banding on the underside of her tail feathers. She also has a very soft voice and mostly just peeps for contact. HOWEVER, lately she's been trying to sing! My elderly male cockatiel is in a handicapped-accessible cage next to her and he sings very loudly several times a day (you know, the usual morning and evening flock songs) and for the last couple of days she has started to try to sing along with him. It sounds really funny and it makes me laugh. Has anyone else had a female tiel sing before?

[Pajarita]

Yes, female tiels call for mates when they don't have one -you call it 'singing' but for a person who has Timbrados, a cockatiel vocalization could never be called a 'song' I had one that drove me crazy with her calls. There were actually unattached males in the flock but she had decided she only wanted a male that already had a mate and would not stop calling and calling and calling until she managed to get them to accept her as a second wife. They lived together (the male in the middle and each female perching on each of his sides), eating, flying and sleeping as if joined by their hips only she had no sex benefits until his original male died but she waited and finally got what she wanted This was actually quite extraordinary because, usually, they are pretty good at 'loving the one they are with' and not picky at all when it comes to mates...

Tiels are VERY flock oriented and would accept a companion of their own gender without a problem but, personally, I think that they are happier when they have a real mate of their own. Have you tried allowing the old male and the young female to interact? It might very well work out for both of them...

[beakycheekie]

Oh wow! I had to YouTube Timbrados to hear what they sounded like, that is beautiful and for sure just *slightly* more musical than a cockatiel
Kiwi and Herman (the old guy) actually used to live together but she drove him crazy with her antics. She's always climbing around and on the move and he just wants to sit on his happy hut or his soft rope perch in peace. She was also pestering him while he was eating and since he is so frail and elderly I was worried he might start losing weight. He seems happier but I feel bad that she's alone now. It's all a balancing act, isn't it?!