Inherited a cockatiel! HELP

[KittGCC]

Okay guys , Ive been on the forum a few times regarding my Gcc who recently passed away!

Today i found out someone had left thier cockatiel for me in thier will & sadly that person passed away not too long ago. Long story short , i went to collect the tiel who looked happy at the time , talking and playing on my shoulder etc.


When i came home and attempted to take him out he lunged at me for no reason (he is usually tame) , what can I do to get him back to his nomal self , i'm his new Daddy now and so i would like to help him.

He is 7 , can i still train him to do new tricks like Kili does?



Thanks and excuse my ignorance haha

Kitt

[marie83]

Welcome to the forums.

'tiels can be a bit flighty by nature but generally they learn to trust pretty quickly if they haven't been abused or been left to be 'wild' for a long time and it doesn't sound like that is the case with yours. I would suggest you let him settle in and let him come to you if he is already tame. In the meantime you can sit outside his cage and offer treats, then do it with the door open with a perch attached to the outside for him to climb onto when he is ready. After that you can start with getting him to step up and establish trust.
It's definitely not to late for him to learn tricks but you need to work on establishing a bond and trust first.

Good luck and keep us updated.

[liz]

That little tiel is like a recently orphaned child. Every one he loved is gone. He was moved to someplace that he does not know. He has been traumatized. The only thing that is familiar to him is his cage.

Don't put your hand in his cage! Open the door and let him come out to investigate. Don't catch him and put him back. You don't need to - that is the only place he has to call his own.

You can put things outside his cage that are interesdting to him. It might draw him out.

Don't overwhelm him with attention. He does not want your attention. He wants his Mommy. He need to come to the realization that she is not coming after him. In the mean time talk to him as you go buy. Sing in the room. Put him in the most active part of the house so he can get used to things without being forced to.

He is a scared little kid hiding in the corner and crying to himself.

[KittGCC]

thanks guys I can see where you are coming from.
He is very sweet towards me when inside his cage , only when I put my hand in (once) he flipped out, I have covered him up as its 8pm here in London, he is chirping to himself and settling in.

changed his food and mixed in some pellets and a separate food tray for dropping bits of fruit every time i walk past ,so he can associate me with something positive.

I have made a t-stand for him woohoo out of apple branches and attatched some other homemade toys like i used to make for my late conure.

He is used to having his cage door open during the day, i have birdproofed the room , should i emulate that?

Also no pet store sells clickers in my area :/ they have ordered one in for friday next week, anything i could use in the meantime ( maybe a click with my mouth that sounds very similar to a clicker anyway, and i guess it would work as i am pretty consistent and calm with birds)

[liz]

Sounds good.

I don't train but we have one member, spiral, who can't hold a clicker. She makes mouth noises. It has worked for her.

[KittGCC]

He is used to being out of his cage for a few hours a day, do i keep the door open for him, scared he wont go back in !and right now he looks a bit restless to be honest

Also as an update he took a grape from my hand but was still nervous , progress made none the less


He is also squaking a lot , as if to ask for attention , like he is calling a mate , is that normal ?

[cml]

He is used to being out of his cage for a few hours a day, do i keep the door open for him, scared he wont go back in !and right now he looks a bit restless to be honest

I would teach him either target or step up first, so you have a method of getting him back in the cage without having to force him!

[KittGCC]

Okay the previous owner tells me that he mock lunges but when he is on your hand he settles down fast...anyOne come across something like this?

He took more food from my hand so he is quite food motivated , can i ration his food so that he is slightly more hungry towards feeding time ?
He has 3 tablespoons of seed a day ... Plus extra veggies ans fruit

[laducockatiel]

About the clicker, do you have an iPhone/smartphone because ive heard that there is an app which is a dog clicker (it's the same as a parrot clicker) and it will work for training your cockatiel. Type in dog clicker on the app store and it will probably come up.

[marie83]

I think it's that time of year for a 'tiel. Harlie keeps sticking her tail up in the air and calling at the same time, she usually does it around this time of year for a few weeks then forgets all about it, the males do tend to be a bit more vocal anyway.
Well done on the progress, now he has done it once he will come back for more I imagine.
Harlies a bit strange though, some days she is far more trusting in me than other days despite me doing everything the same and wearing the same clothes lol.