Newbie: Training a tame 1 year old cockatiel

eriz · Feb 3, 2018

Hello everyone

I bought my Taka about 2 weeks ago. The breeder said male but not 100% sure. He was not raised by the breeder. He was imported. The breeder said he is 1 year old.

He is already tame since imported. When he bites, it doesn't hurt. Now, he can step up on anyone who gives the finger. That's all he can do now.

I would like to know he can be trained or not. I want to train him seriously. But some told me that he cannot be trained because he was not raised with hand feeding and just tame from the wild. Any idea, please?

Jen5200 · Feb 3, 2018

I believe you can train any parrot if you take the time to build a good bond with him, find his favorite treat and move at his pace. At least two of mine were not hand fed, and they are very smart and learn things quickly. Hope you’ll share pictures of your Taka!

Sunnyclover · Feb 3, 2018

Just because he wasn't hand fed doesn't mean he can't be trained. In fact him stepping up is the first stage to training which is already completed which means he's already trained to do something meaning he CAN be trained...he is trained. You should just go ahead and start training him as you wish within reasonable expectations. Watch some YouTube videos for tips. Good luck!

eriz · Feb 7, 2018

Hi Sunnyclover

Thanks for the reply

I have a facebook account for my tiel. You can see the videos I uploaded there.
Taka

Before training, I am encountering a problem when changing diet from seeds to pellets.
I wrongly bought the big sized pellets for large birds. Do I need to buy smaller sized pellets?

Sunnyclover · Feb 7, 2018

Yes I would think so because cockatiels are not known for holding food in their foot and may not have a way to properly break the pellets apart in order to eat them easily. Please go buy a smaller size! I like Tropican-Tropimix for a tiel because it has a little seeds and some pellets all in one bag and is easier to switch them over to pellets. I don't not have a cockatiel, so if someone else has any better advice please. chime in!

FlyBirdiesFly · Feb 7, 2018

Your tiel is adorable! Sunnyclover is correct that tiels do not usually hold food in their foot, and thus cannot easily eat large sized pellets. I recommend either TOPs (small size), Harrison’s (Adult Lifetime Fine), Roudybush (Crumbles), or ZuPreem Natural (cockatiel size) pellets. Try to avoid anything with artificial flavors or colors, like the ZuPreem Fruit Blend.

texsize · Feb 7, 2018

Some of my Tiels hold food in their foot.
It was kinda funny, Cheeky my white face male was the first one to do this. 3 or 4 of my other Tiels started copying him.

I must say they don't do it very well. Most things are dropped rather quickly.

smbrds · Feb 7, 2018

Baby holds food in his feet just fine. It is funny watching him eat a cracker that's bigger than his head. Since you bought a larger sized pellet then he will need smaller sizes as some tiels don't hold food in their feet well or it's just too big for him to hold.

smbrds · Feb 8, 2018

eriz said:
Hi Sunnyclover

Thanks for the reply

I have a facebook account for my tiel. You can see the videos I uploaded there.
Taka

Before training, I am encountering a problem when changing diet from seeds to pellets.
I wrongly bought the big sized pellets for large birds. Do I need to buy smaller sized pellets?

What a cutie he is. Following the advice given, having him already stepping up is the first step in training/taming. It's really good that while he was imported that he's sociable. You can continue training in reasonable amounts of course.

Newbie: Training a tame 1 year old cockatiel

eriz

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eriz

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