New tiel

[onamom]

Welcome to the forums @lichphantom and congrats on your new Cockatiels! I know it can be hard waiting for them to settle in and build that trust in you when all you want to do is show them love! But your patience and taking things slow will pay off in the end.

a guy from the pet store told me that I have to make them get used to my hand before it's too late , he suggested that I removed all their food and put the food in my hand so that they would have no choice but to eat from my hand when they get hungry , but that sounded like it's forcing them to do something , so what should I do now ?

I don't think this is good advice ^ ^ I would never take away an animal's food source for training purposes. You will have a better bond with your bird in the end if it's built through trust and understanding - never force. Using force won't get you very far with any parrot.

It sounds like you have been making some progress if they are only taking the Romaine from you through the cage bars, that is still progress. Keep at it and don't rush them. You will build the best bond if you go at their pace.

( there is no millet spray in my country to use as treat )

Can I ask what country you are in? Maybe we have some other members from the same area that could give you treat suggestions. Is millet available if you order it online? Is there any type of seed you could get they might like? Maybe sunflower seeds just to try as a bonding/training treat?

 

[lichphantom]

Yeah don't take away thier food, they will come around. Continue treats through the bars, if they weren't hand raised it might take a bit.....more than a month at least.

I will continue giving through the bars for now , but I shouldn't try to let my hand inside with the treats since they are still scared?

 

[clark_conure]

most will say target training....which is not wrong. This might be contravercial but I just leave the cages open usually and at night when I turn out the lights they go back in. Even the budgies are like ok it's sleep time. It seems to build trust if they are not always in a cage and can go back at night. But you have to birdproof the room. I've had the untrained birds land on my chair and be like ok...this is fine. Then later they actualy approach. Just always be calm and not to excite....just acknowledge them then kind of ignore, I always wave hi to them....

 

[onamom]

I will continue giving through the bars for now , but I shouldn't try to let my hand inside with the treats since they are still scared?

You can put your hand inside the door of the cage, just don't move your hand any closer to them than that and let them come to you. I would try just opening the door a small amount and holding the Romaine by the tips of your fingers, with as much of it stretching away from you as you can get it. Then wait and see if over time they move toward you at all. It will probably take several tries.

 

[lichphantom]

Welcome to the forums @lichphantom and congrats on your new Cockatiels! I know it can be hard waiting for them to settle in and build that trust in you when all you want to do is show them love! But your patience and taking things slow will pay off in the end.

Thank you for the welcome ! that's what I'm hoping for in the end

I don't think this is good advice ^ ^ I would never take away an animal's food source for training purposes. You will have a better bond with your bird in the end if it's built through trust and understanding - never force. Using force won't get you very far with any parrot.

It sounds like you have been making some progress if they are only taking the Romaine from you through the cage bars, that is still progress. Keep at it and don't rush them. You will build the best bond if you go at their pace.

thank you for the advice, I also didn't like to try this method and force them , I will try to keep it this way , and should I try to give them other vegetable/fruit as a treats ?

Can I ask what country you are in? Maybe we have some other members from the same area that could give you treat suggestions. Is millet available if you order it online? Is there any type of seed you could get they might like? Maybe sunflower seeds just to try as a bonding/training treat?

my country is Tunisia , I didn't find any millet from pet stores and unfortunately can't order it online since we are not able to order things online from other countries ... their diet is already the mix of seeds since pellets also not available in my country so I had no other choice, and in that mix there is few of the sunflower seeds so it's in their bowl of food

 

[lichphantom]

most will say target training....which is not wrong. This might be contravercial but I just leave the cages open usually and at night when I turn out the lights they go back in. Even the budgies are like ok it's sleep time. It seems to build trust if they are not always in a cage and can go back at night. But you have to birdproof the room. I've had the untrained birds land on my chair and be like ok...this is fine. Then later they actualy approach. Just always be calm and not to excite....just acknowledge them then kind of ignore, I always wave hi to them....

I tried to open their cage but they won't come out , I couldn't even transfer them to their big cage because even though I tried few methods they just didn't go out of the door , they just stare at the door when it's open

 

[clark_conure]

Meh just leave it open (IF THE ROOM IS SAFE) they will come around. Cockatiels and humans get along like peas and carrots, might just take a bit.

 

[onamom]

thank you for the advice, I also didn't like to try this method and force them , I will try to keep it this way , and should I try to give them other vegetable/fruit as a treats ?

Yes, I think you could try other veggies and fruits to see what they like. Just keep in mind they might be afraid of some newer things. Ideally you want to find something they REALLY like and use that as you are working on your bonding with them. The Romaine is good because it's longer leaves that you can hold for them to eat without them needing to be too close to your hand.

 

[lichphantom]

You can put your hand inside the door of the cage, just don't move your hand any closer to them than that and let them come to you. I would try just opening the door a small amount and holding the Romaine by the tips of your fingers, with as much of it stretching away from you as you can get it. Then wait and see if over time they move toward you at all. It will probably take several tries.

Thank you for this tip ! I will try this from tomorrow and see how it goes

 

[lichphantom]

Yes, I think you could try other veggies and fruits to see what they like. Just keep in mind they might be afraid of some newer things. Ideally you want to find something they REALLY like and use that as you are working on your bonding with them. The Romaine is good because it's longer leaves that you can hold for them to eat without them needing to be too close to your hand.

I will try to introduce them to other veggies and fruits , but the Romaine it seems like that something that they really like , when they see me enter the room with it they keep staring at it and get close to the bars so that I can give them , from their face I could understand that they like it a lot .. but do I have to give it to them very often or just small amount everyday since it's a treat ?

 

[onamom]

I will try to introduce them to other veggies and fruits , but the Romaine it seems like that something that they really like , when they see me enter the room with it they keep staring at it and get close to the bars so that I can give them , from their face I could understand that they like it a lot .. but do I have to give it to them very often or just small amount everyday since it's a treat ?

I would just make sure you only give it them when you are trying to bond with them - for now. Only offer it as an incentive for them to come see you. You can keep giving it to them through the bars so they associate that positivity with you. I wouldn't just drop in their food bowls and let them have it - use it as a tool to build trust with them.

 

[lichphantom]

Meh just leave it open (IF THE ROOM IS SAFE) they will come around. Cockatiels and humans get along like peas and carrots, might just take a bit.

the problem is the small cage doesn't have big door and I have to hold the door with my hand to keep it open which is probably the reason they weren't interested to go out of it , their big cage is still waiting for them , it would have been easier to do that in the big cage since it have big door and I can just leave it open all time without needing to hold it

 

[lichphantom]

I would just make sure you only give it them when you are trying to bond with them - for now. Only offer it as an incentive for them to come see you. You can keep giving it to them through the bars so they associate that positivity with you. I wouldn't just drop in their food bowls and let them have it - use it as a tool to build trust with them.

alright thank you! I will keep giving it to them throught the bars like I'm doing now , although sometimes they bite off a bigger chunk of the Romaine and then they eat some of it and the other part fall into the bottom of the cage , if I don't take it away from the bottom , they would go down to contiune eating it there by themselves , do I have to get it off the bottom of the cage if a part of the Romaine fall off ?

 

[onamom]

alright thank you! I will keep giving it to them throught the bars like I'm doing now , although sometimes they bite off a bigger chunk of the Romaine and then they eat some of it and the other part fall into the bottom of the cage , if I don't take it away from the bottom , they would go down to contiune eating it there by themselves , do I have to get it off the bottom of the cage if a part of the Romaine fall off ?

I'd just let them have it so you don't spook them trying to get it back. Maybe try tearing/slicing the romaine into long, thin strips? That way you can hold it from a distance and maybe they won't bite off as big a chunk?

 

[Terry57]

First, a belated welcome to the forum!
You've received some wonderful advice and I don't have a lot to add.
The one thing I would do is get them transferred into their bigger cage. I wonder if you can take the bottom off of the cage they're in and then hold it against the door of the new cage?

If the cage they're in is really small, I think that getting them into the bigger cage may help them feel more secure. Is there a way to connect the two cages together so that no one is holding the smaller one? I believe their curiousity will get the best of them at some point.

This is a wonderful thread about bonding:

Tips for Bonding and Building Trust

It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job at giving them their space and I'm sure they are going to come around and trust and bond with you. Some birds just take longer, and for me, every little step they take is celebrated because of the work that not only I put into it, but the work that they put into it

 

[lichphantom]

You can put your hand inside the door of the cage, just don't move your hand any closer to them than that and let them come to you. I would try just opening the door a small amount and holding the Romaine by the tips of your fingers, with as much of it stretching away from you as you can get it. Then wait and see if over time they move toward you at all. It will probably take several tries.

I tried this and I put my hand inside the cage with holding the the Romaine with tips of my fingers and put it slightly close to them , at first they were scared and back down but then they got closer and ate it but they are being on alert unlike when between the bars, if they move closer to my hand while eating the Romaine or when they notice my hand after a while they will go away scared or also when I try to move my hand closer and not holding it by edge with fingers they will be scared too ... but the thing is they accepted this from my mother too even though she doesn't spend lot of time with them as me , mostly only in the evening they see her .... so do I have to just keep doing this for now ? do I have to try to get closer every time ?

 

[onamom]

I tried this and I put my hand inside the cage with holding the the Romaine with tips of my fingers and put it slightly close to them , at first they were scared and back down but then they got closer and ate it but they are being on alert unlike when between the bars, if they move closer to my hand while eating the Romaine or when they notice my hand after a while they will go away scared or also when I try to move my hand closer and not holding it by edge with fingers they will be scared too ... but the thing is they accepted this from my mother too even though she doesn't spend lot of time with them as me , mostly only in the evening they see her .... so do I have to just keep doing this for now ? do I have to try to get closer every time ?

Just always remember to let them come to you. Don't try to get closer. Let them choose to get closer to you when they are ready.

 

[lichphantom]

First, a belated welcome to the forum!
You've received some wonderful advice and I don't have a lot to add.
The one thing I would do is get them transferred into their bigger cage. I wonder if you can take the bottom off of the cage they're in and then hold it against the door of the new cage?

If the cage they're in is really small, I think that getting them into the bigger cage may help them feel more secure. Is there a way to connect the two cages together so that no one is holding the smaller one? I believe their curiousity will get the best of them at some point.

This is a wonderful thread about bonding:

Tips for Bonding and Building Trust

It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job at giving them their space and I'm sure they are going to come around and trust and bond with you. Some birds just take longer, and for me, every little step they take is celebrated because of the work that not only I put into it, but the work that they put into it

Thank you for the welcoming and for the thread ! I'm trying my best to make them trust me and I hope it would work out soon so that they can even have more freedom outside of the cage

there is unfortunately no way to connect the two cages together without holding the smaller one , taking the bottom off of the cage won't help , the only way out of the cage is through 4 small doors that I have to be holding with my hand to keep them open and put it in front of the big door but it seems probably because I'm holding it with my hand they decide not to go through it , the pet store guy told me to transfer them I should just wear gloves and grab them out but that will be forcing and I don't want to grab them , I don't like putting them in the small cage but just had no choice ... should I just keep trying to hold the door and put it against the big cage until they decide to go out even if they seems not interested?

 

[lichphantom]

Just always remember to let them come to you. Don't try to get closer. Let them choose to get closer to you when they are ready.

yes I noticed when i try to get close to them they won't like it , only when I try to put it just a little bit away from them then they will get closer .... but if they keep coming closer now while I hold the Romaine with tips of my fingers from the edge , should I try to move my hand little by little from the edge of the Romaine ? or I should stick to just by holding it with tips of my fingers for now ?

 

[onamom]

yes I noticed when i try to get close to them they won't like it , only when I try to put it just a little bit away from them then they will get closer .... but if they keep coming closer now while I hold the Romaine with tips of my fingers from the edge , should I try to move my hand little by little from the edge of the Romaine ? or I should stick to just by holding it with tips of my fingers for now ?

I would just keep doing what you're doing for now. Just keep it up and they will tell you when they are ready to come closer when they start approaching you faster and with less hesitation.