soulfood2go
New member
Hello! I would like to see if you could give me some advice about my lovely cockatiel, Bell (he's a boy.. but we didn't know that at naming time!)
He's a sweet bird and will cuddle with me or my husband and love neck and chin scratches and shoulder sitting. He loves to be out of his cage, but I'm worried about some other stuff going on. :02:
He's about 7 years old now, and has trouble landing when flying. He was clipped as a baby, but we let them grow out. If he flies, and I'm not standing in the middle of the room with my arm and finger up, he crash lands somewhere else (sometimes even when I do have my arm up, he'll crash). He'll also come to the edge of the cage when I open it looking happy to come out, but when I offer my finger to step-up, he gets scared and hisses and backs away. Same thing when he's out of the cage. But then some times he'll be totally fine and will step up and be out for hours at a time. He's afraid of anything you put in front of him (including treats and millet) will his and back away from just about anything, and won't eat from the hand or through the bars of his cage or let you pet him when he's not perched on your finger only. He'll chew his cuddle bone, but not the edible half perch we gave him and seems to hate all toys... shies away from them, even if they've been in his cage for months and months. After he discovered he could simulate mating with one of his perches and his swing, he's lost interest in the one toy he did play with, and now only hits it's bell at night when he's mad (super cute). Maybe he just enjoys my company more than toys (?) He'll sit in his cage and bang on the bottom of the cage with his beak loudly for long periods of time, as if he's looking for attention, but then won't come out! If I'm in another room, especially when he can still kind of see me, he'll scream (but only if he's in his cage, if he's out, I can go wherever). I usually end up putting his cage in another room when he's like that or try to ignore it as I don't want to reward bad behavior. I type a lot around him so maybe he's mimicking? :58: Anyway, it just feels like he acts like a scared baby bird most of the time, except when he's on the finger being petted and loved. He'll explore when he's out of his cage, but only very cautiously and with a lot of random hisses for no reason.
Could some of this be because he's still on a mostly seed-based diet? (bad on my part, I know now...) =/ There are some pellets in the feed, but I don't know if he's eating them. Do you think he's the type of bird who is best left with clipped wings and out of the cage for most of the day? (no screeches or hitting things when he's out... and only flies when he's startled) Does it sound like he has eye damage from past crashes (although he looks healthy) and that's why he doesn't recognize the hand sometimes? Or do we just have a neurotic bird on our hands? :06:
I really want to be a good momma, and I want to be able to reward him when he does something good, but when he's afraid of all treats and sometimes of my hand, I'm not sure how!
I don't know anyone else who owns birds, so I'm kind of lost! Please help! :51:
THANK YOU!!! :emoticonc
He's a sweet bird and will cuddle with me or my husband and love neck and chin scratches and shoulder sitting. He loves to be out of his cage, but I'm worried about some other stuff going on. :02:
He's about 7 years old now, and has trouble landing when flying. He was clipped as a baby, but we let them grow out. If he flies, and I'm not standing in the middle of the room with my arm and finger up, he crash lands somewhere else (sometimes even when I do have my arm up, he'll crash). He'll also come to the edge of the cage when I open it looking happy to come out, but when I offer my finger to step-up, he gets scared and hisses and backs away. Same thing when he's out of the cage. But then some times he'll be totally fine and will step up and be out for hours at a time. He's afraid of anything you put in front of him (including treats and millet) will his and back away from just about anything, and won't eat from the hand or through the bars of his cage or let you pet him when he's not perched on your finger only. He'll chew his cuddle bone, but not the edible half perch we gave him and seems to hate all toys... shies away from them, even if they've been in his cage for months and months. After he discovered he could simulate mating with one of his perches and his swing, he's lost interest in the one toy he did play with, and now only hits it's bell at night when he's mad (super cute). Maybe he just enjoys my company more than toys (?) He'll sit in his cage and bang on the bottom of the cage with his beak loudly for long periods of time, as if he's looking for attention, but then won't come out! If I'm in another room, especially when he can still kind of see me, he'll scream (but only if he's in his cage, if he's out, I can go wherever). I usually end up putting his cage in another room when he's like that or try to ignore it as I don't want to reward bad behavior. I type a lot around him so maybe he's mimicking? :58: Anyway, it just feels like he acts like a scared baby bird most of the time, except when he's on the finger being petted and loved. He'll explore when he's out of his cage, but only very cautiously and with a lot of random hisses for no reason.
Could some of this be because he's still on a mostly seed-based diet? (bad on my part, I know now...) =/ There are some pellets in the feed, but I don't know if he's eating them. Do you think he's the type of bird who is best left with clipped wings and out of the cage for most of the day? (no screeches or hitting things when he's out... and only flies when he's startled) Does it sound like he has eye damage from past crashes (although he looks healthy) and that's why he doesn't recognize the hand sometimes? Or do we just have a neurotic bird on our hands? :06:
I really want to be a good momma, and I want to be able to reward him when he does something good, but when he's afraid of all treats and sometimes of my hand, I'm not sure how!
I don't know anyone else who owns birds, so I'm kind of lost! Please help! :51:
THANK YOU!!! :emoticonc