So frustrated

[SarahKate]

Sounds like he is sexually fixated on the hut. Get rid of it for good as he needs to learn some good behaviour patterns and humping a hut isn't healthy. He probably thinks that you are trying to hit on his mate and is protecting his other half!

DO NOT let him out of the cage again until he will step up without biting.

1. Feed him sprouts, vegies and pellets. Only give him millet during training sessions, at least for now. Don't worry if he won't eat for a day as he will eat when he is hungry. I'm yet to see a cockatiel that won't eat sprouts, corn, broccoli, spinach etc. A plain seed diet will send him to an early grave.

2. Start to target train him using the millet as the reward. You should see positive results in a week or two if you have 3 or more training sessions per day. When he is calm in your presence and "happy to see you" THEN you start on the step up command (whilst he is still in his cage) but use a piece of dowel until you can trust him not to bite. When he steps calmly onto the dowel then slowly reduce the length of it so that he SLOWLY has to stand closer to your hand. After a while (time depends on the bird and your consistent effort) he will trust you enough to sit on your hand without biting and THEN let him out of the cage. Take him to a stand or bench and keep training him and giving him positive rewards for GOOD behaviour.

Alrighty, I'll keep the hut away.

What would be a good everyday food for him? Should it be just veggies? Right now we have a bag of Encore cockatiel food that contains red millet, white millet, canary seed, safflower seed, sunflower seed,ground corn, and ground oats. Which basically means giving him millet isn't a treat since he has it all the time.

 

[veimar]

Hmm, that's not good. He might be perceiving his pineapple as a mate and attacking you as a threat. He might be also trying to establish dominance over you. I thought at first he was just fearing your hands, but that's not the case. Try not to allow him to sit anywhere above you. Maybe you should also clip him and throw out that "pineapple"? That's a long way for you and him to establish the trust.
I cannot remember if my tiel was afraid of gloves or only hated them, but I took him in gloves and held for a few minutes calmly talking to him, and them let him sit on my leg, and he was pretty content and calm.
But I cannot really recommend anything because my tiel although completely untamed, liked me from the beginning and always wanted to climb on me and be with me (he only hated my hands). He came to me with nothing (he never had toys), and he had no other choice than to bond with me!
There was a lot of good advice here, but trust your guts as well - if something doesn't feel right don't do that. Or if you come up with something nobody told you here - try it! Try to feel what he feels and get to the root of the problem.

 

[Tangie]

Kiko acts like that whenever he is near his mirror. Obviously he sees you as a threat to his pineapple. Does he act friendlier when the pineapple isn't around? I think it's a combination of many things. You shouldcontinue feeding him the seeds every day, but make veggies the majority of his diet. Make sure that he's actually eating them, though.

 

[SarahKate]

UPDATE:

I completely took his pineapple away and it is hidden in a cabinet for emergencies. I took away all his seeds last night and gave him celery, carrots, and a bit of apple diced up. He didn't touch a THING (as expected) and he has been screaming for seeds all day. I left his cage door open just in case he decided to feel brave and explore ( He never really leaves his cage unless he can see his pineapple). He flew over and landed on my arm, so I figured i'd give it a shot and hand feed him some of the millet that he has been begging for all day. He actually ate it out of my had many times with no biting!

He has real sticks as his perches in his cage, so they poke out a good 5 inches in some spots and he designated one outter perch as his " okay you can hand feed me here" spot. He eats millet out of my hand, sunflower seeds from between my fingers, and I even got him to taste all of the veggies that I laid out for him last night ( he didn't like any of them, but it was worth a try..). He also recognizes the shape my hand makes when I'm holding a seed so he will fly to me.

I know he is just doing it because he REALLY wants his seeds, but I'm hoping it is progress as well and he is learning i wont hurt him. I also found out he is more afraid of my sleeved arm than my normal arm.

He hasn't bit me a single time so far today, except once when he thought I had a seed, but didnt haha I need to work on getting him to eat his veggies, though..

 

[SoCalWendy]

UPDATE:

I completely took his pineapple away and it is hidden in a cabinet for emergencies. I took away all his seeds last night and gave him celery, carrots, and a bit of apple diced up. He didn't touch a THING (as expected) and he has been screaming for seeds all day. I left his cage door open just in case he decided to feel brave and explore ( He never really leaves his cage unless he can see his pineapple). He flew over and landed on my arm, so I figured i'd give it a shot and hand feed him some of the millet that he has been begging for all day. He actually ate it out of my had many times with no biting!

He has real sticks as his perches in his cage, so they poke out a good 5 inches in some spots and he designated one outter perch as his " okay you can hand feed me here" spot. He eats millet out of my hand, sunflower seeds from between my fingers, and I even got him to taste all of the veggies that I laid out for him last night ( he didn't like any of them, but it was worth a try..). He also recognizes the shape my hand makes when I'm holding a seed so he will fly to me.

I know he is just doing it because he REALLY wants his seeds, but I'm hoping it is progress as well and he is learning i wont hurt him. I also found out he is more afraid of my sleeved arm than my normal arm.

He hasn't bit me a single time so far today, except once when he thought I had a seed, but didnt haha I need to work on getting him to eat his veggies, though..

A little seed is ok, but in moderation, if you know which ones are his favs you can use them as treats and make him work for them. Dark green veggies are better but celery is a good start so are carrots, try some apple, spinach, or broccoli. Millet is good too. Again Use his seed as a treat, you can use it to your advantage (win/win) for you and also for him as he will become a better bird. You can take him to a bird store or the vet to get his wings clipped.

 

[weco]

Sounds like you've got a plan & it appears to be working, if only a little.....with the celery, you want to be sure it's cut into 1/2" & shorter lengths, because birds have no teeth and can not properly masticate it.....the strings can cause digestive impaction!

Now that you've literally got him eating out of your hand, you might want to invite him to dinner & the two of you sit down at the table & try some warm mashed sweet potatoes, warm regular mashed potatoes & maybe a tablespoon or two of apple juice or orange juice & if he doesn't shown any interest in either of the juices, take your finger & wet his beak so that it seeps between his mandibles...it never took more than a couple of drops to get my obstinate guys to get interested.....

Good luck.....

 

[veimar]

Wow, that's just GREAT! So you figured the way to make him love you! (They say the way to the man's heart goes through his stomach) LOL If you have trouble with converting him order some quality Volkman cockatiel no sunflower mix - they are really good. My tiel won't eat the pellets and he is the hardest to convert.

 

[EdwardH]

That he is eating from your hand without biting is great news. Well done! Looks like the hut was instigating most of his aggression. His aggression seems to have gone with the hut.
It is frustrating when they wont eat because of previous poor diet however don't give up. Cockatiels can be stubborn when it comes to changing their diet so I recommend that you feed him sprouts. They look like seeds and are a natural part of their diet. He should eat them without any fuss. You should also continue giving him small amounts of different vegies and fruits every day and he shall make it obvious over a few weeks or so what he shall and shall not eat. Remember that the more variety he has the healthier he will be.
Keep using the millet as a treat. It is working and as you feed it to him a few times a day his trust in you shall continue to grow and then the biting will be history.
Sounds like you are making progress - keep up the good work.