Getting a cockatiel very soon, and i need guidance

JosvaHerbst

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Mar 12, 2019
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Hi! Im getting a cockatiel soon and i wanted to hear tips about caging, training, races and cages.

Also i come home at these times: Monday: 4 pm Tuersday: 4 pm Wednesday: 2 pm Thursday: 1:30 pm Friday: 2:30 pm

So will it need a mate or will i be able to be it's flock along with my family?

Thank you,
Josva Herbst,
Denmark
 
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Owlet

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What do you mean by "races" ?

https://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Produ...vue+bird+cage&qid=1552424141&s=gateway&sr=8-2

This is what I have my single cockatiel in. Some may say it's too big but bigger the better IMO. You want a variety of different perches including natural wood perches (NOT wooden dowels, look for grapevine, manzanita, dragonwood, etc) and you're gonna want a variety of toys especially if you're getting a young cockatiel. Best to introduce them to absolutely everything you can at a young age.
 
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Rozalka

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ChristaNL

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How did you train your bird? I do not have the money to buy expensive equipment :red1:


Just lots of patience and small rewards ( tiny snacks/ pieces of nut etc. and lots of praise )
 
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JosvaHerbst

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JosvaHerbst

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How did you train your bird? I do not have the money to buy expensive equipment :red1:


Just lots of patience and small rewards ( tiny snacks/ pieces of nut etc. and lots of praise )

And what are the things you should focus on and where should you train.

Does it learn to fly itself?

(I will be buying a handfed baby, so it will already be kinda tame)
 

Owlet

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flying is a natural instinct, no different than you or I learning to walk. They will learn on their own as long as they aren't clipped too young.
 

Owlet

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I don't know what training you're looking at because no training requires more than a stick and treats unless you're looking to do harness training or fancy tricks.
 

LaManuka

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Hello and welcome to you and your new cockatiel! Cockatiels are great. If you're getting a young one they're fairly easy to make friends with, just take things at the bird's pace and make sure your interactions with him are positive. In my experience at least if you have a young one, give him a few days to settle in and he will do just fine.

You will get plenty of helpful advice and support here so welcome aboard!
 
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charmedbyekkie

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As you will be buying a handfed baby, do make sure its wings are not clipped, or else the little one won't learn how to fly.

As for training, you don't necessarily need equipment. Most people start off with 'target' training, which is teaching a bird to move towards and touch a specific place with their beak. It helps associate cue words (like "good boy") with positive treats and is a good starting point from training. After target training, some people also start recall training, which is calling a bird to come to you.

One of our members, chris-md, made a helpful video. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DomDr-dXZtU"]Evolution of parrot flight recall training, a tutorial on how to recall train your parrot - YouTube[/ame]
 
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JosvaHerbst

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As you will be buying a handfed baby, do make sure its wings are not clipped, or else the little one won't learn how to fly.

As for training, you don't necessarily need equipment. Most people start off with 'target' training, which is teaching a bird to move towards and touch a specific place with their beak. It helps associate cue words (like "good boy") with positive treats and is a good starting point from training. After target training, some people also start recall training, which is calling a bird to come to you.

One of our members, chris-md, made a helpful video. Evolution of parrot flight recall training, a tutorial on how to recall train your parrot - YouTube

Thank you so much!

How do you make the bird trust you? Sit on your finger/shoulder? What are some things to train after the essentials?

Your help is very helpful,
Josva
 
Jan 16, 2019
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As you will be buying a handfed baby, do make sure its wings are not clipped, or else the little one won't learn how to fly.

As for training, you don't necessarily need equipment. Most people start off with 'target' training, which is teaching a bird to move towards and touch a specific place with their beak. It helps associate cue words (like "good boy") with positive treats and is a good starting point from training. After target training, some people also start recall training, which is calling a bird to come to you.

One of our members, chris-md, made a helpful video. Evolution of parrot flight recall training, a tutorial on how to recall train your parrot - YouTube

Thank you so much!

How do you make the bird trust you? Sit on your finger/shoulder? What are some things to train after the essentials?

Your help is very helpful,
Josva

You can build trust with your bird by giving him/her treats and spending a lot of time near his/her cage (you could read or talk to your bird). Those are just some of the ways you can build trust.

To get a bird to sit on your finger you first have to build trust and then step up training. Also you first have to make sure your bird is perfectly step ip traing before putting him/her on your shoulder. Oh and I don't understand the last question but someone else wil be able to answer that.

:grey:
 
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JosvaHerbst

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As you will be buying a handfed baby, do make sure its wings are not clipped, or else the little one won't learn how to fly.

As for training, you don't necessarily need equipment. Most people start off with 'target' training, which is teaching a bird to move towards and touch a specific place with their beak. It helps associate cue words (like "good boy") with positive treats and is a good starting point from training. After target training, some people also start recall training, which is calling a bird to come to you.

One of our members, chris-md, made a helpful video. Evolution of parrot flight recall training, a tutorial on how to recall train your parrot - YouTube

Thank you so much!

How do you make the bird trust you? Sit on your finger/shoulder? What are some things to train after the essentials?

Your help is very helpful,
Josva

You can build trust with your bird by giving him/her treats and spending a lot of time near his/her cage (you could read or talk to your bird). Those are just some of the ways you can build trust.

To get a bird to sit on your finger you first have to build trust and then step up training. Also you first have to make sure your bird is perfectly step ip traing before putting him/her on your shoulder. Oh and I don't understand the last question but someone else wil be able to answer that.

:grey:


I meant what to learn after things like target practice, step up and trust.


Like what to learn after those :rainbow1:
 

charmedbyekkie

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If you want to take your bird out of the house, I do recommend getting an Aviator harness and training your bird to wear it. There are a lot of posts in this forum about how to harness train. I'm a huge advocate for harnesses - Cairo and I go for walks and run errands together almost every day.

Another thing to train at some point would be syringe feeding in case he ever gets ill and needs to take medicine. It's just something as simple as getting a 1ml syringe from your Certified Avian Vet and putting a little bit of fruit juice or whatever else in there every once in a while.

Otherwise it's entirely up to you and your little one. Some parrots here just stop at stepping up and target training. Others go on to do tricks with balls and toys. Cairo does practical things like go to his perch and his cage on command. He also does public-facing tricks like waving and shaking hands. Then he has fun brain tricks, like children's shape puzzle boxes and stacking cups - we mostly do this sort of training because he's the type of bird who loves learning new things. Some birds prefer just relaxing with you, and that's fine too :)


Edit to add: sitting on your shoulder is a privilege. If your bird displacement bites or you haven't built the trust enough, then do not put them on your shoulder - some members of this forum have had to get stitches for bad bites on their face and ears. Only after you've built up trust (which can take months) and know they won't bite, then they can go on your shoulder.
 
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