Hi, desperatly need help. I bought a cockatiel 6 months ago I call Buddy on the understanding that he was fully tame. The lady i bought it from said it was her sons, but they had just had a baby and didn't have time for him. Sadly i don't think Buddy has ever been handled or let out of his cage. I leave his cage open all day but unless he is spooked he won't come out of his cage, when he is out he just perches high up and dosen't move. I have managed to get feed from my hand using millet but can't progess any further. Any advice would greatly be apprecatied so Buddy can have a better quality of life.
Taming cockatiel
- Thread starter Jayemuu
- Start date
- Aug 29, 2018
- 28,978
- 43,600
- Parrots
- Fang ({ab}normal grey cockatiel), Valentino (budgie), Jem (cinnamon cockatiel), Lovejoy(varied lorikeet), Peach (princess parrot)
Welcome to the forums, @Jayemuu and Buddy, and congrats on your new family member! You may be correct when you say Buddy might not have got a lot of time out of the cage in his previous home, but in my opinion if he is taking millet from your hand that's already good progress given his circumstances. You don't know what his previous life was like, perhaps his previous owners weren't very understanding of him and he is not very trusting as a result. Just continue to take things at his pace, sit close to the cage and read to him, doesn't matter what you read to him as long as you do so in a soft, calming voice. Try not to make any quick or sudden moves and keep up with the food bribery too. It might take a while, parrots often move glacially slow because they are "prey" species. Honestly I think one day that little light will go off in his head and he'll come around when he realises you're not a predator and you don't want to eat him! Oh and please don't forget to post some pics will you? We love baby photos around here!
clark_conure
Well-known member
- Jul 14, 2017
- 4,307
- 2,646
- Parrots
- A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 4 budgies, yellow (f), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f). AND 3 BABY BUDGIES.
Statistics show 327% of owners that post pics of their birds get better interactions with their birds. Just throwing his out there.
- Aug 29, 2018
- 28,978
- 43,600
- Parrots
- Fang ({ab}normal grey cockatiel), Valentino (budgie), Jem (cinnamon cockatiel), Lovejoy(varied lorikeet), Peach (princess parrot)
Statistics show that 674% of members who enter the November Photo of the Month contest are 1000% the funnest people in the world - and that goes for both @clark_conure and @Jayemuu!!!
- Aug 29, 2018
- 28,978
- 43,600
- Parrots
- Fang ({ab}normal grey cockatiel), Valentino (budgie), Jem (cinnamon cockatiel), Lovejoy(varied lorikeet), Peach (princess parrot)
Awwwwwwwwww he's a lovely boy, thank you for the pic!
DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
Wow! He's beautiful!
DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
I'm going to throw something out there that may be unpopular that I do when a bird isn't tame and flies up high out of reach. I do a slight wing trim, both wings, just the first inch or inch and a half of the longest flight feathers. This allows flight but slower and not as high. That way he will be easier to work with. You can't tame and train a bird who flies up to the highest mm in the room every time he comes out of his cage. I would have a vet tech do it if you can. If not, you can do it yourself. Just put a towel over him leaving the tail and wing tips exposed and trim to wing tips without holding the wing out.
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