How to pet a cockatiel?

Question

My cockatiel already loves me to death. He despises everyone else and will hiss and bite at everyone else except me. He gives me kisses all the time and he grooms me, too. :-p

I always stroke his head, neck, and ears and he absolutely loves it. The problem is... since I come home from school pretty late, I never spend much time with him and he's alone most of the day. He won't ever play with anyone else because everyone in my house is too brutal with him. So he prefers to be alone until I come home where he goes crazy when he sees me. He starts screaming until I come by him; then he jumps up on me and kisses me plenty... then stays by me. Sometimes he even whistles some tunes with me. I pet and stroke him on his neck a lot and he bonds with me some more.

Is there any other way I can pet him to bond more with me? He seems to be tired of the neck stroking thing...

Also, he hates being petted on his back. Must be some past trauma with back petting...

Anyway... I need help. :-/

Oh, that's what I love to death about him. I've lifted him by grabbing him when he was about to fall from places... and he naturally got pissed off because I grabbed him. But he has never bitten me EVER.

He doesn't even really bite at anyone else in my family. You know when you put your finger in front of the bird and he kinda grabs you with his beak just so he can get footing before he steps up...? He only does that when he "bites" anyone, including myself. But with me... he apologizes afterwards, lmao. No joke. :-D

I love him. :-D

I adore my birdy-poo. His name is "Squeeky." Lmao, I know... how original.

He's incredibly spoiled. I take him to a nice, cool room every night-time for him to sleep (because my whole family suffers from insomnia... they all stay up 'til around 1 or 2 AM watching TV in the living room... where he usually sleeps.) so he gets a full-night's rest every day.

Other than that, I have a million different toys for him... but I only put up a maximum of 4 or 5 in his cage (while alternating positions, sometimes... of course) every 3 months. I buy him bird pacifiers... which he loves. I also buy him the expensive hoity-toidy bourgeouie bird-food, lmaoo. He has supplements, too... no joke. :-p! :-D!

He's ALWAYS out of his cage and he's fine with it. He always behaves and everything. I take him outside with me all the time, too. He never flies off and he remains on my shoulder the whole time (though he craps on me all the time, loll).

The point is... we love one another.

But I want to know... is there any other way I can bond more with him other than just petting him on the head and neck? I want him to trust me fully (as if he doesn't, loll).

I want him to trust me enough to let me touch his wings and back. I want him to trust me so much that he doesn't freak out whenever he has to bathe and etc.

I'm doing everything I can (properly) to ensure his good health as a cockatiel. But I want him to love me as much as I love him. :-p

God, this question's so ambiguous... :-/

Answer 1

ADDITIONAL BONDING is the question from what I read.

TRUST: Trust is the one thing you can build more and more and more and more. Not being able to pet him on his back is a bit of a trust thing.. but could also just be his own issue. I could pet all my birds on their backs with exception to one of my cockatoos.

The one that will REALLY test the trust.. is turning them on their back! My one bird is so trusting he does this aaallll the time and actually enjoys it. I'll tickle his belly and make giggling noises and he does the same in response. Cockatiels are less likely to lay on their back, but it is possible. But you have to get past the hand on the back issue first.

He also likes standing with one foot up in the air waiving.. and then he'll lean to one side.. giving signals of papa grab my foot and flip me over on my back. So I do.. then keep hold of his foot and tickle the heck out of him. I'll even lift him up from his one foot.. he just loves all the attention.

When playing peek-a-boo under the comforter.. he flips upside down all the time.. just like a cat would.. saying.. cmmon papa play with me.

He also flips over on his own on his back.. sometimes doing a somersault., othertimes rolling over.. he's the cutest thing ever.

PREENING: Birds.. ABSOLUTELY LOVE being preened. You know.. when those new feathers come in all wrapped up in the quill.. they can't get the ones on their head.. if you help them find those and unravel them.. you are aboslutely their best friend - FOOORREEEEVER! LOL.

TIME: Spend loads of time.. but keep it consistent. Don't spend 10 minutes one day and 2 hours the next. Birds definitely need consistency in their lives... as most pets do. But birds are a little more sensitive to this than other pets.

NEVER SAY NEVER: Your bird could bite you some day.. but don't worry about it.. if it does, it's probably because something caught him off guard or who knows what.

You've got an awesome relationship.. glad it's working out!

Answer 2

The petting down the back is a trust issue, not a trauma issue. It's the fact you are touching an area that is close to the wings- and the permission to touch wings without an attitude is something you need to work at. The touch of the beak before a step up is natural. Cockatiels do this in the wild to make sure the branch they want to go in is steady enough to hold their weight. This is nothing to worry about.

Sometimes giving a light massage versus petting the feathers down, he might enjoy it. Sometimes spacing the head scritches few and far between will make them more enjoyable.

The time bonding with a freind with feathers is an enjoyable time. When doing school work, even if it is quadratic equations, reading a book or writing a report, talk out loud and pretend he's your audience. Parrots don't care what you say as long as it's toward them. This is a good chance to spend time with him after a long day for both of you.

It does not sound like you have any problems. You give him lots of love, and you are the object of his affection. I would leave most of the things you are doing be.

On the other hand, it may be worth your while to make sure he gets SOME attention from other people then his favorite human (you). This will keep him from getting aggressive towards anyone and getting nippy with them, even though he absolutely loves you. Changin water, cleaning the cage, feeding him or just letting him out are some activities that should not be traumatic. If you witness him being hit, thrown, pinched yelled at, people intentionally scaring him or otherwise, that is animal abuse, and that should be dealt with under parental guidence.

Answer 3

how about one more petting session before u leave in the morning? his love 2 u cannot make 2 get up a couple of minutes earlier??
btw, no birds like being stroked on their backs, so that is purficly normal. the whole head is for u to stroke and rub gently all over, but nothing else

Answer 4

its safe alright! at the aviary i work at, there are 650+ birds that eat it as a treat! i walk around to all the cages and share it with all of them. ive never had any trouble with it. my bird loves the stuff, especially the kettle corn flavor. if you do use flavored popcorn, dont do it oftem. as stated earlier, it can be harmful to give your bird large amounts of fats and cholesterols. the thing with the sunflower seeds, thats a load of you know what. go to a sunflower field and look around, there are birds EVERYWHERE eating them! you know why? sunflower seeds are high in fat, and most birds do not get much exercise, why you may ask? THEY CANT FLY! if your bird can fly, you can feed him about 5-8 a day, more if he's a spastic little dude. the reason most vets ( and id like to add, most vets dont know JACK about birds!) dont want you to give your bird sunflowerseeds is that, without the ability to fly, they will not get even 10% the exercise they need, and thus, the high fat diet leads to fatty liver disease, which is often irreversable.

Answer 5

hi d, i have never had a pet who is like ur's but its apparent that u adore him & that he adores u but ina different way &if u wanna bond with him better try 2 spend more time with him &try 2 understand him better. he might like u 2 scratch him below the beak .its a bird right ?well forgive my foolishnessif its not so . &as for his back petting trauma u can do nothing about. best of luck with ur' pet ihope u suceed

Answer 6

birds can be very devoted(my parrot is). Birds are smart creatures. Parrots have the intellect of a 3 yr old kid, don't know about cockateils though. Your bird will enjoy ANY attetion you give him. They are pretty neat pets aren't they?

Answer 7

sounds like your already close. what do you want the little guy to do to prove he loves and trustes you? you want him to die if your not there? you are doin a great job. most birds do not like to be grabbed, its a predatory movement in the wild. just keep doing what your doing, i wouls say you two are already bonded. he loves you, you love him, so whats the problem?

Answer 8

http://www.cockatiel.com/
Maybe that will interest you!

http://www.cockatielsecrets.com/
That link looks good for you too!

I also have a Cockatiel. I love her to bits and pieces! She loves me too the same way as your bird except my bird is not allowed out the cage because she is too naughty!! ha ha! My Cockatiel is named 'Tweety'. So cute!

Answer 9

he seems spoilt enough, try to give him toys to play with through the day, cockatiels are usually i one person bird

Answer 10

You should pet him on his chest, they love that just as much. But carefully do that, it may be new for him, and he may bite.