my cockatiel is afraid of hands is there a way i could reassure him im not going to hurt him?

Question

he will take food from your hands, but any other time he will bite you.

he is out of he cage most of the time, and also has a female for company that is hand reared and very affectionate

Answer 1

My guess is he is not afraid of your hand, but is annoyed because you don't have food in your hand. Try having food in your hand every other time you put it in the cage and gradually decrease the number of times your hand has food. Might help. Might not. At any rate they are great fun. Mine whistled Dixie and the Mayberry RFD songs and would get them mixed up. He was very humorous.

Answer 2

Your hands are not the problem if the cockatiel can be fed by them. If there is a female around, you are the problem. In a bird world you are a threat to his mate. He will not take the chance of being separated from her by your hands. The cockatiel will eventually come around if you pay attention to HER, she is the key. Teach her, play with her and he will see that it is safe to do. I have a 14 year old cockatiel who has recently learned a lot with love and understanding.

Answer 3

Having two birds together is NOT a problem as was stated above. I have 14 birds in my house. 7 of them tiels and they all are friendly and get along. The others are parrots.
He just needs worked with. Keep trying to handle him. Keep a treat in your hand if necessary and just let him sit and chill on you..he'll get confortable eventually and you wont need treats to handle him. Just be patient. Birds are not instinctivly trustworthy of people unless they've been handled constently. They aren't like dogs..you can give a dog a treat and he'll follow you around for days. Birds aren't like that. They take patients and time.

Answer 4

When you have two birds housed together they are not likely to be really friendly with people - they tend to stick together. If you had one bird as a pet, you would have more success at handling it. With that said, the biggest mistake people make when trying to handle their birds is showing fear.

Put your finger just under his belly and say 'step up.' When/If he goes to bite you, don't pull away. Take the bite. Keep telling him to step up. Once you start telling him to step up on your finger, you can't back down. It's tough taking the bites, but I promise you, once he figures out you aren't going to back down he'll give up and climb on. Then he'll figure out maybe you aren't so bad after all.

Are they on a pelleted diet? Seeds should only be a treat. Are there lots of toys for them to play with?

Good luck.

Answer 5

When he is in his cage try sitting and just placing your hand in the cage and not moving it and after a bit when he doesnt go mad that your hand is in the cage move it a bit towards him - it will need to be gradual but in time he should realise that your hand isnt to hurt him or his mate and will see your hand as just another perch

Answer 6

if your bird is biting your hand, one of the best ways to correct a biting habit is to employ what trainers call a wobble. with the bird perched on the hand, simply drop the hand a few inches immediately after the bird bites.the bird will momentarily lose it's balance and release it's grip. after only a few experiences, the bird associates biting with the unpleasant feeling of disorientation.. Good Luck... it worked with my 2 babies

Answer 7

First of all you always take a bird out on your fingers if you take them out any other way they lose you trust. I have a cockatiel and we didn't know that a now he lost our trust. (he bites now). So if you ever took him out any other way that could be the reason.

Answer 8

Could you paint your hands to look like a really fit pair of lady cockatiels?

Answer 9

i have not any adventure in possessing or training birds, yet I honestly have study that in case you ease into it, as in slowly enable it get used for your fingers it receives used to you, yet even with the certainty that you do, do no longer take you finger away even as they're in mid-step. try a stick first and gently press it antagonistic to it is abdomen and if it walks away, go away it is and verify out lower back day after today. After a even as of this try utilising shorter sticks and then your finger etc. As for socializing try only chatting with it in a snug tone. desire I helped and chuffed chook training!

Answer 10

If you kept me in cage for most of my life then I'd do more than fcuking bite you when I was let out.

Caging wild birds for your own personal gratification is wrong even if you do not mean to harm it.