how do I get my grey cockatiel 2 stop being scared?

Question

I've had Cocoa (I didn't pick the name) for about 5 years now, and she's scared of everyone! She's probably been like that her whole life because I got her when she was about 3 months old. We were told she was a guy, but this spring, she laid an egg. She lives with a green cheek conure in the same cage, but when we first got her, we put her with our sun conure who is about the same age as her until it started picking on her. She gets along with our green-cheek just fine, but she runs or flies away every time someone comes close to her. She hasn't had any bad experiences with humans from wut I know, so she shouldn't be doing that. And when she does come out, she flies around for a long time and sometimes hurts herself. Now we don't let her out, but we handfeed her sometimes, which is the only way she comes by us, and even then she's scared. The person we bought her from at the bird show had her in a large cage with alot of other cockatiels in it, so that could be something. plz hlp.

Is it just that she's shy or some kind of trauma she had with another human? How can I get her used to anyone? I want to let her out, but It's not safe for her because she runs into walls or windows. Why is that and how can I fix it?

thnx, but I don't have the problem with my green-cheek. But I have had him for longer than her. Does that happen with alot of birds?

Answer 1

The first thing you have to do is get her wings clipped!

Short Summary?:
1) clip her wings - solves many issues
2) spend SHORT periods of time with her
3) get her in her own cage that is near humans all the time

Long Version:
Been around birds all my life. I have an african grey and a senegal parrot right now. As soon as the senegal starts getting his wings he gets aggressive and a bit of a mean streak. I know your bird is opposite, but to get them on level playing ground (and for their safety) you need to get their wings clipped.

Clipping their wings is not inhumane. It hurts no more than you getting your fingernails or hair cut. It can hurt if not done properly. They can also bleed to death if not careful in how you do it.

After that., you simply have to work with her EVERY single day for the same amount of time at the same time(s) of day. Do short sessions.. (5 - 10 minutes) or how ever long she will tollerate. Increase the time a week at a time. Longer sessions can frustrate and tick off the bird more.

Hand feed her a favorite food. If she likes sunflowers.. take most the sunflowers out of the seed and hand feed them to her when she sits on your hand or whatever you want.

We have an african grey parrot that is blind. I worked with him for TEN YEARS. He still will only get on a towel on my hand.. if I try to get him he will rip my hand to shreads. I rescued him and he's happy in his cage with his toys. He has a huge cage and gets showers every day and is loved to death.. so., that's just the way he'll be.

So .. USUALLY you can get a bird tamed down.. but some times.. rarely.. but sometimes.. it's impossible. But you should be able to take her out of her cage and let her play without too much problem.

Make notation of WHEN she is being a basketcase. It's possible that people with long hair freak her out due to somebody that abused her before. Or baseball caps, yada yada yada.

Cockatiels.. I have found.. are actually tricky birds to have for pets. And they're so common. If I was to get one today?... I'd go to a breeder and let the BIRD pick ME out. One or two will naturally fly to you. But they are .. tend to have more temperments, pick one partner (human or bird) and can be sorta snooty. If your bird isn't too snooty, you've got a HUGE chance of having a super bird. Even if she is a bit pissy, you can still read into them.. when it's a good day or bad day, you know :)

When we went to get our senegal, a cockatiel flew to me and wouldn't stay away from me. The owner said that was the first time that's ever happened, it usually hates men and women.

So yes, a bird could possibly just freak out around everybody.. but if you let it out and be it's friend and CLIP IT'S WINGS, I'd be willing to bet my next paycheck, it'd change around a bit.

You also would want to get it in it's own cage. It could be bonding with the conure and saying to heck with the humans. That is common. I'd even go so far as to getting it farther and farther from the other birds into it's own area.. like near the dining table where humans are.

Answer 2

Cockatiels are very sensitive birds. They get scared from the slightest thing that they hear. My advice is let her out of the cage every so often but just keep close to her. She will soon appreciate it. I have a little Lutino Cockatiel. I got her from a breeder her treated her really badly. She always got scared when anyone came near her and was quite happy to nip until you bled from time to time. So what I done was I gave her one to one attention for months and now she is different. I can't leave the living room but she wants to come everywhere in the apartment with me. I know it seems strange but if you give them what they need it pays off in the long run. P.s. Another thing you could try is just with the palm of your hand, hover it over the top of her head but keep your hand open. It calms them down and that lets them know that you're there. Give it a go and see

Answer 3

You need to take her and have the feathers on one wing clipped. Do not try this yourself if you have never done it. Call some pet shops or places that sell bird and see if they will do this for you. This throws her off balance if she tries to fly and once she realizes she cant fly like she used to she will stay on a perch if you let her out. This will also keep her from hurting herself by flying into walls or windows. You could buy or make her a perch to put her on when you get her out. Have treats there for her and maybe a toy.Hand feed her while she is on her perch. Talk to her and spend time with her. Good luck!

Answer 4

You need to go buy cockatiel food for it. Also put it in a cage with food and water dishes. give it a chance to calm down and you should call a vet. It is pretty easy to tame a cockatiel once it learns to trust you.

Answer 5

she has companionship with the other bird she doesn't need to bond with you,if she were alone in a cage with no other birds around and couldn't "talk" back and forth with them she may become more dependant on you,i am only guessing at this as i am not a bird specialist by any means but i have had a bit of experience with a cockateil and a similar situation
I bought a hand tamed cockateil from a pet store,and he was very friendly and out going,loved to sit on my computer or my shoulder while i clicked away at the key pad,but i thought he needed a friend and got him a girlfriend, they got along wonderfully but after i got her he became unfriendly,didn't want to be out of his cage,and acted as though he was scared to death of people,now that she is no longer with us,he is back to his happy cheerful wanting to be close to people self

Answer 6

Hun some birds have their minds made up to remain wild and never trust anyone. You should really clip her wings to keep her from flying into things to hurt herself. And if she isnt tamed by now I'd let her alone. Sounds like shes happy just hanging out with your other birds. See my link and come join us there.

Answer 7

If you want a companion bird, then you need to have that bird isolated from other birds. If this bird is with other birds then they'll bond with that other bird.

Meanwhile, this poor bird is having some kind of sexual identity crisis! A conure with a cockatiel?

Answer 8

Give her time. Keeping her locked up is not going help. Clipping her wings will keep her from hitting the wall or other things and possibily killing herself. With her wings clipped she will spent more time with you and not running off.