Worried About My New Cockatiel?

Question

I bought a cockatiel a week ago tomorrow. She is 4 months old and I am very worried about her. First she seems to be getting meaner everyday. She bites me but I don't pull away and she don't like to come out of her cage. I talk to her in a soft tone and I am very affectionate with her but she is not the same way with me. Another thing that worries me is that she don't whistle or play with any toys that I place in her cage. I know that your supposed to be patient and your also supposed to give it time. My question is when should I start looking to see some kind of difference in her and is it possible that she will never play with toys or whistle? Is it normal for this not to happen. I want her to be happy I don't want her to be miserable and sad. I feel like she hates me. :| Shes so cute and I love her already. I just think I should see a little difference by now. LIke she should be a little nicer by now not meaner. HELP! Only good thing is she has a very healthy appetite.

Answer 1

to tame her down you need to handle her more. Are her wings clipped? If not, get them clipped asap. what this does is force her to be dependant on you. Which aids in building trust. It's a must imo to tame a cockatiel. When you say she bites is it hard enough to draw blood or is soft where you can barely feel it? If soft, she is just a little scared but spending time with her is going to eleviate her fears. the key is to spend time with her. Don't just talk to her through her cage. that's not going to work. Physically take her out, put her on your shoulder and keep her there. Spend 2 hours a day at least. As for whistling...eventually she will whistle. However, if she is indeed a female which you refer to it as, she may never whistle. Some hens are very quiet. Others tend to sqwauk from time to time. However, they are known to be quite non vocal. If it is a male give him time...it took one of my tiels about 3 months before he ever muttered a sound. I mean he was SILENT. He also didn't play with toys or anything. then one day he saw his shadow up on top of his cage and I heard him do a wolf whistle and kissing sounds which I had been doing to him. some say that they don't really start whistling until about 8 months. Which is about the age that he was. Now he is the most tame and sweet bird you will EVER meet. he leaves his cage to find me whereever I am. I can take him shopping and he'll just stay perched. People are always amazed at how tame he is. Amazingly, he was actually parent raised but naturally sweet. He never bit very hard. When he finally discovered what his toys were for god help them lol. Now all I hear is wolf whistles, kissing sounds, bells ringing, and wood clanking against the cage. someone mentioned getting a companion bird for you tiel. This can be positive or negative. If you are home alot there is no need for the companion tiel. The bird will bond to you and thats all they need. If you are gone for most of the day and do not have that much time for her then a companion might be an answer. However, be prepared for your pet to bond to the other bird and prefer the companionship over yours. It is possible that both birds will love you but if they bond you will never be first on their list. Also, many people believe that you don't handle your bird right off the bat. I strongly disagree. A good rule of thumb is to give them 48 hours where you don't force them to socialize with you. but, your hand to perch and offer foods from your hands. After the 48 period it's time to start socializing. if the cockatiel bites very hard start by toweling it and holding it while you scratch it's head. When it's calm enough to allow you to scratch it's head and sometimes beak then you can go a head and take the towel off and have it perch. Most likely it is going to jump off of your finger. force it to step up on your finger again and talk to it. put it on your shoulder but be sure to not let it to close to your face at this point. You MUST handle your bird. People that tell you to sit by the cage and don't force it to be handled are the ones that do not have super tame loving cockatiels. Unless their tiels were just naturally tame. You have to spend time with it.

Answer 2

Some cockatiels are never very friendly. It all depends on if they were hand fed as babies or not. If they were, then they will be bonded to people and will be very human oriented. if not, they tend to be less human oriented and fairly stand-offish.

Female cockatiels are a lot less vocal than males. If you have a female, don't expect much in the way of whistling or talking. Some vocalizing is normal, but not a lot.

You might want to consider getting another tiel to keep her company, a male, hand-fed tiel.

Answer 3

If it's only been a week since you've had her, the mere fact that she's eating and drinking is a great first step.
Moving locations is a very stressful thing for a bird and the key to her happiness is PATIENCE !
If she was never socialized as a youngster, you may have months of work to do to get her to be friendly towards you. She does not trust you at this point and that has to be earned by you. There are no short cuts or hints to getting her to like you.
As she gets used to her new environment you'll notice that she begins to investigate her surroundings, but again, be prepared for this to take a long time, ie: several weeks.
You can begin to earn her trust by having a daily routine for cleaning and feeding/watering her cage. Spend as much time as you possibly can, just sitting beside her and talking or making noises. Let her get used to your presence. Don't try to handle her at this point. After several weeks of this "bonding", you can open her cage door while you sit with her, and see if she ventures out. Again, don't push her and let her natural curiosity bring her to you. As you can see, this will take a long time and I hope you don't get discouraged too quickly. Bonding with a bird takes time, especially if they have no previous human interaction. Babies who have been well-socialized with people only need a few days to acclimate to a new home, and are quite willing to be handled and held.
Make sure your new bird gets 12-14 hours of darkness for sleep and rest every night. After a few weeks, you can offer millet or a favorite treat through the bars of her cage, or offer it on the palm of your hand near her door while opened.
A proper diet of pellets, seeds, grains and lots of veggies will make sure she remains healthy. A well-bird checkup by a certified avian vet can determine if she's in good condition and would also be an ideal time to have her wings clipped. A bird can kill themselves by flying around in a panic, so a wing clip is very important to it's safety!
Please try to be patient with your bird. She is at a young impressionable age and your kindness and consistency will teach her to trust you.
Cockatiels are prone to night frights, so you may want to leave a small nightlight near her cage at rest times.
The fact that she is "getting meaner every day" tells you to slow down and back off, she's not ready for interaction with you yet. Remember too, that she is no longer with the flock she grew up with, and is completely alone. Once she trusts you, she will consider you a part of her flock. Don't give up on her, she's a baby and deserves your dedication! Best of Luck !

Answer 4

Doesn't sound like you purchased a hand fed bird. A lessen I learned the hard way. My cockatiel never did come around. Sorry

Answer 5

just give her time...... work with her everyday so she bonds to you and learns to trust you it may take a while especially if she was not hand fed as a baby

Answer 6

give her a pair