Cockatiel Questions??!!!?

Question

1.My cockatiel is standing with only one foot. why is that?
he sometimes bites his foot.

2.when ever i say something to him he shakes his head. why?

3.our house is carpet and we want our bird to go out of cage. then we r afraid of birds poop on the carpet. and how do we clean?

4.i still cant make my bird stand on my finger. i tried everythig.

well ty.

Answer 1

1. All birds will stand on one foot when they're comfortable. The biting is just the bird preening the dead skin off.

2. He may not be used to your voice and is trying to learn what you are saying. Another possibility is that he may have a feather stuck in his ear so he's trying to move it back into place. My bird does this every so often.

3. Bird poop can come off the carpet quite easily. Set old towels or sheets around the bird cage and play area so that you just need to take the towels and throw them into the washer every couple of days. To clean poop off the carpet, go to your local pet store and pick up Poop Off. It's a great bird SAFE product and works quite well for cleaning perches, toys, cages, walls, and carpets.

4. Is the birds wings clipped? If not you may want to have that done to aid in training. How long have you had your cockatiel? It can take a few months before a bird becomes completley comfortable in their new home. Don't force the bird to do anything, it will only make bonding and training more difficult. When the bird does something right verbaly praise it.

Lightly pressing against the birds lower stomach near the feet should knock the bird off balance enough and step onto your finger. While you are doing this say "step up" When the bird puts a foot on you praise him/her. It will take time but your bird will learn.

Answer 2

I agree with the other people who commented b/c they are right. i'd also suggest buying a bird playpen. Because having the birds walk on carpet is okay, but besides the fact that they poop, they also will sometimes eat or peck at the little fuzzies from the carpets and that's not good for them. So if you buy a small playpen for your cockatiel, that'll give him freedom from a cage during the day and exercise. My male cockatiel loved it and it had stairs and a branch type thing where he would hang out.

Answer 3

1. All birds will perch on one foot with one tucked under. My three caiques all do this when they're taking little cat naps. Foot biting is a nervous habit - it's like someone who plays with their hair or bites their fingernails. None of my three birds do it that much -- they'd rather use me as their chew toy.

2. I don't have a clue about this one.

3. My apartment is completely carpeted except for the kitchen and bathroom. I use Resolve carpet cleaner for spot cleaning. You can also use plain dish detergent and water. You can also get a bird-safe cleaner like Poop-Off.

4. You just have to keep working at this one. If your bird seems afraid of your hand, get it to perch on a dowel rod, then gently work toward getting him on your hand. My three were hand-tamed from the day I got them.

Answer 4

All birds will stand on one foot, he is not biting his foot, he is cleaning it and cleaning his nails. He shakes his head maybe because you are speaking too loud. They do not like loud noises. Mine goes nuts, when I run the sweeper. It hurts his ears. I keep a Can of Woolite, to spot clean my area rugs. Keep trying, and the bird will eventually sit on your finger.