Why is she so afraid when in her cage?

[Jen144]

I bought a 'handraised baby' cockatiel about 2-3 weeks ago. (she is around 10-12 weeks old I think)
Because she was handraised, she is a lot quieter than if I bought a wild one, even as young as she is...but..Whenever I put my hand in her cage, she is petrified..she hisses at me, moves away, and even starts shaking sometimes..but when I manage to get her out of her cage, (by opening the door to her cage and standing back until she comes out) she doesn't appear to be afraid of me at all, she readily hopes onto my hand, and can sit on my hands, shoulder, etc, happily for a few hours, just preening my hair..She even seems to prefer to be on me than anywhere else (other than her cage of course, though I do keep it out of her sight when I hold her)
So, why is she so scared when she is in her cage? How can I fix this?
Thanks.

[Solace.]

It's possible she's STILL trying to adjust to the new environment and/or that she feels threatened when you want to get her out of the cage. I'd start by offering millet to her as a treat.. sit it on your hand (the millet) and open the cage door, sit near it and see if she is curious enough to check what is on your hand out, and with some luck she may jump onto your hand and start munching on it - millet is good to encourage her to come out, but if she doesn't like it, then leave it and try again the next day, don't go grabbing her out if she doesn't like it, because you're risking her never gaining your trust which you must have.

Let her come in and out as much as she wants, leave the door open (cage) so she can come out herself, if that's what she likes, and some do, then that's what makes her happy and less of a threat to her. But like I said.. do offer treats, and sit by her cage during the day for awhile and talk to her, offer treats once again through the bars of the cage, that way she'll know you're not going to hurt her and that there's nothing to be scared of. :)

[Jen144]

It's possible she's STILL trying to adjust to the new environment and/or that she feels threatened when you want to get her out of the cage. I'd start by offering millet to her as a treat.. sit it on your hand (the millet) and open the cage door, sit near it and see if she is curious enough to check what is on your hand out, and with some luck she may jump onto your hand and start munching on it - millet is good to encourage her to come out, but if she doesn't like it, then leave it and try again the next day, don't go grabbing her out if she doesn't like it, because you're risking more by her never trusting you.

Let her come in and out as much as she wants, leave the door open (cage) so she can come out herself, if that's what she likes, and some do, then that's what makes her happy and less of a threat to her. But like I said.. do offer treats, and sit by her cage during the day for awhile and talk to her, offer treats once again through the bars of the cage, that way she'll know you're not going to hurt her and that there's nothing to be scared of. :)

Okay thanks. Also, I don't think she likes millet very much, I have some in her cage and she hardly ever eats any..is there anything else I could use for a treat?

[Solace.]

Okay thanks. Also, I don't think she likes millet very much, I have some in her cage and she hardly ever eats any..is there anything else I could use for a treat?


Oh dear. Okay, you could try something like sunflower seeds (too many aren't good for them) or just normal seed? has she got any favorite foods?

[Jen144]

Oh dear. Okay, you could try something like sunflower seeds (too many aren't good for them) or just normal seed? has she got any favorite foods?

I guess I could try with normal seeds and see how that goes..and I'm not sure if she has any favourite foods, she doesn't eat veges or fruit yet, though I'm still trying.:rolleyes:

[tielfan]

Birds feel safest when they're in their cages, so when you put your hand in the cage she may not be afraid of you as much as she's worried that you're going to make her come out. Once she's out she might look to you as her protector in this big scary world so she wants to be your buddy then. As Solace said, feeding her treats to get her more accustomed to your hands will help.

Letting her come out of the cage on her own is a good idea too. If she does it freely then you'll know that fear of the big world isn't actually the issue. If she won't come out on her own then it IS the problem, and you can work on luring her out of the cage with tasty treats or something else that she likes.

[xxxSpikexxx]

You got some good tips. It sounds to me like she is still adjusting aswell. Spike was hand fed and it took him 2 weeks to get use to me. Just take it slow and Iam sure your new tiel will come along :)

[Lola's_mommy]

When we first brought home Lola, she was the same way. She would hiss and turn her back to us when we tried to reach in the cage. She was fine, though, out of the cage. It just took some time and now she doesn't have any issues with us reaching in to pet her.

But remember, too, that all animals have moods, and sometimes your bird may be more receptive to affection and getting attention than other times. Lola has times, maybe when she's tired, that she really doesn't want to be bothered.

Talk to your tiel outside the cage without the pressure of reaching in, and she should soon be more comfortable with you at all times.