# New Mama



## allons_ykaylee (Nov 12, 2013)

I got my tiel Simon over the weekend and he's doing great. He sings to me frequently, preens my face obsessively, calls to me when I leave the room, hangs out in his cage door when it's open. He's having a bit of trouble with stepping up, however. I pretty much leave his cage open when I'm home because he loves hanging out in the entrance, and when he's there I'll put my finger near his feet and talk to him. He usually climbs back into the cage a few times but eventually I can get him to step up. And he HATES scritches or pets. Will he warm up to the affection, and me? Because I want to be able to love on him without getting bit for it. He seems extremely comfortable around me (I mean he preened my face for a total of 3 hours today) but I want him to feel safe as well. Tips? He's my first bird, so I'm very new to all of this.
:grey tiel:


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Well for starters, hi there 

He sounds like a good boy. About the scratches, some never like them. My older tiel Beaker doesn't not like them. My youngest loves them. It really depends. He may discover they're great or may never like them.

For bonding, have you ever fed him treats like millet? Feeding is a great way to bond


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## scootergirl762 (Aug 27, 2013)

Congratulations! He sounds like a sweetie. I agree with Lougirl - some will like it, some won't and some will and THEN won't. You just can't tell ahead of time. I worked at getting Stewie to like it - by that I mean, he decided he did. Then when I brought Emme into the picture he decided he still liked it - from her. So from me he shies away even though I could scratch his head for an hour without stopping. Just give it time and go slow. He'll let you know!


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## allons_ykaylee (Nov 12, 2013)

Thanks guys! I give given him millet from my hand, he does eat from my hand frequently. He seems to have bonded with me well enough but at the same time it still feels shaky, which worries me. But it's been less than a week so I suppose we'll bond further!

But how do I stop the obsessive preening of my face? My mom spends time with him while I'm at work or class and she's told me if he does that to her she'll put him back in the cage and we both know he won't enjoy that. And he tends to get a little rough with it and bite. Any tips on that?


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