# Dependent cockatiel question



## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

Hi everyone, 
So I have a few questions and concerns about my tiel Lexi. I got her from a pet store right after Thanksgiving and at the time I was in school. I am currently on a break and I don’t have a job so I have been spending most of my time at home and when I go away for long trips I take her with me. It didn't take very long for her to bond to me at all and now I think I might be spending too much time with her if that’s even possible?? She spends most of her day on my shoulder and now whenever I try to put her in her cage or anyway that’s not on my shoulder she tries to find a way to get to me and if I even look like I'm heading towards the door of my room to leave she starts to do this sad little chirp, Like "please don’t leave me" or "come back" And if I don’t listen to her then she figures out a way to fly towards my general direction. I think lately its gotten worse because the last few days when I leave her in her cage just to get the mail or go down stairs for a second she will start to scream for me, and if she’s not doing that then she freezes and doesn't move until I come back into the room and open her cage door for her to come out. 
I was just wondering if I ruined her by spending too much time with her? And I am a little worried how she will react because I will be going back to school in about a week and a half and have started to look for a very part time job. Is it such a bad thing that she has become so dependent on me and if it is are there ways of fixing it without completely traumatizing her?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

No its not a bad thing....when she's calling for you, that's called a flock call, she wants you to respond back to her so she knows you're OK. So when she does that just call back to her. You can let her spend more time in her cage, to play with her toys so she gets used to it with you going back to school. The first couple days she may be lonely but she'll get used to it. I had a hen like this and she couldn't wait to get out of her cage when I came home from work at night.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I had/have a somewhat similar issue with Sunny. I spend a lot of time with him on the weekends but then work during the week. He used to get pretty upset but now he understands it's the routine. Sometimes I think on Mondays he's a little happy to see me leave because he can chill out in his cage all day and eat millet.  But he's definitely very excited to see me when I get home. (And my fiance does usually check on him in the afternoons so he does have a little bit of a break.)


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## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

I always try to call back to her when she makes those calls but sometimes I'm just going to run down stairs really fast and I don't even think about calling back to her. I will try to have her spend more time in her cage. 
Sunnysmom: I was wondering how often do you feed sunny the millet spray. I have been limiting Lexi to one stick a week because I heard it was very high in fat but i'm wondering if I can and should give it to her more often so shes not so sad once I have to leave more often. 
Thank you guys for responding with your advice its nice to have people to talk to about my worries and concerns


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

Thats so cute that your cockatiel is calling for you!


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## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks I think it is the cutest thing too. And I think she has learned that if she calls for me I will come running. She has me trained very well now lol.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

smays810 said:


> I always try to call back to her when she makes those calls but sometimes I'm just going to run down stairs really fast and I don't even think about calling back to her. I will try to have her spend more time in her cage.
> Sunnysmom: I was wondering how often do you feed sunny the millet spray. I have been limiting Lexi to one stick a week because I heard it was very high in fat but i'm wondering if I can and should give it to her more often so shes not so sad once I have to leave more often.
> Thank you guys for responding with your advice its nice to have people to talk to about my worries and concerns


I once asked on here if there was certain amount of millet you should or shouldn't feed your bird. There were various answers, but all within a certain range. If I can find the thread, I'll link it. What one member suggested and what I do is cut the spray in pieces. So I actually give Sunny millet every morning before I leave for work but about a fourth or a third of a piece depending on how thick it is. This way it gives him something to look forward to when I put him back in his cage in the morning when I leave for work.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Okay, I'm not sure how to post the link. Hmmm. But it was srtiels who suggested giving a third of a piece of millet every day or every other day and said that the millet provides protein and energy.  My thing with Sunny is if I put a whole piece of millet in he would eat it exclusively but the third seems to work well for him.


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## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

Thank you, I will try that because when I give lexi the millet she eats it within 2 days and then she doesn't get any for a while so I wLll try cutting it up. Thanks


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## PoisonAndFire (Jan 7, 2012)

Doctor Zeropercent is the same way. I spend all of my time with him when I'm out of class; so, he freaks out when I so much as leave him to go to the bathroom. 

Someone here said it best: HE has ME trained. Haha!

I don't mind that, though. My problem is that he doesn't like anyone who isn't me. He gets defensive of me if anyone comes close, like a tiny, feathered dog.


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## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

That is cute. Lexi doesn't seem very defensive of me when there are others around but it hasn't really been that long of a time either. And Lexi is the same way she wont let me leave the room without her and she has even figured out when I look like I'm going to be leaving and she starts calling for me before I even reach the door.


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