# Rebonding a bonded bird. Questions.



## emicalim (Jan 22, 2013)

Hello there tiel owners! I am writing this for my sister. My name is Emily and I have a parrotlet named Peeks, and we're doing super well! But Jolie on the other hand...

I have a very long story to tell you all. Roughly 10 or 12 years ago my uncle dropped off two cockatiels at my family's home. They were not very tame and very scared of people. We didn't know where they (they ended up being 2 girls) came from, how old they were, what breed/color mutation, have a tiny cage and were loud. One bonded to my brother, and the other to my sister. 

Roughly half that time goes by and one cockatiel sadly dies from being egg bound. Thus leaving one little bird all on her own, she bonded strongly to my sister. She flock calls for my sister when she is not in the room. However, she is also extremely timid and so so shy. She's doesn't cuddle even after being bonded to my sister for nearly a decade. She is so shy and hisses at strangers, and won't let anyone else handle her. She flies all around (we clipped her wings), screams when my sister isn't home(which is a lot) and because she is so unruly, my sister just puts her back in the cage!  Needless to say, my sister is not the best handler. Therefore, I am trying to supplement this tiels care.

Jolie only eats seed and the occasional table scrap (and I know the dangers of that!) She doesn't have a mineral block, but does have a cuttle bone. She won't chew it. She won't even nibble millet! I want to teach her to eat new things but she only takes food from my sister, and my sister is not patient and has no want to train her bird. I supplement her diet with things I make for Peeks (quinoa, lentils, fresh produce and fruits, whole wheat pastas) and birdie bread. 

She also had a egg laying problem in which she kept laying eggs on and on and on but my sister (after goading from me) took her to the vet and that problem has been corrected.

Her only real problem is she over preens. It hasn't gotten to the point where she is ripping her feathers out (no skin is showing and she is still super fluffy), but she cleans from noon til night. I know this can be caused from boredom or loneliness, but since no one else can handle her, I can't help her. She also doesn't display interest in toys or sitting on people.

I also keep her out with me and let her listen to birds on youtube and whistle softly to her.

I know most of you will say we had no business taking care of these birds, but I am now fully capable of taking care of both Peeks and Jolie (they don't get a long but I am trying) and I love birds. My parrotlet is a happy, healthy boy and I want to be able to care for Jolie with the same dedication and commitment. But I need someone experienced in care of tiels. 

Please help!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

This is a difficult situation. Would your sister be interested in giving Jolie to you? If this was your bird, and you did all the feeding and care for her, maybe she would re-bond to you.

I usually recommend food bribery to help gain a bird's trust, but this tiel's diet is so limited that there isn't much available to use as a treat. Does she like sunflower seeds? If she does, you could use those as a treat. There's information on food bribery at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=28661 With this bird you would need to start at the very first step: dropping a small treat in the cage and then walking away so she can eat it.

The "mutual agreement" training thread might also be helpful: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=33824 It has a lot of information on working with timid birds.

Parrotlets are usually more aggressive than cockatiels even though they're much smaller, so you always need to supervise them when they are together. But if you keep them in the same room (in different cages) they will form a flock bond with each other even if they never become good friends, and they will benefit from each other's companionship. Jolie might learn to eat more foods if she sees Peek eating the foods. There are more suggestions for teaching a bird to eat new foods at http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.com/info/nutrition-conversion.html


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

It's good of you to want to help Jolie. I have an older tiel who was shy too when we got him a year ago. He has come leaps and bounds in a year. So just be patient and try tielfan's advice and I think Jolie will come around.


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