# Help! Is my cockatiel too dependent on me?



## alexissoriano33 (Aug 14, 2018)

I got my cockatiel about a week ago and he is so sweet, I do not know how old he is though but I believe he is only a few weeks or months old. However, he mostly does not eat in his cage and will only eat if I take him out and lay some newspaper out and put food on it, he will forage around. In the cage he does not eat from his bowls much even though he clearly sees the food. Also, when I put him in his cage he always stands on his water bowl in the corner and chirps at me and paces which I guess is him signaling to me that he wants to get out again. Any tips on what to do?


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## trenttn (Feb 12, 2018)

Bit of a late reply but an update would be good still. Are you sure he isn't eating from the bowls? He may be doing so when you aren't looking, is there anyway you could check his age? (ask breeder/who you bought from) as if he is younger than 12 weeks he may not have weaned properly yet.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Sounds like you have a very young, recently weaned cockatiel. Babies prefer to eat foraging style rather than from a food dish, so you could put his food and water in shallow dishes on the bottom of his cage and he might accept it better that way.


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