# Cockatiel afraid of hands?



## DeathXBee (Dec 3, 2012)

I've been looking into getting a bird for about a year now, and I finally adopted a male lutino cockatiel last Thursday. His name is Blinky  and he's cute, but very shy still.
I've done so much research on their behavior and training etc. but reading about it has proven to be different than experiencing it. I guess I should've expected that, but I assumed I'd be much more prepared than I actually am. I feel like a worried first time mom... :wacko:
He's not so much afraid of me anymore, he calls to me sometimes when I'm not in the room his cage is in and when I enter the room he'll chirp and whistle at me when I talk to him  but he's still very afraid of my hands. He hisses whenever I have to change his food or water, or even if my hand passes the cage. I got to the point where he will eat a spray of millet out of my hand as long as it doesn't move and he even put his foot on my hand to balance himself once. When I first put my hand in holding millet he shies away and it takes him a bit to get up the courage to eat out of it, but once he figures it won't really move he'll eat out of it. If there's no millet in my hand, however, he doesn't want it anywhere near his cage.
If I accidentally make him hiss when I move my hands will he become even more wary of them even though they haven't actually done anything to him yet? And can anyone give me some tips on how to make him feel more comfortable around my hands or even allow me to give him scratches? I would like him to be comfortable and happy so we can bond together and so I can bring him out of the cage and train him.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=22073
Check out this sticky. There is a trust video at the end of the first post that is very helpful. You have to build the trust first. You're already using food bribery so keep up with that.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

It sounds like you're actually doing well with him. Just take things slow and try to move at his pace. Each tiel is different and there's no set time as to how long it will take for your tiel to be more comfortable around you. Try to just spend some time sitting with him and talking with him. And I wouldn't push scritches yet- he'll let you know when he's ready, I think.


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## DeathXBee (Dec 3, 2012)

Thank you both so much! I'll be sure to take your advice into account.
Do you guys know if causing him to hiss will make him more wary or not affect him? I've accidentally caused him to hiss before, and I hope it's not hindering my progress.
Also, @Roxy thanks for the link! I can't believe I missed that thread.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Hissing is just a warning...most tiels do it. Its his way of saying he's not comfortable with whatever it is you're doing.


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