# can you teach a tiel to dance?



## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Is there way to teach a tiel to dance? Grey sometimes bobs his head when he hears music but he seems really unsure of himself. I want him to get down with it if he wants to.
Lol. I've tried bobbing my head for him and offering him a treat when he does it but he just hasn't caught on to it... wondering if it can be learned or not.


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## RexiesMuM (Sep 7, 2011)

I think the best way to teach him to dance on command would be when he is bobbing his head to do it with him and tell him dance and offer him some millet as a reward if he does it


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Well. He doesn't really do it. Its like he wants to but he isn't sure. I guess I want to know if there is a way to show him how to. And he isn't responding to my head bobs as meaning anything.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Just reward him for what he's doing...he will probably exaggerate the head movement once he realizes he is being rewarded for moving his head.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

I will keep trying then.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Lol. I really want him to just get into it like this tiel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Iqx1WIjz8


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## MeghanNichol (Mar 2, 2012)

Lol!! That video is so cute. I would love to teach my tiel how to do that!! Good luck!


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

That was adorable. I hope you can teach Grey to dance, that would be too cute!


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I recently read an older book on parrots and the author said you should dance with your bird. She said it's good exercise and they like it. She said the key was to find what type of music they like (because she said they have a definite preference) and then you should dance around and encourage your bird to dance and flap it's wings, etc. too. She said it helps with bonding, as well as exercise. I have to admit I tried it once with Sunny. He looked at me like I was crazy but maybe it wasn't the right music.


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## cloudykitty (Feb 21, 2012)

sounds like something I should try with Freddy.. Still trying to figure out what to train him with.. He's figured out he gets millet spray for doing stuff but He's stubborn and stops eating the millet when I want him to continue. it's weird. I am thinking cheese so long as I don't give him to much He goes nuts for it..


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

Cloudykitty please be careful with the cheese as dairy products are bad for tiels.


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## cloudykitty (Feb 21, 2012)

I am very very careful.. just to assure you all I do not feed him very much and it is never a soft type of cheese which can cause impaction in the crop... He has very healthy poo.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

sunnysmom said:


> I recently read an older book on parrots and the author said you should dance with your bird. She said it's good exercise and they like it. She said the key was to find what type of music they like (because she said they have a definite preference) and then you should dance around and encourage your bird to dance and flap it's wings, etc. too. She said it helps with bonding, as well as exercise. I have to admit I tried it once with Sunny. He looked at me like I was crazy but maybe it wasn't the right music.


Hahaha. I know. Sadly, I think my tiel is a rapper at heart. He was bobbing to rap music when my boyfriend was blasting it. I hate it! But I was also caught him singing along to a Britney Spears song once. So I don't know. lol. I'll have to experiment. He for sure hates my Florence + The Machine style music. He doesn't like Maroon 5 either. (I tried so hard to teach him Moves Like Jagger!)


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## elinore (Jul 22, 2010)

Trix does the head bobbing "dance." He'll do it on his own when he's being goofy and playful, or when he's serenading a particularly attractive soda bottle (he's a little weirdo lol). He also does it when he wants to come out of his cage. My mother calls it "bowing" and he always does it for her. She's gotten him to associate the head bob with asking to be picked up. He'll do the bob, then she'll bob her torso back at him and offer him her hand, and he climbs up to her shoulder. It's become a little routine for the two of them and works quite well. It's a nice way for him to "ask politely" to come out and play, and it's especially nice when he's feeling territorial and aggressive because we know what he wants and don't need to guess and make him mad. He'll also start bobbing if we initiate it, especially when there's music playing. Then he'll go all out like the bird in the video. It's adorable!


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

This isn't a cockatiel dancing but when I looked at the previously posted link, I found this one of Frostie dancing. Oh my goodness. It's one of the funniest/cutest videos that I've seen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bt9xBuGWgw&feature=related


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

i thought his head was going to spin off. LOL.


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## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

I love the Frostie videos it makes me crack up every single time. That would be fun to teach Grey to dance, maybe you will have to break down and let him listen to rap.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

He started "slightly" head bobbing to Lights by Ellie Golding last night which is a 100% times better than rap. lol. trying to teach him to dance is frustrating! i'll hold the millet out and move it up and down to get him to bob and then give him a bite. he wants the whole piece, which i don't give him, then he gets mad, and then he just bat birds and expects me to hand it over. lol.


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## CockatielFace (Mar 25, 2012)

lol I have already watched both those video like 10 times :lol: !


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

lol. you can never get enough cockatiel dancing. 

maybe my new baby will like music and jam out.


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## CockatielFace (Mar 25, 2012)

When I play Owl City SliverStream makes some very quite noises.No dancing yet.


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