# Untamed cockatiel



## kmlepri (May 16, 2013)

Peaches, my 4 year old pied cockatiel, was not tamed when I bought her. She still is not tamed, as I was younger and had no idea how to train her. She is still a very good bird... She will come on my hand when it's time to go in the cage and occasionally she will come on my computer or shoulder. Whenever I try to talk to her, however, she hisses at me or her head shakes rather violently. Is this a normal untamed cockatiel behavior? Part of me just wonders if she has sensitive hearing and doesn't like when I get too close to talk to her because she doesn't seem to mind being near me.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

I think some birds do have sensitive hearing, or at least a sensitivity to certain voices or pitches. My birds will sometimes twitch their heads when I talk to them.

The hissing when you talk is unusual though. It makes me wonder if your voice is bothering her a lot. You could try talking to her more quietly, or intentionally change the pitch of your voice to be less shrill (or any other tone factor that might be bothering her). 

If she's stepping up sometimes and voluntarily coming on your shoulder then some people would say she IS tame. But it's never too late to make improvements, and you could probably make some progress using food bribery: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=28661


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