# My Cockatiel is too attached to me!



## Chocobo

When I first bought him, he was under 6 months old. I have had him for about 1 1/2 year now and he's attached to people! I thought he would outgrow it, but he never did. When I let him out, he would always fly to someone's shoulder. I love him and I know that cockatiels can be cuddly, but it's like people is the only thing he's ever known. He doesn't know how to play by himself and almost never explores the house. He's afraid of pretty much everything, so giving him baths and new food is a pain. He always flies back to me if I try to put him someplace and walks a few feet away. I've tried to get him to play but he never seems to have to courage to try new things. How do I help him become less attached and more brave?


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## eduardo

It sounds like my Candy, LOL
I wish I knew the answer. Cockatiels can be very needy...


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## tielfan

Get some kind of food that he really likes (such as millet spray) and put it down in a place where you'd like him to play, with you sitting somewhere nearby and not paying any particular attention to him so he'll get bored if he sits on your shoulder. Put some other attractive stuff there too, like maybe some paper to chew on. Encourage him to go into this area - maybe feed him a little of the millet while sitting on your hand, then put the millet on the table top and put your hand down next to it but not too close, so he'll have to step off your hand to reach the millet. Let him do some eating before you quietly move your hand away. He'll gradually learn that it can be fun and profitable to not sit on a human.


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## Chocobo

I'll definitely try that! He doesn't seem as enthusiastic as other birds about millets, but it might work.
I don't think he'll ever get bored sitting on my shoulder. Sometimes I let him out for 4-6 hours and it's pretty much the only place he ever sits.


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## CaliTiels

It doesn't have to be millet, it can be anything. If you are not sure about what he likes, put out a big arrangement of possible treats and mark down which one he goes for 1st. It's best to find a treat he loves, so he'll be more eager to earn it


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## WhiteCarnation

I think part of it is that cockatiels are naturally very social and loving birds. They love to be around people and crave the attention. Sometimes it can get a bit much, but that is just their nature.


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## sunnysmom

A couple things I did with my cockatiel to help him play/explore when we first got him were: 1) I'd sit on the floor with him and sprinkle some of his favorite seeds around. He's walk around hunting for them. 2) We do "paperwork" together. When I go through mail, etc. I sit on the couch with him and put a pile of papers for him to go through. He loves it. If I even say "Sunny do you want to do paperwork?" He gets excited. It really took quite awhile before he was comfortable being more than a few feet away from me. Now, I have to keep an eye out because he loves to walk through the whole downstairs by himself.


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## hysteriauk

Zippy was like that , he is not to bad now as he will go off on his own to explore and play ,

What I dud what sunnysmom did put some seeds on the floor and sat down with him , while I was down on the floor with him I started to count the coins in my coin pot and zippy just joined in , so I let him him play with them and soon he would start hunting for the coins, With him trying different foods that was a long process, he won't touch millet anymore if it's hanging in his cage but when i first got him that was all he would eat lol.

The only trouble is with the coin thing is that I can;t leave any laying around now as he will be on it straight away lol


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## Chocobo

Thank you SO much for all the responses! I will try them all out and will give updates in a week or so ^^


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## Chocobo

Hm... I've tried sprinkling millet and he's willing to get off my shoulder to have some but he immediately flies to me if I stand up (looking like I am about to go somewhere without him). He's also terribly afraid of the house. He won't let me put him near the sink or the kitchen counter and everything that I introduce him to play with (a pen, a bottle cap, small pebbles, paper stars) he'd freak out and his crest would go all the way up and he'd walk as far from them as possible. I try to demonstrate that they're toys by pushing them around and making noises but he never shows interest (or even tries them) and pretty much walk around them to avoid them all.
I think the problem is he is scared of my house, not because he is attached to me (because he acts the same towards my mom, my brother and my dad). I don't know how everyone's cockatiels seems so calm around the house when mine is skittish everywhere I put him except on my shoulder.


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## CaliTiels

Honestly, it's all about exposure. You really do have to go at his own pace, and if he is comfortable around you, stick together so he does have some comfort while branching out. But, I would try to not totally avoid things he's scared of, but rather, slowly, just tackle it one thing at a time  Just keep going with the millet, off you for a few seconds is better than not at all, which is still very good progress


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## Lulu-Tiel

My Lulu has been very needy since day 1. She was never interested in toys, new foods etc. Put her down and she screams to come back to you. I'm honestly greatful of our relationship. I bought her from a breeder after my first horse was euthanized. I needed a friend outside of the barn, something to keep my mind off of all the negatives. She was born a few days after my boy was euthanized. I feel we were meant to be together. Maybe she sensed that? 

So while she can be a pain in the butt with her neediness sometimes, I wouldn't change it for anything. We're the best of friends


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## JanP

Must be a thing with tiels.. I've one who will sit
on my shoulder all day, never plays with toys,
and just wants to interact with adults..


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## Chocobo

Update: the other day, my dad and I were in the living room and we were sitting on the carpet. I let Choco out on the floor so he could walk around. Normally he'd only walk like a foot (max) away from people before flying back to them, but that day, he walked a bit further since the further he went from me, the closer he got to my dad. He walked around for a few hours. Then yesterday, my mom was taking the stems off vegetables while watching TV (she was on floor also) and when I let him down while sitting next to her, he started poking at the stems after about 45 minutes of watching. Usually he wouldn't even get near them, so I guess having someone constantly picking them up and putting them down made him curious and a bit more brave - but it did take a long time.
I started letting him on the floor while having a lot of family members around more often because it made him feel safe. Today, he walked all the way across the kitchen before running back to me!


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## MadaboutBoyzie

The problem is you don't know what he went through before you got him that made him so nervous.


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