# Is this a good or bad thing?



## FairlyOdd'Tiel (Aug 19, 2018)

It's been a month since I have taken my pair of cockatiels home from the pet store. They are about 6 months old. However, I am absolutely clueless as to what their genders are. One of the birds don't seem to be spooked by my presence, though its crest is up when I make a sudden movement, and at an angle when I don't move much. It does move a bit close to my spot at times. The other one seems to be scared and often moves away. Is this a good thing?
I haven't tried placing my hand in the cage because I am worried that it might spook them. Their cage is set outside of the house so I can't try the "open dorr" method. Plus,their wings aren't clipped. Any suggestions?


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## Janalee (Jul 25, 2012)

It is natural for them to be fearful of new people and situations. You said your cage is outside the house. Can you put a chair next to it? Just sitting by the cage and talking to them will help them to adjust to your presence. Try feeding them bits of millet or other treats through the bars. Will you be keeping them outside all year? (That would be impossible here in northeastern PA!) Keeping them inside closer to you will help them adjust, too.


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## FairlyOdd'Tiel (Aug 19, 2018)

yes,they will be out all year. Our country is either hot or rainy most of the time,and it never snows.


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## silpugs (Oct 27, 2016)

*gender*

Unfortunately, you cannot tell a Tiel's gender unless you get a blood test. I actually got one online and did it myself. I use blood from a nail that I accidentally cut a little short. They are not like parakeets where you can tell from the Cere of the face. ied:ied:


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## silpugs (Oct 27, 2016)

*tiels*

Your best bet is to get the wings clipped. You should have started trying to work with them the minute you got home. At least that I what I do. they needed to get to know you and your hand. They are friendly, social birds. How many do you have?:wf cinnamon::wf cinnamon:


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## plumb_pudding (Jan 9, 2019)

It depends what mutation they are. Some you can visually sex.


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## legacypgmr (Jun 29, 2018)

Well, since you already got an answer about their sex, perhaps you might want to tell us why you got them in the first place.

Cockatiels are very social birds who love to interact with their humans. But why did you get 2 at the same time ? Now they're both likely to bond with each other, sex be damned, and ignore you.

Also, you're keeping them outside all the time ? In a cage ? Or a large flight cage where they can fly around ? 

You said their wings aren't clipped. So you can't take them out of their cage and socialize them anyway. So why did you get them in the first place ? Why not just get some "ornamental" song birds ?

This is the "Trainging and Bonding" section. How do you expect to train OR bond with them under these conditions ?


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