# New owner / 2 cockatiels/ can't be handled



## clmsimmons (Feb 5, 2017)

Hi, I'm Casmus and a coworker of mine gave me a pair of cockatiels. One male. One female. They were in a cage together. They can't be handled. I got them for my nephew and want to socialise them so they can be handled and trained. I read it was easier to do that with birds that were in cages alone. So I bought another set up like the cage they came in and separated the female from the male. The cages are next to each other on top of a dresser. Was this the right thing to do? Should I put them back together? 


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Is one bird easier to work with than another? I do recommend working with them separately, as two birds are likely to pay more attention to each other than to you. 

We have several stickies in the sticky library that I recommend checking out in regards to training:
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=22073
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=28661
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=33824

Just remember that this can take quite a while to tame them and that you need to go at their pace. Forcing them to do things will not gain any trust and can hurt your bond with them.


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

I also want to toss in treat advice - most birds go bonkers for spray millet. It's easy to find in most pet stores and it's good for them. It will certainly help tame them up in the long run  

Good luck to you!


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