# I feel like giving up



## ehxsnohs (Feb 18, 2012)

Does anyone have any success stories of taming a wild cockatiel? 
We've had Norman over a week and I know that is not near enough time for him to be tamed but he doesn't seem any better at all. Worse even because we've had to force handle him to take him to the vet for a goopy eye and to get his medicine each night. Poor guy is also underweight. 
Anyways does anyone have any tips? I feel like giving up, obviously I'm not but its discouraging. His previous owners told us he was healthy, tame and loving..he obviously wasn't healthy so I think they probably lied about the tame part as well and probably never even handled him..how do I go about taming him when he's already terrified of me, especially with me having to towel him every night for his medicine. I feel like I'm just making matters worse.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

This is a tough time for you and Norman because he is sick and you are stressed from giving him medicine and so on. So, don't draw any conclusions about Norman yet.
He may have been tame with his previous owners, but you are very new to him and he is cautious. That is completely normal.
My birds are very loving and super tame with me, but won't let other people handle them, except my son and husband (only when they are eating something my tiels want, LOL). So it will take some time for Norman to trust you and accept you as his new flock mate.
Don't worry about making him tame at this point. The most important thing is to get him healthy, and then you have years and years to spend together and bond


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Don't give up! I have gathered a few stickys for you

For hand shy and skittish birds

Taming iperry82 wayi found this way very helpful for me

Food bribery
Good luck and if you keep trying you will succeed


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## ccollin13 (May 24, 2013)

Don't give up yet!

I adopted my cockatiel Ziggy from a friend who had him for 6 years. She's an animal lover and does well with pets so I thought he'd be healthy and tame. Boy was I wrong. I took him to the vet, he weighed barely 70 g, had Avian Gastric Yeast, a heart murmur, and a bacterial infection. He also had not been out of the cage much in his 6 years and was constantly panicked when I would let him out. He was hand-shy and even if you could get him out he wouldn't stay with you; he always wanted to be in the cage. (To be fair, my friend just didn't know much about birds. And she did give him up for adoption because she knew he could have a better life elsewhere because she didn't have the time for him).

That first week, with having to put him in the towel to give him meds twice a day, getting his wings trimmed for the first time, having to chase him around the cage just to get him out for meds, having him get used to a new room and new people... it was frustrating for me, but now I look back, it must have been terrifying for that little guy!

It's been about 15 months now, and Ziggy's a brand new bird. Completely healthy, weighs 90g exactly. It's taken a LONG time to change some of his behaviors, but it's been very rewarding. He'll now sit with me, on my knee, and preen, and even fall asleep on my knee. He doesn't bite, he steps up on command, and he's not afraid of anyone now.

I give you a lot of credit for taking in an adult bird that lived with someone else. It's a really tough thing to do, because you have to spend so much time re-training the bird. But it's SO rewarding, and I don't want you to give up hope! It can be done.... but as my mom says, "All things bird take time."

Hang in there  Keep doing the right thing for your birdie and soon he'll realize how much he's is loved!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Give him time. Like, _a lot_ of time. One of my rescues was so terrified of humans when I got her that she would fall to the bottom of the cage and thrash around hurting herself if anyone so much as walked into the same room with her. It took four months before she would even let me handle her, but now she's super cuddly and will even come up and head butt my hand for scritches if I'm typing instead of paying attention to her. For right now, I would just focus on getting your bird healthy, and then you can start using the techniques in the taming threads once you're not medicating him anymore.


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## RowdyTiel (Jan 24, 2013)

Very well said, ccollin13!  And a wonderful testimony of your experience with Ziggy.


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## flippityjib (Dec 13, 2012)

I agree with what everyone has said. Don't worry about the taming part now. Get him well and healthy first. He probably doesn't feel good at this point but when he's better he will probably be more in the mood to get to know you. Baby bird steps.


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

flippityjib said:


> Get him well and healthy first. He probably doesn't feel good at this point but when he's better he will probably be more in the mood to get to know you.


great advice!! when he's feeling well and is relaxed in your home, he'll be more willing


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Sending prayers your way that your bird will come around. It's hard, I know, but perseverance does pay off.


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## caniche4 (Mar 17, 2013)

When you are a your most frustrated, try to think about it this way: imagine if you were sick, feeling poorly and someone you never met came, took you from your home with no warning, dumped you in a new country where you didn't speak the language and had no idea what was being done to you or why. Then this stranger proceeded to wrap you up everyday and put something into your eyes. Would you be at your best and most friendly, or would you be angry and confused and defensive? I think it would probably take a lot longer than one week for you to adjust and trust! An extreme example...but kind of similar to what has happened to Norman. So give him time to settle, learn the language, understand that you are trying to help him...and to adjust to his new life in his new country. I'm sure you will see his true personalitybegin to emerge once the trauma and dust settles!


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