# My cockatiel - Bubba



## asulaiti (Sep 7, 2012)

Hello guys!

I got this fella around two months ago, and he used to be scared most of the times even on the pet store they told me I can't come to him from the back since he was scared from that but now he's fine 










but what I noticed recently is that whenever I go next to him and I put my finger to him he automatically bows down and wait for me to scratch his head, and not only me but everyone that go to him he does this to them! He's addicted to scratches.

Is that completely normal? Because my dad says don't give him scratches that'll make him "feminine" and so i'm like this is ridiculous and just wanted to double sure that I'm right. He seems that he like it and always enjoying he scratches sometimes he even sleep while doing this ^_^

He's around 6 months old and he's the only bird we got, we didn't bring him with a female but I was considering getting him one soon not for breeding since It's too early for them to breed (too young).

Let me know with your thoughts,

One thing I also noticed that he became sort of aggressive always wanting to bite us even on the silliest moves let's say he's on my hand and I just move my fingers he go ahead and "scram" then bite my finger but he still let us pet him and touch him but when we approach him at first he start screaming and then biting us. when I was at my vet center for nails trimming and check ups the doctor said "He's becoming a teenager" - is this behavior temp. or permanent behavior?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Don't worry, scratching his head won't make him feminine. Head scratches are a normal part of cockatiel behavior, similar to cockatiels preening each other's heads, and both sexes love it.

He might be getting hormonal, and if that's the case the aggression will fluctuate throughout the year according to what his hormone level is like. There are ways to control the hormone level, and we have info on that at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330 

A hormonal male is likely to be most aggressive inside the cage since that's his "nest" and he's trying to protect it from intruders. You can help deflect the aggression by having a treat in your hand (like a piece of millet spray) when you first put your hand in the cage. A hand that's delivering treats is more welcome than an empty hand.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

you sure he is a boy, does he whistle? has he lost any spots in his wings or bars on his tail?

cinnamons have brighter faces, both genders. just wondering


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Your tiel is very cute. And most tiels love head scratches- males and females.


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## asulaiti (Sep 7, 2012)

DallyTsuka said:


> you sure he is a boy, does he whistle? has he lost any spots in his wings or bars on his tail?
> 
> cinnamons have brighter faces, both genders. just wondering



I was told by the breeder that he's a male he does whistle sometimes when he fly around the house and get lost.. lol he's more like calling us to come for him. Other than that he's quiet he tried to sing last month by whistling a lot constantly for around ten minutes. He suddenly stopped after being aggressive.

Thanks Tielfan for the information, I'll make sure to follow the tips he's most likely chill except when you reach him inside his or even on his cage he just try to bite us. But when approaching him in a calm way he wouldn't do anything but right when you touch him he'd bite you but then stop and It really doesn't feel like biting its not hard at all so he's trying to scare us away but I don't really back off and instead keep approaching him. Outside of his cage like in the living room or with us he won't bite us when approaching him so I think your point is valid about how he's trying to protect his house and he doesn't have a female yet maybe he's just preparing his house for the future wife and kids! 

Sunnysmom: Thank you  and yes he does seem like he like it a lot every time we try to touch him he bow automatically although we want him to step up on our hands but he think we want to scratch his head  haha

Another question is, do cockatiels need vaccinations? My mom had TB few years ago because of the chickens and animals and she like the bird but she's afraid If she will get sick again because of the birds as she say his feathers are dusty and may make her sick again although I told her It's just dust but has no diseases or infections. I had him checked up by the vet few days ago (No blood test was needed) and the doctor said he's in a good condition I'm sure sick birds won't look good but they'll be all bad and sick looking.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

sick birds can look totally normal. birds hide illness well


its VERY rare for birds to give diseases to people, but there are some diseases people can get. i dont mean to scare you though. psittacosis, giardia, and a very few others people can catch from birds, but its so rare. you can test your bird for both of these things at the vets to be on the safe side


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> It really doesn't feel like biting its not hard at all so he's trying to scare us away but I don't really back off and instead keep approaching him.


Fake biting is a popular way for cockatiels to express their disapproval of what you're doing. But if you push him too hard it can turn into real biting, so it would be a good idea to back off at least part of the time to help prevent him from developing a biting habit.


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## asulaiti (Sep 7, 2012)

tielfan said:


> Fake biting is a popular way for cockatiels to express their disapproval of what you're doing. But if you push him too hard it can turn into real biting, so it would be a good idea to back off at least part of the time to help prevent him from developing a biting habit.


I'm not doing anything that might make him disapprove anything, I usually approach him really slowly and he seems all calm right when i touch him he get all aggressive.. 

Also, I noticed recently I mean he let me pet him sometimes and give him scratches for a long time that he'd fall asleep in my hands but whenever I'm scratching his head after awhile I hear him chirp just for a second and he stops after a while again he does this I'm not sure If he's trying to say that he like this but he never did before he get all aggressive now he chirps every time we try to approach him but also when he's relaxed while scratching his head he does the same thing..

Not sure If that's weird or that actually mean he's just enjoying his time! 

Please let me know It's really sad seeing his get all mad and I know why he's mad my family doesn't know how to treat him I mean I see my dad sometimes pushing the bird's head when he bows for him to scratch his head because he's like "he'll get feminine" I know that's stupid and I actually tried telling him lot's of times HE WILL NOT but still does but he also get the bird around and let him fly around the house. My mom doesn't hit him but when she approach him and he's really aggressive recently so he try to bite EVERYONE including me she just scream with a loud voice and pull her hand and that obviously SCARES the bird.

I tried explaining that they shouldn't treat the bird this way but I think I'll get a lock for the cage so nobody let him out but me since they are really bad when it comes about treating him really good.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Your family is treating Bubba with aggression and that's making him fearful and defensive. Is it possible for you to keep Bubba in a separate room where he won't see your family most of the time? Because that would be better for him.

You aren't making Bubba feminine by petting him - you're making him friendly and trustful. Your family's treatment is making him unfriendly and nervous, and if you can't persuade them to be nice then it's better to keep him away from them.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

+1 to everything above.

Your family obviously knows nothing about birds...is there any chance you could convince them to read a little bit about cockatiels, or at least sit down with you while you share information?

I'm really confused about this whole "feminine" thing. Do they think that petting a male dog or cat will make it feminine, too? Animals aren't like humans, they don't care about being macho or manly. If they like physical contact and show affection, it has nothing to do with gender.


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## asulaiti (Sep 7, 2012)

Thanks guys for all your help, I actually spoke to them again and told them to scratch his head when he just bow down there's no harm on doing this.

And now they do and he's actually liking it, when we also approach him now calmly he doesn't scream or get mad but he stay calm when they suddenly approach him really quick he get all scared and want to bite them.

It's getting better now I see, I started taking seeds on my hand when approaching him and he eat it. And he now automatically jump on my hand when he see the seeds and want to eat them so It's great that he's stepping up really fast! I'm surprised that it worked really fast. just few hours and he's all great now..

But I've got one thing, I have the Zupreem fruitblend flavor and it seems like It's REALLY hard on Bubba he doesn't seem like he can eat it at all he just struggle to break them down into pieces but he can't so I smashed them down a little bit into smaller pieces and he eat them and HE LOVES them he would do anything to get that banana shaped fruit! he'd fly to my hand to get it 

But why is it so hard? is my bag of the fruitblend bad?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

That's wonderful news that your family is being kinder and more cooperative now!



> when they suddenly approach him really quick he get all scared and want to bite them.


Maybe you could explain to him that most birds are prey animals in the wild, and that fast movements frighten them because it makes the person seem like a predator. 



> I have the Zupreem fruitblend flavor and it seems like It's REALLY hard on Bubba he doesn't seem like he can eat it at all he just struggle to break them down into pieces but he can't so I smashed them down a little bit into smaller pieces and he eat them and HE LOVES them he would do anything to get that banana shaped fruit! he'd fly to my hand to get it


Cockatiels are usually able to break up the fruitblend pellets except for the banana pieces - those are too hard for most cockatiels, and they turn into beak-fired missiles when a cockatiel tries to bite them. Cockatiel-sized pellets aren't just for cockatiels, there are a lot of other small birds that eat them (like conures), and some of those birds have much bigger beaks. I once babysat a green-cheeked conure who loved the banana pieces because he could hold them in his foot and bite pieces off. 

I don't know whether you got an extra-hard batch or if Bubba just needs to learn to chew harder. You can keep breaking them up for now but give him a few whole ones to experiment with. If he still has trouble when this bag is almost empty, you might want to get budgie size instead of cockatiel size next time. Some cockatiels prefer the smaller size.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I give my tiels the Zupreem pellets that are made for budgies, and they seem to have no trouble with them. Moon in particular only likes to eat small pieces of food -- he's very picky. As far as I know, the ingredients are the same, so I don't think there's any harm in it.

I'm glad your parents are making more of an effort to understand and work with Bubba!


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