# Having doubts about handraised bird...



## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Since i have bought Bella home, i have been starting to doubt that she is the "handraised and cuddly cockatiel" that the breeder said she would be when i asked about her, and that she isnt going to make a good cuddle companion after all.

At the breeders house she was feisty, and somewhat nervous of peoples hands, She would also try to fly off your shoulder. She also wouldnt "step up" or stay on your finger, She was a very skiddish bird.
I should have said NO to her right then and there but because i was looking for a pied i decided against my gut and went ahead and purchased her, now i am wondering if i have made a mistake buying her...

She is afraid of hands, that much is clear so far, Even if im fussing with something around her cage she will back up into the corner until im out of her space, She wont perch on your shoulder, Instead, she is more inclined to try to fly off me (even if i have my two coaxing her to relax), and refuses to take any food from me.

I am proberly taking this too fast for her and expecting too much from her for the time being as its only been a day And i know its all about gaining trust, But i dont ever remember the boys being THIS nervous and afraid, Infact, Birdie was giving cuddles after 3 days and Buddy would perch and pace to be let out on the 4th day of having him, They seemed to want to be invloved in what i was doing.

The breeder said that he recieved Bella, as well as her 2 sisters from another breeder, So i dont know if she was only partially rasied (fed by parents and simply handled by humans) or if she was handfed even though the breeder said she was "handraised", To me, it sounds like the first option due to her lack of trust in people.

She is a curious girl however, inspecting the fish tank next to her cage as well as playing with a few toys, She also has good bird interaction skills and is getting along with my boys, so i know that it isnt all her personality that is nervous/skiddish but more likley the way she was raised.

I am going to give her 1-3 months to calm down and show me that she can be friendly and cuddly, like she was advertised as, with working with her trust and stepping up. If she hasnt improved then im going to contact the breeder and tell him about the situation. Hopefully i can get my money back or an exchange for a more friendlier bird, I mean, i didnt pay $100 of my pocket money for an unfriendly teil <_<

However i am trying to stay positive and i am going to work with her with the help of my boys to get her to come around, But theres already that doubt that its not going to work and that i should have just asked to see the other cinnamons avaliable...


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## Clawsworth (Nov 9, 2009)

My second 'tiel was like that, but he calmed down after a few days. He was doing what you are describing: backing away from hands, flying off my shoulder every time I'd put him on, and generally being very skidish. He would even fly into walls just to get off my shoulder.

I started giving him millet when he stepped up, and placing it on my shoulder, and that totally worked. He then became a very cuddly 'tiel.  I think it's a good idea to give your new 'tiel a few months to adjust.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

I have tried to show her millet and she wanted nothing to do with it, I dont think she has even seen millet before so its going to be hard to gain trust with her when she doesnt even eat the treat most birds would die for. haha. But im not going to give up!

Thanks for the suggestions, Im definately going to let her settle for a few days and then start introducing her to the "Step up" motions, Hopefully she can improve, Its still early days!


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## shelagh (Nov 2, 2010)

Yes, give her time and let her get acclimated to the environment you provide v. her former digs. Food bribery is always welcome when you want to connote comfort.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> I have tried to show her millet and she wanted nothing to do with it, I dont think she has even seen millet before


It's easy to teach her. Hang a piece of millet spray in the cage. She'll probably get curious eventually and start chewing on it, or she'll see the other birds eating it and will join in. Once she finds out how delicious it is you'll have a powerful weapon!


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

I put some millet in her cage just above her foodbowl so she is more likley to want to try it, We have to see how that goes


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

I am sure with time she will start warming up to you and the new environment. Some take longer then others, some only take a few days until they are comfortable enough. Soon enough you will be saying, 'she isn't going anywhere'.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

We have made very little progress, She is still afraid of hands and very distrustful of people, A huge sign to me that she wasnt properly raised, So she refuses to take any food from me which isnt helping when i try to win her over.

However we she did manage to preen herself and have a little sleep on my chest while i watched some tv and we did some "step ups" which she does okay when shes away from the cage, Its just the initial getting her to step up inside her house and or take food from me/ give cuddles that we need to work on. I still have that big doubt that she is ever going to be 100% tame like buddy and birdie.

Was anyone elses bird like this? How long did it take for them to step up?

What else can i do apart from talk to her everyday that can gain trust seeming she doesnt want to take food from me? I have used my boys are a modivator, however once they are away from me she will squawk to get to them and fly off me so its clear she is only ON me because of them.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Snowball was like this when my hubby first got him, very distrustful of everything. She could be tamed but also cage-bound. With Snowball it took a lot of encouragement and by using the others to show him I'm not scary. He would sit on the cage while the others came down and hung out with me. Eventually he got the idea and now he's the one that flies to my head and tries to eat my food!!!


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Today is looking like a new and much more positive day.

It is Daisy's 4th day here and she has calmed down alot. She is also getting better with me getting her to "step up" within her cage to take her out, Theres alot less fighting to get away from me. I have started to do this many times throughout the day when shes not sleeping/eating to get her used to the idea that comming out is a good thing!

I was able to sort of give head scractes to her today, She is still weary of hands near her head but i can see she is getting less afraid as i begin to train her to "step up" when im on the bed with my other birds. I will have to start having her on me without the help of my boys so she bonds to me, and not them, Im not sure how well thats going to pan out but im going to give it a go.

She is definately making small baby steps to be a more loving companion and right now, the outcome is looking bright for her.

Oh, Its also her 4 month hatchday today, So happy birthday Daisy!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Happy birthday Daisy! Have you tried preening her head with your mouth and then sneaking your hand in there? It might help...


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Yup, i tried that. I dont think she "likes" having it scratched but ill get her to warm up to it eventually


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Happy birthday daisy, i think it took me 2-3 weeks to give lucky a scratch sometimes she wont let me scratch her now, even cookie is the same. I held my hand in her cage for 10 mins every hour when i got lucky, lucky didnt like millet at first but after a week she enjoyed it.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Daisy is now stepping up fairly well, There is very little fight from her and i think my persistant taking her out and placing her back in is going to pay off. She is still a little sniddish and requiers the other birds to be on or around us for her to stay on me, I dont think that that will ever change but im staying positive


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Daisy is having her good and bad moments and i have decided to try and make this a "training" log so i can look at the progress we have made and where we need to work on.

She steps up very well now, however she only wants to be ON me if my other boys are on me as well, It doesnt feel like the wants to spend time with me but moreso use me as a perch to get to my boys. If they are away from me and i have her with me she will squark and pace to get to THEM.

Scratches are still non existant with her, whenever i move my hand or put it near her she will back away and peck at me so i try not to push it too much on her. I have tried nuzzling her with my nose/chin and it doesnt seem as if the LIKES it, so thats still an issue in the dark with her.

Overall i just get the feeling like she isnt a people bird and that shes much more concerned as to where my boys are then spending time with me, I still dont believe she was raised well and hence the dislike to be around humans, Im not giving up though 

My mum keeps pressing me to just "put her in the big cage" however i feel like this will only hinder our slight progress even more as she will no longer have to rely on me to get with the boys.


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## Rorschach (Nov 2, 2010)

I have no real advice but it's interesting to see a person with birds with such opposite problems to mine. My birds don't want to leave the cage, hate when I hold them/take them out. I could NEVER just sit and watch TV with my bird, they are just too attached to the cage to really want to leave it. On the other hand as long as I'm not trying to take them away from the cage they are fine with me, they enjoy sitting close to me in the cage (aka I sit at my desk and they sit on the near side of the cage and sleep/beak grind) and will eat anything from my hands.

It started with just millet, but now they do it with anything. Popcorn, peanuts, bread, bread crumbs, rice, heck I noticed after a couple days that they weren't really eating their pellets (which I mixed with their normal diet of seeds in an effort to slowly introduce them to a pellet diet) and simply picking out all the seeds. So I took some pellets out, pretended to eat a few, then fed the pellets to them through the bars, they really liked them and I just kept feeding them pellets for a good 10-15 minutes, I then took a bunch of pellets and dumped them into the food tray so they knew they were in there. Now they pick the pellets out each day and leave much of the seeds haha.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Progress!!

Bella is now perching on my shoulder very calmly while in on the computer and isnt trying to fly off me as much anymore! She is still adverse to head scratches but its a big step forwards!

*overjoyed*


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

YAY!!! She's getting there...you aren't so scary anymore. Soon she'll be eating out of your hands...literally!


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Its been almost 2 weeks (2 weeks on sunday) since i have bought Daisy home and she is making good progress overall.

She is now pacing and enjoying being on my shoulder while im on the computer or doing things around my room, AND i dont have to have the other birds on me anymore for her to stay with me, She does it herself. She preens and sleeps, as well as preens my hair and face at times so i know she feels safe with me.

If she flies onto the floor she runs right too me so its good to see that shes looking to me for safety 

However, there are still a few areas which are a let down.
She still HATES hands being around her head and wont let me give her scratches (very distrustful, proberly from being so man-handled as a chick by people) and now she will hiss/peck/lunge at my face if i even turn around to look at her :blink: She doesnt actually bite but im still not sure why she does this when i simply look at her? :wacko:

Im pretty positive that im going to keep her simply because although she isnt the cuddly girl i would have hoped, she WANTS to spend time with me now and in the short time ive had her, going from litrally running away like its the end of the world when i go near the cage, to now where she willingly steps up and wants to be on my shoulders is a pretty good sign.

Do you think that she will ever be the cuddly teil i was promised?
Do some birds just never live up to that expectation?


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Also, she still refuses to take food from my hands. Thats also an area where she shows how distrustful of people she is.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Fuzzy whines at my face whenever I move it towards him when he's on my shoulder, its just a territorial thing. She probably thinks you're going to try to kick her off. See if she'll let you preen her with your mouth. Not as effective as fingers but if she'll let you do it, you can start sneaking your fingers in there when she isn't paying attention. Progress is progress no matter how little it is.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Daisy has been dirving me insane.

She hasnt stopped screaming and squealing for the past hour and i am so close to losing it. I have since covered her up and she is still not very settled.

I dont exactly want to "correct" this new found sence of her voice because of the progress we have made, but ignoring it is going to get very very hard.

Any ideas?


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

She is also in the boys big cage for the next day as the avery budgies have her cage as their avery is being moved and cement is being relaid in the new area. Could this be why she is unsettled?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

That could be it, she isn't used to the new one and it was a sudden move so she could just be disgruntled from that. How long will she be in the big cage?


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Well, i dont think shes going to get much better.

She will stay on my shoulder but will SCREAM to get back to the cage or unless i have one of the boys on me, scream to get to where they are. Its really disheating.

I think im going to give her back, As i said before, i have let her settle, tried to bond with her as much as she would take, and ive only gotten her to sit (or lack of now) on my shoulder. She still hates my hand around her head, she refuses to take food from me and generally just wants to be left in the cage. 

Now that its been 3 weeks since she has been here im going to email the breeder about her and tell him the problems ive been having... I didnt want it to come to this but i dont feel the "connection" to her.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

I emailed the breeder last night, explaining the issues i have been having with her, I also asked if he does "refunds" / trades. Hopefully i will get a reply sometime today.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

im sorry to hear this. hopefully it all works out and you can get one that will be cuddly.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Well, 5 days after emailing the breeder i have had no reply from him. I might have to call him in a few days to tell him about the situation, Which, is getting progressively "worse".

Daisy fights us to get out, and once she is on our hands all the wants to do is try, whatever it takes, to get back into the cage. She cannot fly and regularly flaps around aimlessly in attempts to get back to her place.

She still doesnt enjoy sitting on my shoulder, or head scratches.

So basically ive all but "given up" on her and im just letting her do her own thing instead of push the such little trust i have with her so far. I would very much now "trade" her just because she isnt the bird the breeder claimed her to be.

I feel somewhat "cheated" because hs stated "she loves head scratches and will be very cuddly towards you" when i asked about her, which isnt the case at all.

I mean, after almost 4 weeks with me she hardly steps up, hardly stays on your shoulder, wants nothing to do with me (instead prefers to be with the other birds) and still will not accept any food from me no matter how tastey, She just backs away with this terrified look on her face.

I guess this isnt going to work out afterall with her. Hopefully i can get a refund for her, and if the breeder doesnt take her back then i will have to find a home (hopefully through here) with someone who has more patience/ knowledge to tame a bird who wasnt compleatly hand tame to belong with (because im lacking in this area with the experience).


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

I must say i think the problem is because of your other birds, are your other birds frightened of you and dont want to do anything with you? Reason why im asking is because i went the same way as with the budgies and lucky copied from them and didnt want to be with me at all, i seperated them and bonded with lucky in another room. Lucky was here a while before she allowed me to scratch her head which was only night time when she is tired and cant be bothered to move and i done this every night also i did clip her wings. Cookie is hand tame and he has been here 8 weeks now and he allowed me to scratch him this week for the first time, cookie did get to the point where he was getting scared from my budgie as he was picking that up so i seperated again lol 
Lucky is moulting at the min and she has changed alot as she dont want to know me and runs away when i ask if she wants a scratch


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Both my other birds are always pacing to get out and see what your up too and are very tame and super friendly, so its not that im rubbing that "lack of tameness" onto her. I have tried to show her though the boys that being with me is a good thing but to no avail.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

That was suggested to me with my budgie as she is one scared bird make sure she watches my others respond to me and she will follow, did she heck lol.
I keep my budgie in my bedroom now because she is getting worse and having effect on my 2 tiels
Im getting frustrated with lucky because she keeps running away from me why i dont know which im putting it down to teenage stage


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