# Help! Velcro birdie syndrome....



## pluto (Oct 27, 2011)

I need some ideas or at least some hope that eventually my little guy will start to play more independantly!
I know we all strive for a bird that attaches to us and loves to cuddle but there are times when this mommy wants to get stuff done and would still love to let my little guy out. :wacko:

We added a play area to the top of his cage but he has noooo interest in being there. His play area is on my shoulder or head and when I am at the table he just runs into my hands and puts his head down for non-stop scritches! A woman can only scritch so much :blink: Or he is in my face and at my lips pushing his beak against me for kisses! He gets more action than hubby lately :blush: I love him but really, I am feeling smothered!!

If he has rejected staying at his cage for play then is there any other ideas we can do to get him occupied while I get other things done?? Have any of you experienced this issue? Heck, I can't even shower or go to the bathroom without him observing :blush:

I know I sound ungrateful but either I lock him up when I need space (which is sad because he could be out and free) or I find some solution. 

Ideas anyone!!?? 
Thanks!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

You could try a playgym away from the cage. When I had this issue with my hen, I just stuck her on my shoulder and did what I had to do. If I really needed her to leave me alone I just put her back in the cage with some millet. Sounds like someone REALLY loves you!!!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You have to do something that makes the playgym seem like more fun than being with you (at least temporarily). A good start is to put delicious food treats there (millet spray for example) and not make those treats available anywhere else. You can put other entertainment items there too, for example a mirror (if he likes them) or shredding toys.

It's possible that your bird is actually afraid to be away from you when he's out of the cage, if he's never learned that it's safe to do this. So you might have to work on gradually getting him used to being further and further away from you. For example, reward him for sitting on the play gym with you standing right beside him, by paying attention to him and feeding him treats when he sits on the gym. If he jumps on you, stop feeding the treats and don't pay any attention to him for a brief period. Then put him back on the gym and resume the treats and attention. 

Once he's pretty good about staying on the gym with you there, you can step away for a moment and then praise and feed him for staying on the gym while you were gone. Then gradually extend the time and distance that you move away.


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## pluto (Oct 27, 2011)

> You could try a playgym away from the cage.


Yep, I have been pondering this. The problem is that he has a great flat top on his cage which catches the mess and it contains everything right there which is great. Also the clutter is such a pain if I start him in another location. He is in the kitchen with us so he gets all the interactions around him (kitchen is the busiest area in our home) and I would then also need to take up more space for a play area and it would need to be elevated due to other animals in the house (cat and dog). That is why I have not ventured into this option yet. But he has such a great handmade tree perch affixed to his top of his cage with cool toys and goodies and still he wants nothing to do with it if I am not there with him.... which brings me to Tielfan's comment...


> It's possible that your bird is actually afraid to be away from you when he's out of the cage, if he's never learned that it's safe to do this.


I think this is really why he hangs with me sooooo much! If he is on the table or the counter or somewhere I know he is safe, I will leave the room to attend to something quickly and he just goes crazy when he knows I am gone. As soon as he catches on he starts to squawk and call me to hear where I am and sometimes he tries to come find me and he is getting pretty good at navigating down the hall into the bathroom, etc.
I've wondered if it was insecurity that causes him to cling versus addicted to affection or a bit of both. FWIW, he enjoys other people also when they around so thankfully he is not just attached to me!

It makes me sad because I know he could have so many hours more outside his cage (basically all the time) if he just didn't smother me! I do try to clean and do other things with him on me but many things are dangerous for him. And if I am working with food he is always trying to get into it! Or heaven forbid... what if he makes his way into my kitchenaid mixer  So I do have to contain him.

I will try to remove his millet and honey treat from his cage this week and leave it on top. He isn't that much into the millet anymore but loves lettuce and picking at the honey stick. So Maybe I am offering too much inside his cage already and leaving nothing to do outside of it???

I hope I can help him become more independent just enough that he can be out more but I don't want to do it at the sacrifice of overall personality... meaning the affection is great but just in normal doses haha!

How many hours a day are your tiels out of cage?

Thanks


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> How many hours a day are your tiels out of cage?


Mine are out all day but they have their own room and I don't have any dogs or cats to bother them.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's natural for cockatiels to want to be with their flockmates because that helps them stay safe in the wild. But they don't have to literally be on top of each other all the time, and they can be taught to deal with some alone time. 

Flock calling when you leave is natural too. The shrieking is an "I'm over here, where are you" call, and it might help if you call back to him so he knows that you're still nearby.


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## LeopardPrintBee (Nov 22, 2011)

pluto said:


> We added a play area to the top of his cage but he has noooo interest in being there. His play area is on my shoulder or head and when I am at the table he just runs into my hands and puts his head down for non-stop scritches! A woman can only scritch so much :blink: Or he is in my face and at my lips pushing his beak against me for kisses! He gets more action than hubby lately :blush: I love him but really, I am feeling smothered!!


At the moment Gertie isn't coming out much, she's getting a bit hormonal we think, but when she is out, although she's not quite that bad, if she is on us she demands constant attention in exactly the same way! And if we dare to not give her cuddles, she'll shriek and quickly (but painlessly) bite out face lol

To coax her to be happy away from us, what we did (and she now loves) is get one of those plastic outside bird feeders (unused! lol) that stick to windows and put it on the inside. We attached millet/lettuce to us and plonked her on that. She happily sits now and watches the world go by, and talks to this fat pigeon that sits on the roof opposite :] 

(down side, I have millet growing out of my orchids and poop all over the window-ledge and accompanying ornaments lol but that's life)

Treats  that's how we convinced ours to do everything she does  x


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## Dave & Tito (Aug 1, 2010)

I am having this exact 'problem' with my new(er) Tiel, Hilda.

Now that she's mastered the art of flying, she'll seek me out in any room of the house I am in! 

All I am doing is returning her to the stand and rewarding her with millet but she soon finds me again. If, after 10 or more return trips she hasn't got the idea, I have been putting her waya until I can finish what I'm trying to do and then I'll bring her back out when I have the time to interract.

I plan to try a few of the tips listed here too. If I have any success with something new I will share it here!


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

My peachy and tanya are the same and it only bothers me when they like to try and nibble on me as they hurt lol

I just put them back on their cage but tanya always fly back to me no matter how many times i try lol

My fault really as they are just spoilt little birdies lol


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Lol, my two are the same! Good thing I have two shoulders! I got my male to be a companion for my female, because she was getting a bit clingy, but now I have two clingy, though adorable, cockatiels
I really don't have much advice, I tried millet, my female will be busy with that a bit, my male doesn't care, he just flies back to me. They can both find me if I go in another room as they can fly well now. I let them out of cage all day practically, but when they get a bit too much, if I have stuff to do, I just put them back in the cage. They do flock call for a while, but usually they settle down on their favorite perches and that's it for a while.


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