# hand fed tiels



## eik (Nov 6, 2009)

just out of curiosity. 

my tiel that i got a few weeks ago is 6 months old, 
he was hand fed by a local breeder who didn´t really 
interact with her much more (apart from hand feeding).

do you think it matters a lot ? do you have to get them
at 10 weeks of age or the hand feeding will be forgotten ? :blush:


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## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

Hand feeding or parent feeding, doesn't matter as much as socialisation. If a young bird is handled regularly as it grows, it doesn't really matter who feeds it. And if a hand fed bird is just fed then put straight back in the brooder, then although it's hand fed, it's not likely to be comfortable around people - like a parent fed bird that hasn't been handled.

As for how long lasting it is, it depends on the bird, and what happens to them after they're weaned. The birds personality will effect how friendly they are. But if the bird is sold to a pet shop, and goes into a cage with a lot of others, and isn't handled regularly, then often they'll lose the trust they had. If they're hand raised - not neccesarily hand fed, but handled lots while growing - and they go to a new home, or a pet shop or stay at the breeders, and they're still socialised and handled regularly, then they'll keep the trust they had.

Some birds though, are always skittish whether they're handfed/raised or not, and will take more work to get them to trust you.


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## eik (Nov 6, 2009)

thanks again mythara.

nice website u have, i already made one of them forage things.


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## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

Which one did you make?


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## eik (Nov 6, 2009)

i made the paper swing wrap, it´s this pony tail made into a swing.
now i´m in the process of making the oregami paper box.
working my way up the difficulty scale. 

my budgie and my tiel really like it.


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## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

That's great. Our budgies really love having more than one of the paper swings looped together. The foraging tray would also be great for them, since they're naturally ground foragers. It's probably the easiest thing for them, and ours never get bored of theirs. They're in them every night.


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

I agree with Mythara about the socialisation issue and feeding. The more the chicks are handled, the better. However, even within the same clutch you get birds which are more friendly than others although they have had the same amount of handling.
Most shy cockatiels will come round, given time.


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