# Getting better



## WolfDragon (Apr 8, 2010)

Alright. Well, I've been on here before talking about Twitch, my male 2-4 year old cockatiel. He was not hand raised, but I'm trying to get him to trust me still. I've had him for about 2 years. I keep his wings clipped because I have a cat. Well anyhow, he is still extremely territorial about his cage and table, but he willingly gets onto a spare perch and is fine if I take him away from his cage (Though he is always trying to flutter back there) Would it be better if I just left the room? Or would that distress him more? I can hold him on my finger and arm and shoulder. I think he may half trust me I guess. Lately, this is the getting better part! Today I got him to eat millet when I was holding it  That's a good sign! I was pretty excited. Is there any way I can get him to be less territorial, or do I have to get him to trust me outside his cage first? He's not a mean bird. He's even scared of my 2 parakeets. Anyhow, He just get's real mad and bite-y when you get near his cage, and he's obsessed with mirrors. All his toys have them because that's the only ones he plays with. Could that have something to do with it?


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

You might need to spend some time away from his cage to get him to trust you more I think. Has his cage been the same way for a long time? You could try changing it slightly, you could try replacing the mirror toys with something else. Surely he'll learn to play with other toys -- the mirrors could be adding to his territorial behaviour if he sees his reflections as other tiels and he's trying to protect them. He may not like it at first and may flock call if you remove them but then you could spend some extra time with him. You could also try placing your hand in the cage for a few moments each day and whilst your there feed him some millet from within the cage so he knows that your presence is friendly and you aren't there to harass him.


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## WolfDragon (Apr 8, 2010)

That may be a good idea. I'll have to go and get him some new toys with no mirrors. I'll have to take all the mirrors away from him because he always zeros in on them even if there's only a tiny one! Thanks for the advice!  I really love him and I want to interact with him more. I'll definitely have to try that. It was amazing to me that he even ate the millet while I was holding it at all!  I actually just moved him into a bigger cage about a month ago, but he seemed to take it pretty much in stride. He didn't act any differently even just minutes after I changed him over lol. I usually "redecorate" his cage every time I do a thorough cleaning about once a week or so. (I change the papers more often than that) Anyhow, I appreciate the advice, I'll post again in a little while to update on how it's going


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

I hope he settles down for you


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