# Suggestions for Taming Cage Aggressive Male Cockatiel



## TheJediBird (Sep 11, 2015)

I got a male Cockatiel last month. The people I bought him from said that he is about two years old and that he used to be mostly hand-tame. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting him to be less aggressive in his cage? I was able to get him to come out on his own once, and he stepped up onto my finger. Even when he is stepping up he likes to bite before he does. Otherwise, he's a really sweet bird and sings all the time. He likes when people talk to him and gets upset when they leave, he just doesn't like hands around or in his cage. He will, however, eat from a millet spray when I put it through his cage. 

Do you think that putting him in a different cage will help? I plan on building him an aviary as soon as I can find the right materials.


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## BlueDragon109 (Sep 11, 2015)

Is it a hard bite? Most cockatiels will simply use their beak for stability when they get on. Mine will bite lightly if they are in a bad mood or don't want to be perched. Also, if he had an experience of people poking him or whatnot, he probably doesn't love the hand. Perhaps you could put a piece of millet spray on your palm and just hold it in his cage. Even my not-so-tame birds can't resist that.


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## TheJediBird (Sep 11, 2015)

He's never drawn blood, but it is a hard pinch. It will leave an indent in the shape of his beak for a while. It's definitely different from when he's just using his beak to climb onto my finger. I don't know how things were for him before. I'm his third home, so that might have something to do with it. He will eat millet if I pull a small piece off the spray and put it through the side, but he won't if my hand is inside the cage.


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