# Unrequited Bromance between human and cockatiel



## Georgia<3Wico (Nov 16, 2014)

Hi

I'm a first time bird owner but I've had my hand raised baby for a year. I have recently decided to not have his wings clipped now that it's just me and him in my apartment. But my cockatiel Castiel LOVES my brother (my brother is 6ft and I think Castiel likes the height since I'm 5ft2) but my brother isn't really interested in my bird and gets really frustrated when all Castiel wants to do is sit on his shoulder/chest and play with his beard and generally shower him with birdie love. (Exhibit A) But when I try to get Cas off my brother he doesn't want to get off/ he now flies right back. Is it possible to teach Castiel about boundaries? How would I do that? I know very little about cockatiel training...

Really would appreciate any help!

PS he can 'step up' nicely but that's about it.


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

Make the shoulder a privilege, not a right 

Have your brother shoo him off or suddenly duck/crouch to shake Castiel off if he lands on there unwelcomed. Make sure he says something like "shoo" beforehand so Castiel knows it's coming. From then on, shoulder is by invite only. He'll get a bit hesitant about landing on it, and from there, your brother can step him up and physically put him on his shoulder (with scritches and praise) if he so wants.

My two have started landing on the back of my chair instead of my shoulders in just a few days. Now (most of the time) they sit there and wait for me to move them


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## tasheanne (Dec 31, 2014)

Make sure he doesn't actually "shake him off". That could end in injury and make your bird trust humans less. I don't really know if I'd try to evade his landings either. From my experience once they've decided to land they have trouble stopping the landing... So if they're about the land on you and you dodge them, they might end up flailing to the ground/into a wall/etc. I mean, it can end badly if they've already committed to the landing, you know?
I have no problem with my birds flying away from me or to other people because honestly if they could they'd probably surgically attach themselves to me but if I did have this problem I'd probably just move them as soon as they land on me to somewhere next to me. Like if I was on the couch and they land on me I'd move them to the arm rest and say "stay" and when they do (might take time and may get frustrating because they'll jump straight back on a lot of times probably) give them praise and scratches or a treat (healthy treat because you'll want to reinforce it quite a bit). Extend the amount of time they have to sit still when you say "stay" gradually before they get the scratch. Like at first, just two seconds. And when they can do that easy, try 4 seconds, and so on. Eventually they'll realise what stay means and hopefully they'll also get the idea that landing on shoulders doesn't result in them getting a shoulder ride, they just end up on the arm rest instead so there's no point in it. Hopefully!


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

tasheanne said:


> Make sure he doesn't actually "shake him off". That could end in injury and make your bird trust humans less. I don't really know if I'd try to evade his landings either. From my experience once they've decided to land they have trouble stopping the landing... So if they're about the land on you and you dodge them, they might end up flailing to the ground/into a wall/etc. I mean, it can end badly if they've already committed to the landing, you know?


Never ever had that happen. It's not to spook or scare them, hence the verbal cue before you do anything. They catch on fast. I would never ever push them off or intentionally scare them away!

IMO, it's very important they are able to quickly react to uncertain situations such as a landing redirection. 
Check out this article: https://theparrotuniversity.com/flight
Occasionally when practicing recall I'll throw a curve ball and duck my arm or the perch at the last second. Miles is very good at recovering - Phoenix has a ways to go yet, but I attribute his poor flying skills to the butchered clip he got as a baby 

The problem I had with stepping up and moving them is they figure out pretty fast that the hand approaching is going to force them to do something they don't want to do - and they might lash out or nip at it. To my tiels, at least, being on my shoulder is far more rewarding than any treats/praise I could give for stationing. It was easier for us to eliminate it at the root of the problem, which was the shoulder landing itself, instead of working around it.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> Never ever had that happen. It's not to spook or scare them, hence the verbal cue before you do anything. They catch on fast!


This is very true!!! I never had an issue with shaking my birds off. You aren't shaking hard, you're just unbalancing them so that they fly off, its more like making the perch unsteady so they don't want to be on it anymore.

Getting away from a landing tiel is difficult. Never been able to avoid it, but then Cinnamon always had really good aim and she would just follow me until I stopped moving and land anyways. But she also had recall and would come to me when I wanted. I didn't actually train her that on purpose. If your brother doesn't want the bird to be on him, he needs to make an effort to keep removing the bird from his person. Sadly, if the bird is madly in love with him, this may not work and he may have to learn to accept the bird as is lol.


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## tasheanne (Dec 31, 2014)

Perhaps I've only these issues because my birds were clipped when I got them and are still learning to control their flight. They're uncertain at the best of times so if I move they completely miss the mark and end up on the ground or get scared and won't try again for a while.


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

roxy culver said:


> This is very true!!! I never had an issue with shaking my birds off. You aren't shaking hard, you're just unbalancing them so that they fly off, its more like making the perch unsteady so they don't want to be on it anymore.


Yes, that's a better way to put it  Like a branch in the wind!



tasheanne said:


> Perhaps I've only these issues because my birds were clipped when I got them and are still learning to control their flight. They're uncertain at the best of times so if I move they completely miss the mark and end up on the ground or get scared and won't try again for a while.


That's definitely possible. Phoenix was clipped as a baby and flies a bit like a potato. He's never fallen or hurt himself after being shaken off something, but it's certainly no graceful show. Sometimes he fails landing on completely stationary objects 

Miles, on the other hand, was fledged and never clipped, so he's a whiz. It's pretty amazing watching him fly around the house.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> Perhaps I've only these issues because my birds were clipped when I got them and are still learning to control their flight. They're uncertain at the best of times so if I move they completely miss the mark and end up on the ground or get scared and won't try again for a while.


Agreed, for birds that have always been clipped flying is more difficult than it is for others. Mudflap, one of my normal grey males, had always been clipped and never fledged properly. On top of that he was fat, so the poor guy fell like a rock instead of flying. 

Flying is something they learn over time. Once they get the hang of it, even clipping really wont stop them, they just have to work harder at it.


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## Georgia<3Wico (Nov 16, 2014)

Cas is still figuring out how to be accurate with his flying. After he had the bad clip and his feathers grew out a bit when he flapped he went backwards... But now he flies well but just not in the direction he really wants to go. I think he actually prefers walking but he's still practicing. But he's started hanging upside down on his perch and then he will half fly down to the ground. We call it his 'Bat Move.' My brother was over today and I've explained the tips to him and he's really grateful and says Thanks he does like Cas but he's not really used to birds but birds seem to love him! My aunts cockatoo Coco:umbrella too: also goes nuts for my brother


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