# Please help



## Tielkeeper (Sep 17, 2011)

I have an 8 year old male tiel, i had him from 9 weeks old and he has been very tame. Last year i went back to work and was working 52 hours per week so didnt handle him as often as i should have as i felt i was never at home. He used to be with a female tiel, however, she died nearly 2 years ago now, he was never much bothered with her as she was much older and he liked humans and she didnt. Now since May this year my tiel hasnt been very friendly, hes been trying to bite us and not let us handle him at all! I dont know whats gotten into him. He seems very quiet too. Also very preotective of his cage, which isnt something he has always done, but not sure when this started. He is in the family room so not alone on his own. I dont think he is ill and has healthly looking droppings and is eating ok. One thing i have done over the last two years is change his diet to pellets instead of seed, which i think hes not happy about. I used to mix a little seed in with the pellets for a while for him to get used to, but ive now stopped the seed altogether. I dont think he likes pellets all that much but he cant just live off seed (which is what he would do) Im not sure whats wrong with him. Ive been thinking of perhaps getting a play mate for him, but not sure if this would help or not. Ive stopped working now as im pregnant. I really want him to be happy again! Please help!


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

You can offer him other types of food to him as mine are on seed and veg diet http://www.cockatielcottage.net/tablefoods.html
you may want to consider try taming him again http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=22073
He might be lonely thats why he has been acting like this


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## Tielkeeper (Sep 17, 2011)

Thanks Iperry! He has ALWAYS been a nightmare with food. He will eat a little apple and that is it! He loves millet and anything seed like, however i try to not give him seed full stop. I do give him millet as a treat though. He likes the crust fom brown bread and a wotsit from time to time (hides)

Looks like im going to have to go through the motions with him all over again.


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## Tielkeeper (Sep 17, 2011)

Theres something else i forgot to mention, he had been feather plucking when we went on holiday at the end of May, and we went away again in August. He started feather plucking from May. In the last month or so he has stopped doing this, although, when it was getting a little worse i gently sprayed him, which as helped loads. He has hardly done it this last month.

I was thinking that perhaps hes not confident enough to come out of the cage incase he cant fly?? He did loose alot of large feathers. These birds are far from stupid. He has never refused coming out of his cage in 9 years (just realised hes 9 not 8! Dur) Only when its way past his bedtime and hes really grumpy when disturbed, liked most birds.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

I usually put a bit seed on top of veg to get them to try and mine like spinach, broccoli scrambled egg made with bit water not milk and sweet corn is their favorite.
The taming shouldnt take long if he was already tamed and others have had results in the same day, here is another thing you can try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTiYpobrG8Q


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

The feather plucking might be because of being bored as you have been working but that should change *hopefully* since you will be spending alot more time with him


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## Tielkeeper (Sep 17, 2011)

lperry82 said:


> The feather plucking might be because of being bored as you have been working but that should change *hopefully* since you will be spending alot more time with him


True, but my husband is self employed, so there was always somebody at home, and we also have a noisey 6 year old too.


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## Tielkeeper (Sep 17, 2011)

lperry82 said:


> I usually put a bit seed on top of veg to get them to try and mine like spinach, broccoli scrambled egg made with bit water not milk and sweet corn is their favorite.
> The taming shouldnt take long if he was already tamed and others have had results in the same day, here is another thing you can try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTiYpobrG8Q


That looks like a really good link on training, the only problem i have is if you are giving Derek attention he couldnt give a stuff about food! He totally ignores it and just focuses on you. Hes become really stubborn as hes aged! Dont know how i would get round that one. Wouldnt matter what it is (and ive been trying it today) hes not intrested in the food until ive left the room. He will take it from the cage bars then.


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## Tielkeeper (Sep 17, 2011)

When i produce the goodies he hardly looks at it and proceeds to whistle at me and show off, banging his beak on his perches and bobbing his head up and down. He wont let my hand too close to him though but close enough to offer food, which he ignores.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Maybe getting another tiel will help him


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

hE probably just misses the female.


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## resalat_hasan (Sep 7, 2011)

I do agree with lperry, u can bring a girlfriend for him.


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## Dottie (Sep 23, 2011)

I had some problems switching my tiel from seed to pellets until I started refrigerating the pellets. Then my tiel loved it for some reason. The kind I have are like fruit shapes and I think refrigerating brings out the flavor more or something, not sure but after that I didn't have any more problems switching. Now he is on an all pellet diet along with fresh foods from time to time. It's something small, but worth a try.


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