# training the new cokatiel



## redneckJIll (Feb 22, 2010)

hey yall. well i need some tips on trainning my new cockatiel to get on a stick or your finger.give me some tips on how to do that. its just a baby still, and it has never been trained to do those things and i need some help here on how to train the bird. so give me some ideas yall on what to do. im new at training a baby cockatiel. this is my first baby cockatiel. so plz help me . later, JIll


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## Safwah (Mar 3, 2010)

Theres a few ways to do this and plenty of information on google, but learn to work with the birds behavior. I sugguest starting with a small stick, move it calmly under their chest and they should step up. Most birds will have a natural reaction to step up onto something against their chest. You could also use stick training, meaning get a kebab skewer and move it near the bird, when they bite then end reward with a treat, once they learn this you can start pointing the stick and getting the bird to move over and bite the end and then reward, then work your way to pointing to your forearm so the birds climbs onto your hand to get the stick and its reward.

Just keep training short, 1 or 2 sessions a day of about 10-15mins per session, dont bored or frustrate you and the bird, this takes time and some learn faster then others.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Will your bird take treats from your hand? If he will, you can use the treat to gradually lure him onto your hand or a stick.


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## redneckJIll (Feb 22, 2010)

tielfan and safwah,

my first cokatiel, he will get on your finger and come outta the cage. hes already trained. now i need to train the new cockatiel to do the same, get on your finger and come outta the cage. i tryed to get him on a stick but he wouldnt do that he just flew away from me, and i had to chase him. he wouldnt do nuthing i tryed to get him to do. hes just a little baby right now. so i need some tips on how to get him to get on your finger and come outta the cage like my other cockatiel does. so pl give me some things to try besides trying to get on a stick or your finger. and tiel fan to answer your question,no he will not take treats from my hand ok, when i put my hand in cage he just trys to get away from me. so its gonna take some time to try him to do things. and also tell me, do the tapes u buy to teach your bird to talk, do they really work? beacuse i was thinking about going and getting a tapes with saying for birds to learn how to talk, and see if i acn get my birds to start talking. ok well give me some ideas onteaching my new baby bird to get outta the cage ok. later. JIll


if u look at botton of this messege u can see my birds i have.the first bird is my grown up bird, and the little grey one is the new baby tiel.


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## Clawsworth (Nov 9, 2009)

Your first 'tiel is almost certainly female. She looks like a dirty-faced pied. Your second one looks like a whiteface cinnamon maybe. I can't really tell, but perhaps someone else could tell you more about the second. You'll have to wait until he goes through his first moult to tell the sex. When that happens and he gets a new tail, you could post some pictures of under the tail and people might be able to help you on the sex.

All I can recommend about training is to give it a lot of time. Always be patient with him, and never punish him. Use positive reinforcement by giving him treats when he does something you like. Since he won't take treats from your hand now, I suggest putting some millet in the cage with him every so often so he associates getting treats with your hands. Gradually he should start taking treats directly from your hand. You might want to let him get used to his surroundings before trying to train him more.


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## WallyBird (Nov 23, 2009)

The first think I would do is leave him in his cage for a day or two, and spend a lot of time next to the cage talking to him. Once he gets used to your presence, see if you can hold a treat through the cage bars for him. Try spray millet, no tiel can refuse millet. Eventually he should start accepting the treat from your hand with you outside the cage. It's important not to rush him, if he doesn't want the treat, don't force him. Eventually he should get pretty comfortable with you. Your next step is to try to get him out of the cage on your finger. I would suggest clipping his wings, this will make going in and out of the cage much easier. A bird that cannot fly will be more dependent on you for transportation, making it easier to take the tiel in and out of his cage. This is where perch training will come in handy. Because he won't step up onto your hand, you should use something more familiar to him like a perch. If he's used to accepting treats from your hand, by this point he won't be afraid to step up onto a perch if you offer a treat. Reward him after he steps up onto the perch your holding, and repeat this process everyday for a week or so. Once he gets comfortable stepping up onto the perch your holding and accepting a treat for doing so, its time to move to the next step. For the next week or so, shorten the perch a little bit more each day, so everyday when he steps onto it, he's closer and closer to your finger. Eventually when the perch gets really short, bribe him with a treat and move it so he has to step onto your finger to reach the treat. After all this, hopefully your bird will have learned to step up. Its important to be patient and not get angry. Your bird will pick up on your emotions and negative ones will make it that much harder to develop a bond. This is how I trained both my tiels, however all birds are different, so I hope my advice helps. 
Also I would put off training your bird to talk until you train him to step onto your finger and allow you to bring him in and out of the cage.


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## spraymillet (Mar 2, 2010)

Definitely take your time and don't rush him. Some days he might step up and the next day he won't. It will probably take a few weeks, or even a few months, so that's what is meant by be patient. Don't give up, but don't get frustrated.


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## redneckJIll (Feb 22, 2010)

*My tiels*



Clawsworth said:


> Your first 'tiel is almost certainly female. She looks like a dirty-faced pied. Your second one looks like a whiteface cinnamon maybe. I can't really tell, but perhaps someone else could tell you more about the second. You'll have to wait until he goes through his first moult to tell the sex. When that happens and he gets a new tail, you could post some pictures of under the tail and people might be able to help you on the sex.
> 
> All I can recommend about training is to give it a lot of time. Always be patient with him, and never punish him. Use positive reinforcement by giving him treats when he does something you like. Since he won't take treats from your hand now, I suggest putting some millet in the cage with him every so often so he associates getting treats with your hands. Gradually he should start taking treats directly from your hand. You might want to let him get used to his surroundings before trying to train him more.


clawsworth


ok my first tiel. if u click on the pictures it brings it up bigger, did u do that. and same with the other bird. and i dont think the first tiel is a female. and the second one u said it was a white face cinnamon. well i dont care, i just love the coloring on him.as far as being patient with him. well i am ok. i go up to the cage and i talk to him all day long and same with the first tiel. i talk to my birds everyday. and im gonna work with the new one till i get him to get on my finger outta the cage, just like the first tiel. hes already trained to get on my finger. and hey get this ok when the first tiel starts making noise, well sometimes the new one makes noise too. i think its great that they are trying to talk to each other. ok well do what i told u on the pictures and get a closer look at the birds ok, then tell me what u think. later JIll


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## redneckJIll (Feb 22, 2010)

*Cockatiels*



WallyBird said:


> The first think I would do is leave him in his cage for a day or two, and spend a lot of time next to the cage talking to him. Once he gets used to your presence, see if you can hold a treat through the cage bars for him. Try spray millet, no tiel can refuse millet. Eventually he should start accepting the treat from your hand with you outside the cage. It's important not to rush him, if he doesn't want the treat, don't force him. Eventually he should get pretty comfortable with you. Your next step is to try to get him out of the cage on your finger. I would suggest clipping his wings, this will make going in and out of the cage much easier. A bird that cannot fly will be more dependent on you for transportation, making it easier to take the tiel in and out of his cage. This is where perch training will come in handy. Because he won't step up onto your hand, you should use something more familiar to him like a perch. If he's used to accepting treats from your hand, by this point he won't be afraid to step up onto a perch if you offer a treat. Reward him after he steps up onto the perch your holding, and repeat this process everyday for a week or so. Once he gets comfortable stepping up onto the perch your holding and accepting a treat for doing so, its time to move to the next step. For the next week or so, shorten the perch a little bit more each day, so everyday when he steps onto it, he's closer and closer to your finger. Eventually when the perch gets really short, bribe him with a treat and move it so he has to step onto your finger to reach the treat. After all this, hopefully your bird will have learned to step up. Its important to be patient and not get angry. Your bird will pick up on your emotions and negative ones will make it that much harder to develop a bond. This is how I trained both my tiels, however all birds are different, so I hope my advice helps.
> Also I would put off training your bird to talk until you train him to step onto your finger and allow you to bring him in and out of the cage.


WALLYBIRD

ive read all your reply ok.let me tell u this. i bought him last weekend and hes been in his cage since then. i do stand up to the cage and talk to them everyday.spray millet is that the things they have on a stick for birds if so we have some of those. and we put them in cage once in a while for the birds. the new tiels wings are already clipped short.we have perches in his cage and he gets up on them fine.well im just gonna try and work with him and see what happens. because i want him to get use to getting outta the cage on my finger, my first tiel already is trained to get on your finger. and get this ok, the first tiel makes noises and well the new one makes noises too. i think thats cute that they are trying to talk to each other.im just gonna work with him and see what happens. now im gonna try and send u some pics of the 2 birds and see if u can tell if they are male or female ok.later Jill


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## Clawsworth (Nov 9, 2009)

Jill, of course I clicked your pictures to enlarge them. Your first bird is almost certainly female, and it's too early to judge with your second one. Watch for beak-banging, heart wings, and singing (not the mono-tone call that females make). Just because you want them to be male and because some "bird guys" that don't know anything about 'tiels told you they're male doesn't actually make them male. You need to accept the possibility that one or both of them are not male.

Keep on trying to train them and give it time and patience. You can get spray millet at any pet store, just ask for it.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I would feed millet from your hand  Here is a video I like about taming http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazines/bird-talk/2009-june/taming-of-tiel.aspx As for the cd's meant to teach your tiel to talk I would not buy one. Just talk to them how like you are doing already. Tell them good night everynight ect and if your new tiel is a male s/he may or may not pick it up.


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## redneckJIll (Feb 22, 2010)

*My tiels*



Clawsworth said:


> Jill, of course I clicked your pictures to enlarge them. Your first bird is almost certainly female, and it's too early to judge with your second one. Watch for beak-banging, heart wings, and singing (not the mono-tone call that females make). Just because you want them to be male and because some "bird guys" that don't know anything about 'tiels told you they're male doesn't actually make them male. You need to accept the possibility that one or both of them are not male.
> 
> Keep on trying to train them and give it time and patience. You can get spray millet at any pet store, just ask for it.


CLAWSWORTH,

well alot of people on here have told me that my first tiel looks like a female, and well even my hubby says it looks like a female. so i guess im gonna have to except the fact that the yellow and grey tiel is female.and hey u sayed the new one looks like a white face cinnamon, well i went and looked up white face cinnamon cockatiels and well i found on excactly the same color as the new tiel. so you are right about the color of the new one. but i dont care what kind he is i just love his coloring. and when i went to the fleamarket looking for birds. i saw him and i just fell in love with him and his coloring.now u said look for beak banging well my first tiel does the beak banging because ive heard her do it.i see her moving her mouth too but nuthing is coming out. and hey your right about me wanting them to be males, but im just gonna except what i have for birds and just enjoy my birds.now u say about the bird guy. well he sells alot of birds ok, so i think he would know the sexes of birds, but i guess he dont because the first tiel is a female yall are telling me.so im just gonna have to except that. now u say keep trying to work with with, well i do everyday. i take the first tiel outta her cage everyday, and talk to her. and trying to let the new tiel see that he can come outta the cage too. ok well i hope that answers your questions. talk to u later. JILL


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

How old is your second bird? under 6months old is it VERY difficult to determine the sex visually, let alone a new chick, even if you have alot of expereince with birds, At under 6months old you can either DNA sex, or just try and take a wild guess until he/she moults and you can see their new feathers come through. Cockatiels as well as other species of birds are "sexually dimorphic" meaning you can tell the sex visually, but this isnt until they mature.

Training:
KEEP IT SLOW, dont try and rush into the birds training like alot of owners do, this only causes stress and can ruin your bond you have started making or made with the bird itself. I would start getting the bird to eat millet from your hands, this creates a positive expereince with hands and the bird will accept you more. After he is doing this flawlessly, you can begin the "step up" by pressing against your birds chest lightly and telling him "Step up", eventually he will associate either the word, or the position of the finger infront of him for him to hop onto your finger. 
Also, dont try and take him all around your house in one step up period, keep close to him house for comfort (its where he feels safe) and work your way "stepping up" around your room, then in different areas of the house. You can also use millet for training, as a treat for when he is relaxed and calm with you.

Hope all goes well.


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## Safwah (Mar 3, 2010)

Like i said earlier, 10-15mins 1-2 times a day for training. As for the tapes dont bother, all they will do is bore your bored. Would you want to hear the same thing said day after day? Be patient, spend lots of time around them. My last tiel was pretty wild (obviously wasnt hand raised) and it took 3 weeks for him to get comfortable with me and i had to resort to drastic measures which was smothering. I got a teatowle and wrapped it over the bird and held him close to my chest. I cooed him and calmed him down cause he was quite the biter and eventually he came around. 

My new tiel is hand raised and not scared of hands at all, but the first day wouldnt want to come out of its cage and back away from my hand. I got her out and let her sit on my desk and take things in, let her sit on my hand and shoulder. The 2nd day she was begging to come out and didnt even want to go back in the cage!

Its just about making your presence known, think of you and your birds as a flock and your the main bird in the flock. Dont worry if they dont except treats right away, they will. Mine doesnt even know what a treat is yet but it knows im there to care for her and im safe.


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## redneckJIll (Feb 22, 2010)

Ezzie said:


> How old is your second bird? under 6months old is it VERY difficult to determine the sex visually, let alone a new chick, even if you have alot of expereince with birds, At under 6months old you can either DNA sex, or just try and take a wild guess until he/she moults and you can see their new feathers come through. Cockatiels as well as other species of birds are "sexually dimorphic" meaning you can tell the sex visually, but this isnt until they mature.
> 
> Training:
> KEEP IT SLOW, dont try and rush into the birds training like alot of owners do, this only causes stress and can ruin your bond you have started making or made with the bird itself. I would start getting the bird to eat millet from your hands, this creates a positive expereince with hands and the bird will accept you more. After he is doing this flawlessly, you can begin the "step up" by pressing against your birds chest lightly and telling him "Step up", eventually he will associate either the word, or the position of the finger infront of him for him to hop onto your finger.
> ...




EZZIE,

i dont know how old he is. and your probably right about under 6 months.im not gonna worry about the sex untill he grows up.and well yesterday i took the first tiel back to the fleamarket and to the bird guy i bought it from and i had him check its sex, and well he sayed it was a female. so my yellow and gray tiel is a female. and now i have to look for a famous female name for her now.and well the new tiel, i just hope its a male.and as far as training the new tiel. well im just gonna take it one day at a time.hopefully hes a male, and if he is, then im gonna mate the 2 birds and sell their baby to people. ok well i hope that answers all your questions. later JILL


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## Clawsworth (Nov 9, 2009)

Just make sure to read a lot about breeding 'tiels and handfeeding the babies if you're going to try that in the future. You'd will need to provide them with a nesting box, lots of good food, and calcium, and then handfeeding the chicks is trickier if you've never done it before. There's a guide here about it you could read: http://www.cockatiel.org/articles/handfeeding.html and probably many good posts about it on this forum.


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

Personally i dont believe in breeding birds for the sole purpose of selling the babies to people, which is what i got across from you.
I dont agree with breeding either if you have NO expereince with doing so, There is a whole lot of information to know and how to apply that to breeding the birds, and breeding them for the better of the species, As well as breeding healthy chicks. Simply reading things off the internet will not give you all the first hand information you need when trying to breed birds, I would personally go out and find a breeder and talk to them, get them to show you some breeding birds or weaned (or chicks in the process of being hand raised) you can take notes on diet /exercise/ feeing times, healthy birds, how to know when feeding is enough etc etc, Because like having a human baby, Chicks can be a mighty handful for someone who has no expereince with it.
Dont think this is a simple task or under-estimate the process of breeding birds, its difficult if you dont know what you are doing, and you can actually breed un-healthy birds or birds with genetic conditions you may not even know about.

If you are planning on breeding, take my advice and get some experience FIRST HAND as well as reading articles and asking for advice around here.

Hope all goes well


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## redneckJIll (Feb 22, 2010)

*breeding cockatiels*

clawsworths and ezzie,

we have breed cockatiels before ok, so we know all about breeding the birds. we used to have about 4 or 5 cockatiels, and we breed them and had a couple of baby birds. but them my hubby got tired of all the birds and well he sold them and got rid of the birds, and now we have a female and hopefully the new tiel is a male. the birds are my birds ok, and i dont plan on getting rid of any of my animals i have right now. we have the 2 birds, and a black and white cat called oreo, and a dog called shadow.and i take care of all of them. and if we do breed the birds, well i may keep one or two of the babys from them.so i hope i answered yalls question or concerns. later. JIll


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