# Does Lila like me too much?



## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

So recently me and Lila have really bonded, she seems to really like me. There is only one problem, when I leave the room or put her back in her cage, she'll start chirpping really loud. If I come back she quiets down but I can't always have her chirpping really loud when I'm not around. What do I need to do to stop this behavior?


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Have you tried talking to her while you're out of the room? 

Like saying "Lila, I'm here, I'll be back in a minute" just so that she can still hear you and know that you are still close by.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

For Spike I tell him I got to go to work, see you later when I got to work. I'll see you in a bit, when I will be gone for a shorter time or I will be right back when I will only take a few min's. I will also call back to him once or twice just to let him know that Iam ok. I will also try to enter the room again when he is quite. Here is a link that you might find helpful http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-beh...es-screaming/squelch-excessive-screaming.aspx


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Yes i've tried to tell her where I am with a whistle, sometimes I'll talk to her. I find that when I whistle or talk to her, she'll whistle back and keep chirpping. Sometimes she'll even jump off her play stand to come and see me but her feathers are clipped and when she does that she breaks tail feathers  

Spike thank you for the link it helped me understand what i'm doing better and that birds should have some loud periods I just need to make sure they don't turn into screaming episodes. She's learning some whistles so I'll try whislting a tune when she starts being really loud and see if she'll just whistle back at me. 

Any tips on how to make her not jump from her play stand so she won't break tail feathers? I'm sure that it's because she wants to see me since when she jumps, I'll call her name and she'll walk to me. I have three cats and her jumping on the ground isn't very good. My cats are currently afraid of her but you never know if that's going to change.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

When your tiel has out time I would make sure that the cats are locked away. When I find Spike is getting to loud or taking to long to be quite so I can go back in the room. I make a brrrr noise which he likes, he seems to think Iam singing and he will start singing saying do do do. I can then go back in the room and tell him what a good singer he is, instead of going in the room when he is being loud and rewarding that. Hope this helps


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## Sophia (Aug 11, 2007)

I would just try and whistle to her a few times so she knows you are still there. And when you go back into the room don't go straight to her cage when she is has just been noisy, just go up to her when she has been quiet for a few minutes. So she will learn that shouting when you are gone is not going to get her any attention when you come back into the room,


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

If your little bird is not able to flutter safely to the ground without breaking tail feathers, the wings have been trimmed too short. You must not allow your bird to jump at all until some primaries have regrown. A bad wing trim can have serious repercussions - the vent can be split to the bone, partial paralysis leading to grooming and mating problems and of course, pain. Part of Lila's fretting may be due to pain.
I found that having a solitary tiel does lead to fretting and clingyness.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Thank you all for your help! I'll follow your advice and hopefully Lila will learn to whistle when she wants my attention and not to scream or chrip really loudly. I'm planning on letting her wings grow in so that she has the ability to fly, I'll get some of them trimmed so that she doesn't have full flight abilities but that she can get around, until I can teach her a come command. She currently knows how to come to me when she's on the ground but I bet flying is a little different. 

Catherine you said that the vent can split to the bone, what does that mean? Is there anything I can do to prevent it or fix it? Other than jumping is there any thing else I shouldn't let her do? Is there any way that I can tell if the vent is split?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's natural for birds to "flock call" when a member of the flock flies away, and many tiels will shriek when their human leaves the room. The shrieking normally stops in less than a minute.


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

andreanne1422 said:


> T
> 
> Catherine you said that the vent can split to the bone, what does that mean? Is there anything I can do to prevent it or fix it? Other than jumping is there any thing else I shouldn't let her do? Is there any way that I can tell if the vent is split?


It means that the heavy landings have injured your bird. It would be like you repeatedly slipping off a two storey building and landing on your tail bone. Skin could split and you would do yourself spinal damage.
You could have a look and see if there is an injury. However, the indicator that there is a problem in the vent area is poop stuck on the feathers around the vent. A bird should raise itself a little and lift its tail when it defecates. An injury in the lower spine area can cause paralysis and the bird cannot raise its tail. It also cannot spread its tail in order to preen the tail feathers. 
If there is dry poop stuck around the vent, you need urgent avian vet advice. You can help keep the area clean by wiping fresh poop away with a damp paper towel. For the dry stuff, get someone to hold the bird and very carefully cut it away. Also cut some of the feathers near the vent to reduce soiling. Infection will occur if the area is dirty and that is what will kill a bird fastest.
At the moment, your bird must have nothing it can launch itself from - including your shoulder. The breaking of tail feathers is a very worrying sign.
My vet does wing implants for birds in this condition. His actions saved my tiel's life.
Another possible reason for the breaking of tail feathers is an uneven wing trim. The risk with that is the possibility of a broken wing.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Thank you very much for the information! She's been lifting her tail feathers when she poops so I don't think there is any injury at the moment. I'm thinking that the pet shop I got her from messed up her wing clip. Won't be bringing her there that's for sure! 

For her tail feathers to have broken three tail feathers broke when I thought she was sick and put her in a smaller "hospital cage" she had a night fright and broke 2 tail feathers that way. She broke an other when she flew of her swing and landed close to the wall. Then she broke an other when I put her in the "hospital cage" to take her outside for some sun. Then she broke I think it was two from flying off her play stand. 
When she breaks then I cut them off so that they don't get caught in anything. Am I doing it right? They aren't blood feathers.

I was going to put her in her "hospital cage" when I take her down to Calgary to see an avain vet next week put now I'm thinking it's a bad idea. She NEVER flys off my shoulder so I don't think that needs to be stopped and she always steps up when I ask her to. I will however limit her play stand time to only when I'm in the room (she doesn't fly off when I'm there) if I leave the room I'll take her with me.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Ok so I thought I'd take a picture of her cage to make sure that it's big enough for her and that she shouldn't be breaking any feathers while she's in there here's the picture.










Also, she only has three tail feathers left and I think 2 of them may be broken, they don't seem to be bothering her should I leave them are clip them?


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

If the tail feathers are dragging, I would clip them just above the break. All is not well when a tiel has broken most of its tail feathers. I'm glad s/he is able to lift his tail. However, I would certainly take him to the avian vet to see if there are any problems besides a bad wing trim. Good care of a bird involves a new bird check shortly after purchase plus at least an annual health check. 
You seem to be taking wise precautions to avoid rough landings. I cannot comment on the size of the cage because there is nothing to give an indication of its dimensions. If it's mainly used for sleeping and travel and the tiel has lots of out of cage time, a small one would be OK in the interim.


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

If he is suffering night fright, I would remove everything from the cage at night other than a perch, a small water dish and small food dish. The fewer things to bang into, the better.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

She only had a night fright in the hospital cage not the one in the picture. The one in the picture is her home cage she has a night light and I cover the cage at night she's never had a night fright in her home cage. The dementions are: Length: 32" Height: 25": Width 14". 
I wanted to take her to the vet earlier but the closest avain vet to me is 2 and a half hours away and they just moved to their new location. Plus I have a hectic work schedual. But she will be seeing the vet in a week, and I will be doing all the needed tests on her.


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

Good one. Lets know how she goes. She sounds like a little darling.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

What do you think could be possible causes of her breaking of tail feathers? Do you think it could be because of a lack of calcium from her weaning? When I got her I bought a cuttlebone and she devoured half of it in the first 2 days. I got her from... Petland BUT I did not know about them when I got her and I would NEVER buy any other animal from them EVER. But I just can't bring back my sweet Lila  She's on a pellet and seed diet now, trying to get her to eat the pellets is a challenge tho. She has fresh veggies daily and a mineral block and cuttlebone. I heard vitamins supplements are bad. Anything else I could be doing?



> Good one.


 The cage? What do you mean?


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

I meant the visit to the vet and the night light, really. 
I believe the sole cause of the tail feather breakages will be accidents e.g. bad landings, flying into things and night fright. The cause of the first two will be a bad wing trim. She will probably grow out of the night fright as she gets older.
Take it slowly with the pellets. If she is eating some, you have done well. She will learn to eat new things from you seeing as she has no companion. You could sit down with a little dish of things you want her to eat e.g. apple, corn. You eat some and she will watch. Let her take some from you when she is ready, rather than offer them to her. (I don't suggest you try eating pellets). She is going to be investing a lot of energy growing new feathers and so she may get a little grumpy. The wider the variety of food she will eat, the better it will be for her nutritionally.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

lol no I haven't tried to eat pellets  I'm glad you don't think it's anything more serious then accidents and a bad wing trim. I'm determined to have the best care for her, I did make the mistake to not research and find a reputable breeder  But I couldn't pass on Lila, really she chose me. If it wasn't for her I would never have had an interest in cockatiels and would have passed on birds as a whole and would have never known how wonderful cockatiels are. You have been very helpful, thank you! I'll follow your tips on teaching her to eat her pellets, it'll be fun!


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

Thank you. Yes a bird does choose you. My Roger Roo was the biggest mess I have ever seen and I had to buy him. He is a real darling and I have learned the hard way how to help him. There are some stories about his traumas on his website.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Wow those are quite the stories your little Roger got himself into! The Lady story is very sweet tho, it's such a romantic one  I'll make sure I check the rest of your website too!


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

Roger has never stopped loving her. He rarely steps up for me now unless she comes too.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

aww that's so cute  It must be wonderful to listen to him singing to her! True birdy love


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Oh and Catherine I tried to show her that I was eating her pellet food and she just started eating it right out of my hand! I'm speech less, I thought she'd never eat it that quickly! Although my hand got a few nips at, is it normal for her to try bitting my hand if she's eating out of it? What should I do when she does that? Currently I told her no and redirected her to the pellets.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

How old is this bird? If she's a handfed baby, she associates human hands with food, and holding food in your hand is an excellent way to get her to try new things. But if she's a baby, she hasn't learned the difference between what's food and what isn't. Baby cockatiels are likely to gnaw on your fingers to see if they're edible, but after a few weeks the chicks figure out that they can't eat you and give up trying.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

I was told that she's between 5 and 9 months old. But then again it could be younger. When I got her she had blad spots under her wings, which have now grown feathers. Could that help figuring out the age? I'm not sure whether she went through a molt before I got her or not. Like I said I got her from a pet store  I'm glad to hear that she'll grow out of trying to eat my fingers tho


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## Catherine (Jun 11, 2009)

That is lovely news about your little hen being so willing to eat what you have to eat! You are her companion, you see. There is no other tiel and so she is bonded to you. What you eat must be good.
About the biting. First, do not react with a yell and jerk away from her. Birds do like a bit of drama and this could reinforce the behaviour. I see you redirect her to the food and that is good. tielfan's advice is good. I have found with my baby tiels, that it is a lot longer before a hen learns to be gentle than for a cock. I'd suggest that you just keep reinforcing that your hands are good and kind. Redirect her attention when she bites. She will get over it as she matures and learns that your hands are part of you. I kept two dear little hens from Roger Roo's brood. They are 8 months old now and have only just stopped nipping the tops of my ears - hard. Each time they did that, I got them to step up and put them down or on a perch. I can now trust them to be gentle when they are on my shoulder.


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## andreanne1422 (Jul 27, 2009)

Great! Thanks for the tips at least now I'll know what to do, I don't want to do something wrong that will cause her to have some behavioural problems later on.


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