# Vevila



## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

I recently posted a sad story about losing my new cockatiel Sowilo 4 days after adopting him. Well, his cage mate, Vevila, has been doing very well since the loss of her buddy. I have some questions though. Vevila is eating very well still, and she is active, playing with toys occassionally, and climbing all over her cage. However, she has completely stopped singing. she used to sing at least a little bit every day. Now she occassionally says hi (very rarely) or she screams. The screaming, I attribute to a couple of things. She has a respiratory infection, and is currently taking baytril, until the 17th. She takes it at 9 30 am and pm. I think she knows when the time is close, and she starts to scream in protest. She will simply start yelling, and we talk soothingly to calm her down, but she is not calm until the medicine has been administered. She also yells when it is late at night, I assume this is saying, "hello. It's bed time. Put down the book!" lol. But, she also occassionally will scream when I leave the room. I read that it's good to have a specific word that you use when they scream, just to show them that it's ok, or to respond to their call wondering where you are. I always say "I'm here." But, she continues to screech until I am back in the room. Mind you, she doesn't do it every time I leave, just occassionally. I'm not sure what to think of this, because she isn't attached to me. I mean, she is more attached now that poor Sowilo is gone, but she is still very nervous and unsure. I leave her cage open all day while I am around, which is most of the day. Only occassionally does she ever come out onto the perch. Then, she second guesses herself, and clambers back inside. She does have to be taken out twice a day for her medicine, at which point we allow her to explore the room, and try to teach her step up, and give her lots of love. She likes to have her head rubbed, but I think she doesn't want to admit it. She will attempt to bite even if you move slowly. However, once you actually manage to rub her head, she will half close her eyes, and allow it. She is very afraid of hands, and would rather race around the floor squwacking than step up. She will clamber up onto my leg once she has calmed down, and she will occassionally accept cheerios from a distance. However, she does not accept food from my hands, and she still seems very scared. She has definately become more lovey since Sowilo passed, but she is still very unsure. I guess my main questions here are is it a bad sign that she has stopped singing? Is there a reason she occassionally screams like that? Is there any way I can make her feel more comfortable about leaving the cage? And is there a way to teach her step up better without scaring her? Also, I forgot to mention, I give her a misting bath every few days. She seems to enjoy that, and comes running towards the water before scampering off again. Once her bath is over, she is very docile and steps up, even when inside of her cage. She will also allow herself to be held and cuddled, and she will sit in her cage grinding her beak in happiness. i do try to sit next to her cage in silence and read aloud to her in hopes she will get more comfortable. I just want her to be completely happy. Oh! A few more questions, if you will forgive me. 4 or 5 times a day, she will lean way down on her perch, and spread her wings fully, and stay there like that for a few moments. I read this is claiming territory. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing. Is she happy or not? She also stretches out 1 wing and one leg, then does the same thing to the other side, then stretches both wings up in the air. She does this all the time. I have read that this is normal cockatiel behavior, but I can't find what it means? Does anyone know. And one last question. Vevila will occassionally, (mostly in the mornings) pace back and forth on her perch, and fling her head backwards at the end of each pace, occassionally accompanied by a chirping sound. I read this can mean lots of things includng that she would like out of her cage, or that she wants attention. As I said, the cage is always open, so she is free to leave. In light of all the circumstances, is there a specific meaning that would apply best? Thank you all for your time, and I hope I can get some answers to quench my curiousity. =)


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

In the last few days she has moved to a strange new place and also lost her mate. That's a HUGE amount of upheaval so she's naturally going to exhibit some stressed behavior. She's doing remarkably well under the circumstances. The singing will probably come back after she's had more time to adjust. BTW hens usually don't vocalize as much as males, so if she's a singer she is more vocal than average.

Food bribery is very useful. If she won't take food from your hand, then drop a small treat (like a clump of millet spray) into her food cup when you approach the cage and make sure she sees you do it. You're teaching her that good things happen when you come around! Then work up to holding the millet for her to nibble through the bars, and eventually to eating it from your hand without bars between you. When she's comfortable with this, you can use the treat to lure her into stepping onto your hand.

You can also use millet spray to lure her out of the cage. Put the spray just outside the door in a place that's easy to reach, and gradually move it further away. In the beginning, the top of the cage will probably feel more secure to her than something further from the cage. So you can work on getting her to feel comfortable sitting up there, then gradually start moving farther afield.



> she continues to screech until I am back in the room.


She's flock-calling you. Right now you are the only flock she has left and she feels afraid without you. But obviously you don't want to reward the screaming or to get her into the habit of screeching continuously. It's possible that the millet spray bribe can help you out here too. Drop a small piece into the cage while she is NOT screaming, tell her something like "bye bye I'll be back soon", and leave. Then hope that having a treat in the cage will distract her enough that she doesn't scream for very long. 



> she will lean way down on her perch, and spread her wings fully, and stay there like that for a few moments.


She's feeling very confident in the cage! This is a good sign. 

Overall it sounds like she was tame and loved at some point in her life. It may take a few weeks for her to really get comfortable in her new home and to rediscover what it means to be loved, but she's already enjoying some of her interactions with you and that is excellent progress.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

P.S. Are you sure that Vevila is female? Singing and saying "hi" is much more common behavior for a male than a female. I assume that Vevila is the lutino (yellow) bird in your avatar, and visual sexing can be tricky with this mutation. The cheek spot looks like a very bright orange, which is typical of males while females tend to have a paler orange. The cheek spot doesn't prove anything though, because some female lutinos have very bright cheek spots.

Vevila's behavior with Sowilo doesn't prove anything. Two same-sex birds can get snuggly with each other, and without seeing a picture of Sowilo's face we can't be sure about his gender either. It looks like there is a normal grey bird in the background of your avatar. If this bird looked like Vlad, Buster, Henry or Squeebis in my signature, he was male. If this bird had a dull grey face with a dull cheek spot, she was female.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Thank you so much! I really appreciate all the advice. =) I will definately try the millet rewards. She really likes seed, so occassionally I will set a small bowl of seed on the perch outside her cage, and she will occassionally come out for that. I'm glad that she is confident in her cage! That makes me happy. =) She doesn't sing too terribly often. Sowilo definately was the louder of the 2. However, she hasn't been singing at all, and I was worried maybe she's depressed. I just want her to be happy and feel loved and safe. I realize earning her trust will take a lot of time and patience, I just wanted to be sure that she isn't too stressed or upset right now, as I want to do all I can to keep her occupied and happy. Thank you so much for the advice! =)


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Actually Vevila is the grey bird. I haven't got a very good up close picture of her that will upload to the computer. I was told she was a female. The vet told me that the stripes on her tail show that she is a female. She is the grey bird,a nd she has no cheek spots whatsoever. Her "hi" is very difficult to discern. I call it saying hi because it sounds like that is what she is attempting to do. She doesn't sing nearly as much as Sowilo did, but she did occassionally like to sing or whistle a little bit. I will try again to upload a photo and change my avatar so she can be seen better.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Here's some pics. I just took the first 3 and I got the other 2 to upload. =)


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Vevila is a whiteface female, like Shodu in my signature. Yes, tail stripes in a mature bird are a sign of a female - all juveniles have these stripes regardless of gender but the males lose the stripes when they get older. An adult whiteface male would have a bright white face, and Vevila doesn't have this. The "hi" might be the typical female one-note squawk.

There are some females who sing very well but they're fairly rare. Mims will sing a multi-note song once in a while but she sounds more squawky than the males, who sing in a clear whistling tone.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> she hasn't been singing at all, and I was worried maybe she's depressed.


She IS under a lot of stress. You're making life as good for her as you can right now but it's going to take time for her to adjust to the new "normal". Just keep doing what you're doing and I think she's going to be a very happy bird once she gets used to her new life.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

that's interesting. I knew pearled males lost their pearls, but I didn't know they were all born with tail stripes. That's interesting, and useful to know. =) Yeah. Her voice is much more screechy than his was. Her hi is a one note squawk, but it seems to have 2 pitches. It's hi but goes a slight bit lower, so it sounds more like hi to me. =) Lol. Her singing isn't clear like his used to be, but I still think it's pretty. I think she's just a sweetheart who is a little standoffish at the moment, and who can blame her. I'm sure with love and time and patience, she will be very sweet and content. =)


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Sounds like you are well on your way to truly bonding with her, and I'm sure you'll see a huge growth in her personality. Females are more 'screechers' than singers. My female will occasionally try to sing, and wolf whistle - but mostly she screeches and flock calls. Vevila may not try and sing for a little while, because she's probably still mourning the loss of her mate, but it sounds like she is getting her confidence back. Arnie is constantly claiming her territory - on top of her cage, in her cage, upside down in her cage, strutting on the back of the couch with her wings out, on the curtain rods, sometimes even on us. We call this the "batwings". I know she's feeling good and full of herself when she does this.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Thank you so much. I think she will be very happy too. I understand her stress, and I just wanted to do my best to make sure she is as happy and unstressed as possible. =) Do you happen to know what it means when she stretches out her wing and her leg, or when she paces back and forth in the cage, flinging her head? Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for all the advice and answers. =)


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

stretching her wing and her leg is probably just that - stretching! They usually do them together. And what do you mean by flinging her head - is it bobbing? It could mean "I want out of the cage", pacing is usually a sign of anticipation, sometimes anxiety - it can be accompanied by flock calling if you're out of the room.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Hm. It's a little hard to explain. she will pace along the perch back and forth rather quickly and then kind of just flick her head backwards slightly. let me see if i can find a video of a bird doing something similar with the head flick. I don't think it's bobbing really, but I'm not sure.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> Do you happen to know what it means when she stretches out her wing and her leg,


She's limbering up for action, and cockatiels will often do this when a human approaches the cage because they think they may be getting out of the cage soon. Another limbering-up stretch is to raise both wings above the back while keeping the wings mostly folded.



> when she paces back and forth in the cage, flinging her head


This might be an attention-getting maneuver. Many birds will discover some kind of little behavior that makes the owner pay attention, and they'll do this to say "hey look at me".

But on the other hand it might be nervous behavior. I've had new birds that ran back and forth on the perch because they wanted to escape but had nowhere to go. They didn't do the head-flipping though, that part really sounds more like attention-getting behavior.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Well, I can't seemm to find anything that looks at all like what she does. It's like if you were sitting in a chair and kind of just bent your neck backwards all the way to the left. She does that but very quickly when she's pacing. I don't know if that helped, but without video, it's pretty hard to explain.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It sounds like "look at me" behavior. I used to have a tiel who did pretty much the same thing to get attention - run back and forth on the perch with a pause for a head twist every now and then.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

tielfan said:


> Another limbering-up stretch is to raise both wings above the back while keeping the wings mostly folded.


She definately does that. Every time she stretches out her wing and leg like that, she then keeps her wings folded but raises them. I don't think the pacing behavior is out of fear. She will do it when I'm not even near the cage. When I have to take her out to give her her medicine, she will let me get close but as soon as I want her to step up, she begins running back and forth on the perch out of fear and nervousness. The pacing with the head flinging seems completely different than the other pacing. The more I learn, the more it seems like she really wants to be friendly and social, but is just afraid. That makes me feel really happy and hopeful. Maybe she was loved and given attention at one point in her life, and it has just been so long, that she will need to build that trust back up. That's fine, and I'm willing to take that time to build her trust. It makes me really happy to think that she has had that before though, and it won't be starting completely from scratch. =)


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Most birds need time to get used to a new person even if they were thoroughly loved in their last home. She has made a lot of progress already, and many birds would need more time to reach this level. So things are going great even though she's still fearful.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

tielfan said:


> Most birds need time to get used to a new person even if they were thoroughly loved in their last home. She has made a lot of progress already, and many birds would need more time to reach this level. So things are going great even though she's still fearful.


Thank you so much! That's really good to know. =)


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## Sar (Sep 22, 2010)

To be honest, reading through your posts, you are doing so much right for Vevila that it is only a matter of time before she settles and comes to love you dearly. She has had an awful time lately so just needs your patience (such as reading your book aloud) and your time (such as offering the millet, the headrubs etc). 
Keep asking questions. Remember that those of us who have had tiels for a long time (and know what the funny little stretches etc are) were once just like you - new to the whole thing! The difference, for me at least, was that the internet wasn't around then so we had no-one to ask for advice.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Sar said:


> To be honest, reading through your posts, you are doing so much right for Vevila that it is only a matter of time before she settles and comes to love you dearly.


Thank you so much, I really appreciate that. I appreciate all the advice, and I am infinately thankful that there is a forum like this of people who are experienced, and can help me with my questions, so I can become experienced too. =) Thank you all.


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