# Tame new tiels!



## Blooming.lady (Apr 27, 2010)

Hi guyz 

i bought a pair of cockatiels last thursday. After i read much about them in the internet and thought how amazing it would be if i had one. and hopefully i got what i want. Taming a cockatiel didnt seem that hard and now that i have a pair of them i feel like iwill never be able to tame and be friends with them. i know that its just a week and i have to wait more but they just look like they dont want to bond with a human. i bought them from a birds shop and they arent used to bond with people and i dont even know their ages cuz when i asked the man in the shop he said he DOESNT KNOW! well they arent babies anyway. But really please help me what can i do. it just looks kind of annoying when they try to bite me whenever i put my hand close (out of the cage) or when i put the food bowl. Btw the female looks kind of friendly but the male looks angry whenever i come close.I read alot about taming them but now i really dont know . some webz say that if you want to tame you must get one only but i bought a pair. PLEASE tell me how long would it take to tame them and how can i do it with a cockatiel who looks like they never bonded with humans.

thanks and really sorry for writting such a long thread


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## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

It may be a little hard as they arnt hand tame, and the fact they look like either a bonded pair or a breeding pair (please make sure they arnt, we dont want babies) but some of the folks on here have tame even wild tiels, Its doable, But VERY time consuming.

REPETITION REPETITION REPETITION!
Gain the birds trust before you do any handling, try feeing them some very tasty treats from your hand and work from there. This may not always work however as i have a friend with a single bird and she has only got to the point of feeding him with fingers after a few months.
After you gain trust, begin the "stepup", make sure you do this in a less intimidating way and NEVER EVER grab your bird (unless its a serious emergency) as this damages trust and can put you right back where you have started.

PROGRESS WILL BE SLOW.
Dont ever even start to assume this will be a week fix, it could take years and even then the birds might not be fully handtame like a human raised baby.

Why didnt you opt for a hand tame baby from a breeder?
Semi-wild birds are not first time bird mummys choice in my opinion, just like a first time dog owner shouldnt get a powerful breed, or a first time horse owner shouldnt get an un trained horse and attempt to do it yourself.

DONT GIVE UP.
if you feel you are unable to engange in any training after a year minimum, maybe it would be better to rehome them?
Always have that in your mind, have someone the birds can go to who is more experiecned like a breeder or a bird rescuerer where they can rehome him for you.

Goodluck and keep us posted, Sometimes its good to make a "blog" of progress, to look back at the bad things and things that can be done better and see just how far they may have come.

pictures are a must as well


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## Safwah (Mar 3, 2010)

The possible best situation for a first time tiel owner is take them back get a refund and find a local breeder for a hand raised baby. I know it might sound abit cruel but its the same case for those people that see the loney picked on animal at the petshop and take them home only to have health and behaviour problems the rest of the lives. You just dont do it.

Second option if you really going to give it a shot is the above post.


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

I really think you will struggle to tame a adult pair, I bought a baby parent raised Tiel to try and tame, and I have to say it is not something I would attempt again when I can buy a nice hand raised one, he will sit on my hand but that is really because I clipped his wings so cant fly to far away, but if he had wings to fly far with he wouldn’t come near me, but he doesn’t bite me, although he did in the beginning, so I am making progress but it is very very slow and I don’t think he will ever be like my other two hand raised babies, I will keep trying with him, but I feel in the end I will probably end up using him as a breeding male rather than keep trying to make him be something he will never really be comfortable with.

I think having two doesn’t help either because they are friends with each other so dont need you for company, if you do attempt to tame them, I think you will need to clip their wings, but if you can you might be better of to return them, and at least get a baby cockatiel.

Jenny


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## Blooming.lady (Apr 27, 2010)

Ezzie said:


> It may be a little hard as they arnt hand tame, and the fact they look like either a bonded pair or a breeding pair (please make sure they arnt, we dont want babies) but some of the folks on here have tame even wild tiels, Its doable, But VERY time consuming.
> 
> REPETITION REPETITION REPETITION!
> Gain the birds trust before you do any handling, try feeing them some very tasty treats from your hand and work from there. This may not always work however as i have a friend with a single bird and she has only got to the point of feeding him with fingers after a few months.
> ...


thanks for your reply it really helped me ...
so then you think i have to return them? 
i really dont know... maybe it was better if i posted here, read what you guyz said, before buying but now its over and am not sure if i can return them ...
-_- so as wut people say here it just looks kind if impossible to tame them...so maybe i should give them to a breeder to tame them for me? ...i wonder if there is one here!!!so when people get a cockatiel they buy a young or tamed one ... omg  and about getting them out of the cage i was planning to buy another bigger cage cuz this one is kind of small but i have no choice but to grab them wut can i do? TT^TT let them be in the small cage forever?:wacko:


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## Blooming.lady (Apr 27, 2010)

Safwah said:


> The possible best situation for a first time tiel owner is take them back get a refund and find a local breeder for a hand raised baby. I know it might sound abit cruel but its the same case for those people that see the loney picked on animal at the petshop and take them home only to have health and behaviour problems the rest of the lives. You just dont do it.
> 
> Second option if you really going to give it a shot is the above post.


thanks for your reply
i will see if i can get a tamed one and refund these but i dont think i can 
is it that impossible TT^TT ...



Jenny10 said:


> I really think you will struggle to tame a adult pair, I bought a baby parent raised Tiel to try and tame, and I have to say it is not something I would attempt again when I can buy a nice hand raised one, he will sit on my hand but that is really because I clipped his wings so cant fly to far away, but if he had wings to fly far with he wouldn’t come near me, but he doesn’t bite me, although he did in the beginning, so I am making progress but it is very very slow and I don’t think he will ever be like my other two hand raised babies, I will keep trying with him, but I feel in the end I will probably end up using him as a breeding male rather than keep trying to make him be something he will never really be comfortable with.
> 
> I think having two doesn’t help either because they are friends with each other so dont need you for company, if you do attempt to tame them, I think you will need to clip their wings, but if you can you might be better of to return them, and at least get a baby cockatiel.
> 
> Jenny



thanks for your reply

So taming an adult is kind of impossible then ...thanks for sharing your experience about your bird... i think iwill just try to find a tamed one and wont bother trying to tame those and if i cant get a tamed one i will just enjoy looking at them ....>.<


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## Safwah (Mar 3, 2010)

Its not that its impossible, its just going to take alot of time and dedication to training to get them to the stage your happy with. They are always tamable but for a first timer we just dont think you know what your in for. 

If i was you i would at least find out if you can get a refund, and if you cant i would then take it upon myself to train the birds and give them a happy life.


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Some things you can do to help is to try and split them up, keep them in the same room, but just that they are not so cosy with each other, plus you don’t want them to breed, unless you want that.

You will need to clip the wings, and then once that is done leave them to settle down for a day and then start opening the cage door see if they are interested in coming out try feeding them a millet spray with you holding it, they will get used to you looking after them, Smudge will come out of his cage on his own, but because he is clipped he cant get back in on his own, so uses me and will hop on my hand on his own, but as soon as he is range of something he can fly to, to get of me he will, so it’s not coming natural to him to be with me, but I will keep trying and hopefully he will see I am nothing to worry about, what I did with smudge in the beginning and I recommend you to do, if they start coming out of their cage and their wings are clipped they wont be able to fly back to the cage so use a perch not you’re hand a adult could give a real good bite, get them used to hopping on the perch and moving them around that way, then when you feel the time is right see if they will hop on your hand to get back to the cage it’s a start, when you get to the stage they are on your hand, you can try and keep them there a little longer by avoiding getting to close to area’s they will try and make it to, try and sit down and give them millet, its not going to happen over night and I believe it can be done, but I am just saying I am finding it tough and kind of knew what I was in for, but don’t give up, we just thought if you could take them back it may have been a better option, I am guessing you are excited about your new birds and want to interact with them and cant really, so it will be frustrating, but you will have to have patience, you have them now so you have to do the best for them, if they are aviary birds they are likely to feel a lot better in a bigger cage, Smudge was aviary and when I had him in a quarantine cage he didn’t like it to small for him, was going mad in the cage, I had to cover the cage top, back both sides that did help and he calmed down, but as soon as I moved him to a bigger cage he liked it, he was singing the next day, just for comparison, when I bought my hand reared baby Coco I put her in the quarantine cage Smudge was previously in and she was perfectly fine in, I even think she quite liked the cage, so aviary birds are totally different in a way, remember they haven’t probably even seen the inside of a house, so everything is scary and new.

Jenny


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## Blooming.lady (Apr 27, 2010)

Safwah said:


> Its not that its impossible, its just going to take alot of time and dedication to training to get them to the stage your happy with. They are always tamable but for a first timer we just dont think you know what your in for.
> 
> If i was you i would at least find out if you can get a refund, and if you cant i would then take it upon myself to train the birds and give them a happy life.



ooo so then there is still a chance thanksss ... u no wut they ate from my hand todaaaaaaaaaaay both of them im rlllllllly happy >w< and they even sat on my hand i rlly cant believe so i think iwill just try and i know i wont tame them as if a breeder would do i think its still ok


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## Blooming.lady (Apr 27, 2010)

Jenny10 said:


> Some things you can do to help is to try and split them up, keep them in the same room, but just that they are not so cosy with each other, plus you don’t want them to breed, unless you want that.
> 
> You will need to clip the wings, and then once that is done leave them to settle down for a day and then start opening the cage door see if they are interested in coming out try feeding them a millet spray with you holding it, they will get used to you looking after them, Smudge will come out of his cage on his own, but because he is clipped he cant get back in on his own, so uses me and will hop on my hand on his own, but as soon as he is range of something he can fly to, to get of me he will, so it’s not coming natural to him to be with me, but I will keep trying and hopefully he will see I am nothing to worry about, what I did with smudge in the beginning and I recommend you to do, if they start coming out of their cage and their wings are clipped they wont be able to fly back to the cage so use a perch not you’re hand a adult could give a real good bite, get them used to hopping on the perch and moving them around that way, then when you feel the time is right see if they will hop on your hand to get back to the cage it’s a start, when you get to the stage they are on your hand, you can try and keep them there a little longer by avoiding getting to close to area’s they will try and make it to, try and sit down and give them millet, its not going to happen over night and I believe it can be done, but I am just saying I am finding it tough and kind of knew what I was in for, but don’t give up, we just thought if you could take them back it may have been a better option, I am guessing you are excited about your new birds and want to interact with them and cant really, so it will be frustrating, but you will have to have patience, you have them now so you have to do the best for them, if they are aviary birds they are likely to feel a lot better in a bigger cage, Smudge was aviary and when I had him in a quarantine cage he didn’t like it to small for him, was going mad in the cage, I had to cover the cage top, back both sides that did help and he calmed down, but as soon as I moved him to a bigger cage he liked it, he was singing the next day, just for comparison, when I bought my hand reared baby Coco I put her in the quarantine cage Smudge was previously in and she was perfectly fine in, I even think she quite liked the cage, so aviary birds are totally different in a way, remember they haven’t probably even seen the inside of a house, so everything is scary and new.
> 
> Jenny


Oh thanks alot for your advice 
you went through the trouble of writting rlly thanks 
well i think iwill try after they both ate from my hand Lol
so then iwill get another cage for them. but i was planning to get a bigger one and put them both in wut would happen if i get another big one and keep one of them in this small cage? 
and their wings arent clipped either -.- but wont they get hurt if some1 clip it for them plus they might be sad if they cant fly ( even though i never got them out of the cage).
but when they sleep they are always next to each other so if separate them wont they get upset? and they look cute when they r playing LOL 
thats amazing how ur patient with your bird  i will try too then.
sorry for asking so much -_-


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## Siobhan (Mar 21, 2010)

You have to earn a bird's trust. They're not like dogs who love you just because you're there. Birds make you work for it. My tiel was hand fed and I still had to spend a couple of days convincing him that I wouldn't eat him.  So you've got your work cut out for you, but it'll be twice as rewarding when they start wanting to snuggle with you.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I would see if you could get them clipped from where you got them. It would be safer incase they fly out of the cage and into a wall or window well getting use to your home. I would get them a bigger cage aswell, hq flight cages are a nice size 
Here is a video about taming your tiels aswell http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazines/bird-talk/2009-june/taming-of-tiel.aspx It might take a long time but if you keep at it and don't push them, Iam sure you will make progress


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hi,

Clipping wings, you don’t have to take total flight away, you can choose to leave them able to fly but unable to gain lift (the more feathers you take the less they can fly), which means they can still fly around your home but they cant get on top of high place where you are unable to get to them, plus they will tire quicker because they will have to work harder to maintain that flight. Although I do think if your birds are eating from your hand already they must have had some human contact, which is great for you.

Cages, if you want to leave one in the smaller cage that is ok, provided the smaller cage as enough room for the bird to be able to flap comfortably within the cage, or just what I am thinking, could you rotate the birds around weekly, so that one week one bird is the small cage the next week he is in the big one, if both birds are used to both cages it shouldn’t be a problem, also they will be fine in separate cages, just stand the cages next to each other on the same area and they really wont worry to much they will still be able to communicate with each other without getting to cosy.

However if you are making progress as they are, you may want to just leave them be and see how you get on, by all means get them a bigger cage.

Good luck and let us know how you go.


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## Blooming.lady (Apr 27, 2010)

xxxSpikexxx said:


> I would see if you could get them clipped from where you got them. It would be safer incase they fly out of the cage and into a wall or window well getting use to your home. I would get them a bigger cage aswell, hq flight cages are a nice size
> Here is a video about taming your tiels aswell http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazines/bird-talk/2009-june/taming-of-tiel.aspx It might take a long time but if you keep at it and don't push them, Iam sure you will make progress


thnx 4 ur reply
oh thanks for the video its really good 
i will try to get a bigger cage then :>


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## Blooming.lady (Apr 27, 2010)

Jenny10 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Clipping wings, you don’t have to take total flight away, you can choose to leave them able to fly but unable to gain lift (the more feathers you take the less they can fly), which means they can still fly around your home but they cant get on top of high place where you are unable to get to them, plus they will tire quicker because they will have to work harder to maintain that flight. Although I do think if your birds are eating from your hand already they must have had some human contact, which is great for you.
> 
> ...


thanks for ur advice 
i will try to clip it as u said then as soon as possible 
and i will think abt having them in same or separate cage too


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## Blooming.lady (Apr 27, 2010)

Siobhan said:


> You have to earn a bird's trust. They're not like dogs who love you just because you're there. Birds make you work for it. My tiel was hand fed and I still had to spend a couple of days convincing him that I wouldn't eat him.  So you've got your work cut out for you, but it'll be twice as rewarding when they start wanting to snuggle with you.


oh i see 
thanks for u advice


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## Nighthawk82 (Apr 13, 2010)

It's not all bad I had my Charlie come to us on his own, just flew into our driveway and seemed like he was no one's as no one claimed him, after a while (and clipping his wings) he started to settle and now (yes i do grab him but he seems ok with it) i grab him from the cage and put him on my shoulder and he's all good and now that i leave the cage door open Charlie and our female daisy (daisy came from a breeder and an aviary) and they are all good just need to watch daisy's mouth that she doesn't latch on to my fingers  but all the best and good luck with your decision and let us know how you go.


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## dianaxgalvez (May 3, 2010)

Hi, I didn't read all the post above ( only read the 2nd post & 3rd post ), but I say you should give it a try, Don't give up on them, I got my first two tails from a pet shop, and they were very SCARED, they wouldn't move, they wouldn't eat, they were frightened !!!
I left them alone the first two days, but I got worried because I saw that they were really starving themselves, so I started trying to hand-feed one of them and I gained her trust ( Donatella )... The other one, is always been less friendly because he was missing half his wing, but after a month and a half of having them, THEY ARE REALLY COOL & FRIENDLY .... he still lacks some confidence and gets scared easily but he'll come on my hand now and he won't ever try to bite me . . . I give them Millet as a treat once a week...
I have 5 cockatiels now, and each of them has a very different personality and one might come to your hand right away and another one will make it harder on you and it'll be a process till it comes on your hand... Give them time, space and leave them alone when they're showing you that its been enough handling ... find out what they love the most as treats and put it on your hand when you want them to come to you. ( popcorn works great )

Greet them in the morning, and talk softly to them, whistle too and make them feel loved... Some people are shy to talk to birds at first, but its amazing when they start repeating what your saying, and not only that, but they get to know your voice really well... & they start to trust you ...

Please don't give up on your birds !!!


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