# Doesn't like anyone but mum



## LagomorphLover (Nov 30, 2010)

I just moved in with my fiance and his mum who has a 5 year old cockatiel named Tweeter. I love birds but have never had one before so was really excited about living in a house with a bird.

The cockatiel however doesn't let anyone even come near her other than my fiance's mum. Apparently she was abused by children when she was little, and after that my fiance's sister had her but neglected her a lot and also yelled at her a lot and never let her out of the cage. It was only this summer that my mother in law got her, and she bonded really closely with my mother in law. She's always sitting on her head when she's hoovering and doing the dishes. But when anyone else even gets close to her cage, she goes berserk and starts screeching. Her cage is in the dining area so I'm in there quite a bit, and every morning when I have breakfast I sit in the chair closest to her cage and talk to her and tell her what a good bird she is. I've been doing this for a little over a month now, but there's still no real improvement and she still won't let me get any closer to her cage, let alone try to pet her. I've tried hand feeding her but she won't take anything from my hand. Even if I put some of her favourite food into her food bowl in her cage, she won't touch it.

Anyway I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions about what I should try- or if she's just going to be a one person bird?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

im thinking she will only bond to one person... shes had a rough past, poor girl... you could keep making a effort, it couldnt hurt. who knows, she may surprise you. 

btw, your username.... lagomorph.... those are rabbits right? i like rabbits too, so does another member on here... shes got lots.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Keep up what you're doing, especially talking to her. My dad was the only one who talked to my sister's bird for about ten months (my sister was scared of him so he was never let out) and once I got there and got him out, he loved my dad. It may just take more time because of how hard a past she's had.


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## LagomorphLover (Nov 30, 2010)

Thanks everyone, yup Dally I love rabbits, our house is pretty much taken over by our two rabbits at the moment, the cheeky devils.

My dad came to visit us a few weeks ago, and Tweeter absolutely loved him from the start. We were all sitting at the table and she was hanging from the bars of her cage upside down and spreading out her wings to get his attention. He was able to pick her up and pet her and everything only five minutes after he came into the house! Meanwhile I've been here for over a month and still she won't let me near her. My mother in law thinks that it's because she was abused by children in the past, so she's scared of people with small hands. Both my fiance and I have really small hands, so maybe she thinks we're kids?

She did have a really hard past, she stayed with my fiance's sister for over 3 years and his sister never took her out and always yelled at her for chirping. She would put a blanket over her cage at 5:00 at night and leave it on until 12 in the afternoon!

Is it usual for cockatiels to only bond to one person?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

kind of. my tsuka changed loyalties though. he would always bite me and all but never my boyfriend but since i was always the one giving him attention, he now likes me best and only runs to me for scritches...


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