# Help- silent cockatiels



## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

Greetings everyone, 
This is my first post to this forum and i have just bought those two cockatiels yesterday, a male and a female..

they are young they are not old(about 12-14 weeks).. but for some reason they are both silent and i got them from a petshop..

i wanna know what am i supposed to do for them to calm down and trust me ...
they have been here for at least 12 hours and they haven't yet eaten a bite or drank a bit of water eventhough at night i covered the cage to give them some calm environment..

"Note:- i got them so that i could train them and get them to be super friendly with me, so that i can hand feed them and teach them to trust humans" ..

well i have seen how the man got them out of the cage by catching them with his bare hands and putting them into another cage it seemed like aggression and they were frightened till now .. what shall i do.. and do i have to separate them in order to have a chance training each one of them on its own rather than them getting used to each other over me?

please i need all tips and advices on how to handle them and how to teach them to trust me.. thank you


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## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

Well they are really scared right now. They need time to adjust and get used to their surroundings. Let them stay in their cage for a few days without too much interruption and whenever you walk by the cage talk to them softly and let them know that you’re not going to touch them by grabbing them out of the cage. This can be a long process it just depends on the tiel. I got my tiel from a pet shop and she was already really friendly but I did notice that she was not 100% comfortable until about 2 months or so. I would wait on handling them for a few days and then see how they respond to you after that. and if they are still really scared they are some get siggies about how to tame and train your tiels on this website just look under the training and taming section.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

well i separated them from each other one in each cage so that they won't get used to each other more than me.. but the thing is ..
they keep staring at me all the time and they are too silent.. they don't eat or drink.. i think that the pet shop keeper treated them like shi* and never respected their will.. what should i do i placed them some yellow apple pieces along side the seeds and their main food but they never approached it 

I wanna know if the problem is me or is that natural..


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I think your cockatiels still need more time to settle in. Just try to sit with them and talk quietly to them until they get more used to you and their new home. Also, here is a thread on if new cockatiels, not eating: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27080 that might be helpful. Just watch to make sure that they do start eating and don't regress.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I don't think I would separate them. I think it's more traumatic to them. Once they're more settled and you can take them out of the cage, you can work with them one on one. Just because they're together doesn't mean they can't bond with you.

Also, tiels aren't usually big fruit eaters to they might not eat the apple. Do you have millet?


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## smays810 (Dec 27, 2011)

It is common for them to be extra quite when they come to a new home. They are just really scared and if the shop keeper wasn't great with them they are probably even more scared. As for the staring do you stand there and stare back at them? This may be what is scaring them. They may see you as a predator, because in the wild predators will stalk they prey before attacking. Try blinking slowly at them and looking away often so they know you’re not a predator. you also have to give them more then 12 hours to adjust to you. For the food problem They may just be eating when you're not looking but I would wait to see if someone with more tiel experience has advice.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

hahaha the male cockatiel started approaching his food in his cage but whenever i look he stops and acts stupid  , but for the female she's phobic whenever i move she moves away .. i think i'm gonna have much hard time trying to train her than him.. and no i don't have millet i can't know where to buy it from the pet shops here sell the food that's placed in the cup but never millets, i wanted millets so that i would reward them for listening to me when i reach the training phase!


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## Fortunate (Oct 31, 2011)

My pet shop baby took ages to tame - she still backs off when i approach the cage but lets me handle her now. 
It took 3 days before i heard a peep out of any of mine (except the baby) good luck! 

oh cant help you with the millet but my guy adores pumpkin, if that helps


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

You could also use sunflower seeds, those can be a good treat! They wont make noise til they realize that the environment is safe for them, since its still early they don't know that yet. I also wouldn't separate them, only separate them during training time so you have their full attention. Otherwise they can still be together. And I don't think the shopkeeper did anything out of the ordinary, in pet shops they don't have time to be all cuddly with the babies, if they need to move them to clean a cage or something, they have to move them. Doesn't make the babies super friendly, but you can tame them up regardless. You can sit next to their cage and talk to them, it'll help them get used to you. Read to them if you can, that will help.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

oh but i already separated them in two different cages, yet the cages are in the same room, would that differ much? i just don't want them to get very used to each other just yet.. as i read on a website we should separate them in order not to get them to be bird-to-bird attached rather than human-bird attached .. 

can you guys tell me good treats that would make them like me that may be more available and easier to be fed for them?
i mean i tried apples in chuncks they didn't approach it, and millet here in egypt sounds rare.. 

I'm not sure where to find a good treat or what should it be..


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Roxy just recommended sunflower seeds. That's really the only other one I can think of right now...


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

but i won't be able to hand feed them that , i mean they don't trust me yet ..
how can i use those to build trust between men and the birdies?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> how can i use those to build trust between men and the birdies?


Same as you would with millet, you can shell them and hold them out for them to eat. You could drop them into their food cup as you walk by so they start to anticipate you coming by the cage. Patience is key.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

okay i agree then!
i'll check for those treats tomorrow morning, and i'll be as patient as possible ..
hopefully I'd reach a level of trust that i have been pursuing


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

This thread on food bribery will tell you how to use sunflower seeds (or some other treat) to help win their trust: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=28661


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## Saltgrass82 (May 15, 2012)

I would give them a few days, leave a radio on for them to listen to music... they will come around... give them time. 


I hope it helps you!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> I would give them a few days, leave a radio on for them to listen to music... they will come around... give them time.
> has alot of information reguarding cockatiels diets & health
> 
> I hope it helps you!


Its great that you want to help but we have plenty of our own info for people to browse through, we like to keep things in-house, not send people to other websites. If you look a previous posts by other members there are links to some of our amazing stickys on training.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

I agree but i have some questions, my cockatiels are now each in a cage, but they eat too little, they don't sing or whistle at all they do nothing but sleep on their plastic stand (like a T stand) .. and they drink water.. but they do nothing else..

is that normal? they eat too little amounts of food


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

You might not see them eating. What all are you feeding them?


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

seeds and that grey thing.. i donnu what you call it in english..
and i give it water, and sometimes lettuce next to its stand


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Offering different veggies might make them more inclined to eat. 
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27479 this sticky has lots of info on a healthy diet for tiels. http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=536 and this sticky has info on safe fruits and veggies you can feed although tiels aren't very inclined to eat fruits.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

Hey guys, there has been an update..
my female cockatiel in her cage has been less frightened when i approach the cage and now i can change her food cup, without her flying around the cage..

and i tried approaching her with my finger slowly, but i'm not sure how frequently should i be doing this?
yet i can't know where to buy millets..
i couldn't find those in the pet store and i am not sure where to buy em' really..

I have another question:- are sun flower seeds supposed to be a treat for the bird or are they normal food, because i have been feeding that to them with other type of little seeds


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

They can be either, sunflower seeds are a good source of Vit. E and I give them to mine daily. But if that's the only treat you have, because you can't find millet, then you can take them out of their daily food and only offer them as treats.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

do you remember any other sorts of treats that i can use?
like more available famous treats that are loved by cockatiels?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

My cockatiels love dried cantaloupe seeds, but they aren't available in stores. You have to buy the fresh fruit and dry the seeds yourself. Cantaloupe is apparently available in Egypt, see http://eg1002628914.trustpass.aliba...945/Egypt_Popular_Fresh_Melon_Cantaloupe.html 

If you do this, you'll need to put some dried seed with the regular food at first because your birds probably don't have previous experience with it and will need to learn to eat it. After they start eating it you can stop adding it to the regular food and start using it as a treat.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

yes i have alot of that, but tell me how do i dry the seeds?
i mean like do i just eat the fruit an take the seeds out in the sun until they're dry then place them on the cup "letting the bird see me place it" ? and then they would realise that this is a treat?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Yes that's pretty much how you do it...if they'll take it from your hand you can show them that its yummy to eat first.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> i mean like do i just eat the fruit an take the seeds out in the sun until they're dry then place them on the cup


Yes, that will work. You may need to do something to keep the wild birds from eating them while they're drying.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

LOOOL, but are they that delicious for cockatiels? are you sure they would be a good choice to feed them to my two lutino cockatiels?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> LOOOL, but are they that delicious for cockatiels? are you sure they would be a good choice to feed them to my two lutino cockatiels?


I'm not exactly sure what you're asking here. We have given you several ideas of treats to offer to your tiels that are available in your area. Try them and see if they like them.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> LOOOL, but are they that delicious for cockatiels? are you sure they would be a good choice to feed them to my two lutino cockatiels?


My cockatiels all love cantaloupe seeds (especially Shodu) and I've heard of other tiels that liked them too. I can't guarantee that your birds will feel the same way, but in general cantaloupe seeds seem to be pretty popular with cockatiels. Just remember that it may take some time for your tiels to learn to eat them, since most birds are cautious about eating new foods.


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

Cockatiels don't generally like fruit. Mine love peas, corn, broccoli, sprouts, leafy greens, and oat groats. They also love brown rice and whole wheat pastas. Just keep trying different things and you may find one they like


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

okay great, i'll try the cantaloupe seeds right after i get them dried!


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## Tango's Mommy (Apr 15, 2012)

If you have a Walmart there....they sell a bag of Millet


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

i have carrefour, spinney's, metro and other famous hyper markets do they sell?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Can't hurt to go look! We don't have those here so I don't know.


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## Valiantshady (May 21, 2012)

okay then great, i'll go do it


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