# My tiel won't let me touch him



## Encha

Hi there, I've finally managed to make my precoius boy Febo step on my... me. He doesn't really steps on my finger, but he really loves to climb on my shoulder, arm or head. Everytime I'm around he likes flying on my shoulder and just staying there while I'm at my desk studying. The problem is that he is still afraid of fingers, so he hiss and try to bite my hand if I try to pet him. What should I do to make him let me touch him? 
I know he would love to be petted, because he quite often "pet himself" rubbing his head against furniture. Once he also did so against my jaw, then he may have realized it was me and stared to bite. Thanks!


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## Khulood

I'm still on that same boat with my cockatiel, Peeve. I've had him 6 months now, and he still refuses to let me pet him. He loves me and loves to be on me, but doesn't want me to scratch his head or any part of him. The most he lets me do is kiss his belly or beak. 

Some birds just don't like to be touched :\ welcome to the club, haha. 

As for finger training, maybe try resting your finger by him while he sits on your shoulder. Once he doesn't flinch or move, try wiggling it (not towards him though). Once he's comfortable with that, try pushing it to him. 

Peeve also doesn't like it when I take him off my shoulders, and he may open his beak, but I just go so fast he has no choice but to step off. That being said, though, I think he's just being stubborn. He's fully finger tamed.


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## frozengirl

Have you tried training the bird before? Some birds are fearful of hands due to past experiences or lack of handling while younger, so you can slowly work up to beak touching and maybe cheek touching, hand desentization in time with training, patience, and working at your birds pace. My bird did not like her wings touched, but I slowly exposed her to quick touch on the wing for a treat, eventually m she allowed me to move her wings outwards from her body, which I then transitioned to a trick of showing wings on command. If the bird doesn't mind it he might find out he likes it, it can be an idea to consider.


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## DivaMamaBird

My male cockatiel use to like me giving him head scratches I would call to him with my finger bent and he would come to the cage bending his head, that was until I started introducing him to other hens now he likes that instead of me. He will usually try and bite my finger now if I try and get him to step on my finger inside his cage, now at 16 years old I use a training perch that I put inside the cage first and tell him up up, and he steps on the wooden perch. The training perch helps out a lot because I can get him to step on my finger doing this now without a problem and use it only for this purpose when still teaching him to step up without biting it is working. As far as me petting him on the head, I usually wrap him up with a cloth, mostly to prevent him from biting me and put him close to my chest and give him head scratches that way until he closes his eyes, just to let him know I still love him. This may work. Cockatiels I find still need reminding sometimes their humans love them.


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## frozengirl

If your tiel is afraid of hands, I would probably skip the towelling or forcing for emergency e situations only. The idea is to get the bird to want to like interactions by showing him here's nothing to be afraid of in small doses, without making your bird uncomfortable


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## roxy culver

> As far as me petting him on the head, I usually wrap him up with a cloth, mostly to prevent him from biting me and put him close to my chest and give him head scratches that way until he closes his eyes, just to let him know I still love him. This may work.


This is actually making your situation worse. And if he got this way because you gave him girl tiels, he's hormonal. Hormones can make male tiels act like huge jerks. Hormone control will help calm him down and probably bring your cuddly boy back. Forcing him to accept scratches is actually hurting any trust you have built up with him.


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## DivaMamaBird

I understand, wrapping him is not a often thing mostly just do it when it is time for wing clipping or clipping toe nails. I give him head scratches at the end that's the only time. If he wants to deal with me he lets me know by his whistles, I leave the head scratches to the hen now. When he wants me to back off I do, I love him to much to break the trust. Thank you for the feedback.


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