# Need HELP with Tiki2's attitude - LONG Posting



## Barbara913 (Sep 4, 2013)

I think I may have encouraged a bad attitude in Tiki2. In the mornings I uncover him while calmly talking to him. Then I take his water and seed dishes out while he is stretching and waking up. I take him out of his cage by holding my finger to his perch and saying "step up" - which he does without a problem ever. I taught him that little command the first day I got him. I can hold him on my finger and talk to him and do the step-up-walk I saw on youtube.com. He never bites or does anything that makes me think he isn't happy doing this. Then I put him on the back of my computer chair. I tell him to "step down" and he does. 

This is where I wonder if I have created a monster. I started the day I moved him in here. I take some seeds out of his "Second Helping Treats" and put them one at a time in a row across the top of the chair back. I talk to him as I'm doing this and many times I have held a seed between my fingers and he takes it out without biting me or getting cranky at all. I also could put them in my hand and he would take them out without biting.

So, I thot I should start training him so that I could touch him and hold him and do things like petting him and all the wonderful things I read about in here. When I got him, he was hand tamed. The breeder could touch him and when she was here to trim his nails, she was rubbing his head and doing lots of touchy things with him. That was back in October. 

This is when the trouble started: I followed a youtube link I got somewhere here in TC about training/taming your tiel. It is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTiYpobrG8Q. So, I ignored the "clicker training" words and watched it. (There was no clicker - it's a "getting trust" lesson). In this she is using her finger to get her tiel used to her. I watched this video a few times before I tried it with Tiki2. I used the millet as she shows b/c Tiki2 loves that stuff. I was doing this every morning with Tiki2 for just over a week. When he started getting nasty, I would stop and walk away from the chair for a minute - come back to him and try again. Well, he has become worse every few days!! Now, I can't do anything but "step up" & "step down" with him. In his cage or out, he is just plain nasty if you try any type of taming. He bites and for the first time he bites hard!

Please help me! I don't know if giving him the treats on the chair, day after day, was a bad idea. When I decided not to do that treats-on-the-chair thing anymore and to just do the finger trust/taming with him, he became nasty. I did try using those special treats (instead of the millet) to do the taming but it didn't work either. 

I am so sad and thinking that it is my fault he is like this.


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## Peaches&Me (Oct 30, 2013)

Awwww I can't comment on what's gone wrong because I wasn't there to witness it but please don't blame youself maybe things just moved a little too quickly for Tiki2 to cope with.
The only comment I would make is watching your enclosed YouTube link I noticed the lady was approaching her bird with a pointed finger, many birds don't like fingers pointed at them & sometimes this could be a reason for them biting, I find a flat hand works better 
If I were you I would take a break from training, give both you & Tiki2 time to rebuild trust in each other & just enjoy each other's company again  talk to him & spend time with him  If he's happy to step up then approach him with a flat hand, try hand feeding his millet & other fav treats without expecting him to work for it, just to take it from you & gain his trust so he's happy & comfortable being with you  It takes time & patience, work at his pace & you will get there  Once he's happy stepping up & taking his treats etc again then you can start to think about working towards giving scritches, although to be honest birds are just like us humans, they all like & dislike different things, which means not all birds will let you give them scritches.

Good luck, I hope things get back to normal quickly for you.


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## Barbara913 (Sep 4, 2013)

*Thank you*

*Peaches&Me: *Thanks tons for the good info! I did wonder about the way that woman points her finger at the tiel but got the link from this forum so I trusted it. Guess I best ask next time before I trust any of the links provided in here b/c they might not be the best ideas. Not meaning anything negative by that - just what worked for someone else might not work for others and if you are a newbie to tiel care like me, it's best to get more opinions. 

Tiki2 does do good with my flat hand and esp when there are treats to get from it.  He steps up and steps down on my fingers without any bites at all so that part is good. I will just open his cage doors every morn and let him come out when he wants. Except those days when I need to clean his cage and then I put him in the other cage we have. It's a big one too but not good enough for him to be in full time. 

I liked the idea I saw about reading to your tiel. I am going to start that today, too. It's a good way for me to get my reading done faster. 

I will post back when Tiki2 is being friendly again. I am sure he will and fairly soon. He does love hanging with me - sitting on my shoulder, preening my hair while I am on the computer. Patience is one of my strong points so I am confidant that we will be fine - like you said. Just needed to hear it from someone, I guess. Thanks!


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

good idea about the flat hand. Maybe this will discourage the nipping that my birds do sometimes.


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## Barbara913 (Sep 4, 2013)

*Happy happy news*

I said I'd post back when Tiki2 started to be friendly again and he has been getting better since the first wk and then even better for about the past week or so. He is not completely OK yet but he is doing so much better. At first, I tried the open hand way with him, like you suggested Peaches&Me, but he won't step up on my open hand. Even if I try that while he is still in his cage. He only steps up (and down) from my fingers. 

BUT that's not bad news!! Right from that 1st wk after starting this thread, I stopped putting the seeds on the back of the puter chair. Instead, after putting him on the chair, like always, I put 3-4 seeds on my flat hand (not on the chair) and he takes them with no hesitation at all!! No nastiness - no biting at my hand or my fingers!! 

Now, this past week has been awesome! He not only picks up a seed, he uses my flat hand to break and open some of the seeds! And, he comes over to where I've moved my hand to look for more new ones. If there isn't a new seed (or a few new ones), he lets out a little sound and starts rubbing on the side of my flat hand like he wants it to get up and get more. LOL Yes, I get him some more.

It will be so nice when I can put his veggies/fruits tray in the bars of his cage without him biting my sleeve or my hand while I am trying to get the clips in! Once it is on safely, I fill it with whatever I've prepared for him. I've tried taking it away and leaving it for a few mins before trying again but that didn't change anything. I hate to admit this but I have to take him out, put him on the back of the puter chair or down on his gym floor, then get it clipped on the cage before putting him back in to eat. Hopefully, I will get something figured out soon.


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