# She won't play



## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

I've had breeze for like four days... something like that. She is not tame and the cage I bought her from had no toys at all in it, it only had one perch and it was way too small and crowded.. I've given her a large cage with tons of toys and she won't play with any of them. And she barely perches. She sits on the grate at the bottom and stares at me all day. My question is can I do anything to help her learn to play with the toys? I tried rolling balls with bells in them toward her and picking bark off of her natural perches and ringing all the little bells. But she just hisses at me. I don't know what to do for her. I feel like she's miserable and bored. I spend prolly four hours a day with my hand in the cage just trying to get her used to me, which doesn't seem to be working. I just want her to be a happy tiel. And i know if I get her a friend to play with now than it will be impossible to tame her. Any suggestions?


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## nkeith2 (Feb 6, 2011)

Well, you usually don't see a large change in a bird for unless it is in a long period of time. If she never played with toys and never had seen any before, then it is safe to assume she is scared to death of them and doesn't know what to do with them. In a brand new environment with new people, cage, toys, and food, she is probably still adjusting to her surroundings. A lot of our birds used to do that same thing, sit on the bottom and just hiss at us whenever we tried to give them toys or play with them. Actually, Spot, our white-face pied, used to hate us and wouldn't come around us at all for months. Through that time though, we kept feeding him millet from our hands and kept trying to get him used to us being close to him. Now, he will step up on our hands and whistle to us showing his love for us.
In short (sorry I wrote so much), just give her some more time to adjust to her surroundings. It is great you are sticking your hand in there and trying to show her the toys in her cage. She will eventually get curious enough to check both you out and those strange toys too


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## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks. One other thing though... she won't eat millet. I put a little bit in her bowl and she doesn't eat it. She digs around for the seeds. I was hoping I could get her to eat the millet so she would like it enough to eat it out of my hand. But no luck.


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## nkeith2 (Feb 6, 2011)

O wow, she is a difficult one then. Spot, he went for the millet right away and loved it so that helped us out quite a bit. Hmm, well I would just experiment with different birdie safe foods until you find something that she likes a lot. Sorry I can't help too much though, hopefully someone who knows a lot more about training can give you better advice


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## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

you're helping. I think she might just need more time. but i wanna cuddle her now T.T


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## ClementinesCage (Apr 30, 2011)

I'm sure the bird needs to get used to the toys. My bird usually takes a week before she will play with toys, and some toys even longer.

Also, personally, I would keep your hand out of the cage until the bird has had time to REALLY feel safe in your home. Too much too fast will just make it worse.


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## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

She makes alot of noise if I don't pay attention to her. Otherwise I'd just be doing it fifteen minutes a day. But she starts pacing and calling for me. and if I just sit by the cage she doesn't shut up. So that's why I spend so much time with my hands in the cage.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Since she likes seeds so much, find out which ones are her favorites and start using that to try to get her to eat out of your hand.


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## Lulu The Tiel (Apr 11, 2011)

Then, maybe try putting them in different spots around the cage or something and see if she comes to it. 

Lulu likes finding her veggies in different slots between the cage bars.


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## geenz (Apr 4, 2011)

My birds were terrified of millet when I first offered it to them LOL  But yeah, keep at it, Jesse used to do the same thing when I first got her, as soon as anyone went near the cage she'd just start running back and forward along the floor of the cage, but i just kept trying and trying to hold her and touch her and eventually she'd let me catch her to sit with us outside the cage (she had her wing clipped at the pet store) and pretty much once she'd spent time with us out of her "safe place" she was ok, she's the biggest sook now, if you go near her she puts her head down for scratches and she loves cuddles from her mama and papa hehehe


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## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

Thankies all. I will keep trying. Unfortunately her favorite ones are the ones that come in wild bird seed. I mix other things in... but she climbs into the bowl and kicks everything but those little round seeds out and than eats them. Also she falls asleep in her bowl alot. It's cute but weird.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Jeep did that at first, sleeping in the seed bowl. He eventually grew out of it so she should too.


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## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

I took a picture... I just need to find my camera cord. grrr


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## geenz (Apr 4, 2011)

Mine kick their seed everywhere too! It's sooo annoying having to sweep everyday! But I can't bring myself to have them as outside birds, I just love em too much


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

They're just too cute to put outside ya know??


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## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

It snows here so even if I want her outside. Which I dont. She's so cute.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Is she at the bottom of the cage all the time, not perching at all? She might just be scared, but you might like to get her vet checked (if you haven't done so already) to make sure she is not unwell. I wouldn't like to think she is feeling under the weather which is contributing to her behaviour. Maybe just leave one or two toys in the cage (maybe the ones without bells) for her to play with. Don't over stimulate her at the moment, she's just getting used to you! It took Arnie a couple of months to start to become familiar with the concept of play. Now I can't give my fids enough toys! Don't worry I'm sure she'll come around once she settles in.


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## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

Belinda said:


> Is she at the bottom of the cage all the time, not perching at all? She might just be scared, but you might like to get her vet checked (if you haven't done so already) to make sure she is not unwell. I wouldn't like to think she is feeling under the weather which is contributing to her behaviour. Maybe just leave one or two toys in the cage (maybe the ones without bells) for her to play with. Don't over stimulate her at the moment, she's just getting used to you! It took Arnie a couple of months to start to become familiar with the concept of play. Now I can't give my fids enough toys! Don't worry I'm sure she'll come around once she settles in.


it was actually kinda weird. The first day she perched on the highest branch. But than she started sitting on the grate at the bottom. She'll lay in her food bowl and perch on the side of it. She'll also climb all over the inside of the cage. But for some reason she ignores her perches now. She eats healthy enough and moves around alot. Her eyes and nose are clear. She seems fine. She's just an odd little tiel.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

I would go back to the basics. All this change, unfamiliar toys etc are the problem. 

You saw how she was setup prior to bringing her home I would duplicate that until she becomes comfortable in her new home. Wait a week or two and have the large cage setup, excluding the toys. When you have her out you can leave the door open on the cage and have her visit it. Once she gets comfortable with the new cage, then put the smallest of the toys on the opposite side from where she perches and see how she reacts. Once she is comfortable with the toy in the cage you can move it closer to her, and put another toys in the location the first one was.

She will be more secure and trusting and affectionate with you once she becomes secure and accustioned to her new home and all the changes.


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## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

i haven't let her out. She's not tame at all. It would take catching her to get her back in and I think that will set us back alot. Also I don't have a small cage. I saw no point in getting one. But I can take the toys out of the big one.


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## sunshinebirdy (Apr 7, 2011)

It can take awhile for a bird to adjust to a new environment. Your bird might just be foraging when poking _around _the millet. Do you see any evidence that he is eating? He may just be nervous to eat with an audience. Also, it took quite awhile before my Tiel wouldn't completely freak out when I would pick him up (couple of months). He almost always makes a noise when I put my hand out to pick him up--at first he hissed a lot. The biggest thing I did that helped him to feel safe and not as threatened by me, was that I would open his cage, and not go to pick him up until he would come out to me. He often (still to this day) will come out of his cage, and when I go to him, he'll turn his back on me. Denied. I know...I feel a little rejected, but it happens almost everyday. I open his cage, he eventually comes out, and then he turns his back when I try to pick him up. BUT often the second time I come to him, he'll step up. To this day, if I push him to step up when he has turned his back, he will squawk and hiss. It may take a while to read your bird's body language, but that comes with time.

Often I'll just sit in a chair next to his cage and he's even happy with that. But if I'm eating something, whoa, he wants to eat it too. Such a little beggar 

Introduce new toys slowly. Not too many all at once, as that can be overwhelming for a bird who isn't used to them. My Tiel will seemingly ignore a new toy until I'm "not looking" and he will eventually start pecking at it. Though it can take a couple of days for him to get up the courage to go near the new toy.


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## Rainbow Tiel (Apr 29, 2011)

thanks for all the info. <3


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