# Bonding/taming a cagebound tiel



## Roodypoo (Sep 16, 2012)

I've had my Cockatiel for quite a few years. And throughout the first 3 I took him out a lot, we were pretty good friends! Sure he got a little nippy if i tried to pet his back but if I refrained from it I think we were good. Anyway as the months passed by and I started high school i distanced myself a lot from him. Rarely took him out of the cage, and that's the way it's been. Now that I'm starting out college I'm finding that I want to spend more time with him and get to the point to where he will scritch for me. He's been inside the cage for too long and I want to change it. You already know that he's very territorial and lunges at whoever comes too close. I don't want to violate his territory and reach into his cage when he doesn't want to. If anyone has any tips or advice on how to do this I would be eternally grateful because I don't really know how to go about and do this.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Hi there! 

First, tiels don't like to be petted on their backs. And if you pet a female on the back it may make her lay eggs because it feels like a mate is mounted on her back.

And for your training it is a good idea to start from first base, as if the 2 of you had never met before. Try some techniques in this thread and use some food bribery:
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=22073
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=28661


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## Roodypoo (Sep 16, 2012)

bjknight93 said:


> Hi there!
> 
> First, tiels don't like to be petted on their backs. And if you pet a female on the back it may make her lay eggs because it feels like a mate is mounted on her back.
> 
> ...


Cockatiels do not like their backs petted, got it. I'll sure to not do that at all. I've read and taken notes on the threads you linked me to, these all seem like good ideas! However one thing i'm reading that concerns me is putting treats in the food bowl. that would require me reaching into his cage and probably upsetting him in the process. I fear this will hinder the trust I'm working to earn.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

He may get upset at first when you reach into the cage, but if you do so slowly, talking to him the whole time, and let him get a good look at the treat before you place it in his food dish, then he will get used to this small violation. You've got to start _somewhere_, and after all you must already be reaching in there daily to change his food and water. I would also just start spending time by his cage talking and whistling softly to him, and sitting near him when you're going about your business (reading, doing stuff on your laptop, etc.). If he used to be tame then he may eventually remember the bond he had with you. Either way, you should be able to gain his trust and friendship back with a little patience. Good luck!


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## Bird Junky (Jul 24, 2012)

Hello See below an extract from my Bonding info 
I hope you will find it helpful It is based on years of
experience, with many hundreds of birds in a professional 
capacity... B.J. 

A FEAR OF HANDS

These birds panic & flutter frantically about in the cage at the mere sight of a hand entering their cage. Threatening to if not actually biting . The way I have tackled this little problem for the past 50yrs or so is to set up the cage with the basic seed mix or pellets, water, iodine block & cuttlebone. Both the water & seed containers are better if they are the tube type which can be refilled without opening the cage door. This will prevent further upset to already fearful bird or birds. The remaining foods such as, fruit/veg, hard boiled egg, millet spray etc. are to be provided in small portions as treat foods. 
These should be fed in small portions by you through the bars of the cage, with a pair of tweezers or chopsticks to protect your fingers. As the bird or birds get used to this, very gradually over the next few days, move your fingers up & closer to the treat food as you slowly build up a bond of trust between you & the bird or birds. If only one bird even looks like it's thinking of biting. Remove the treat food at once. Biting even at the tweezers or chop sticks gets NO treat. Count ten then re-offer the treat. Do this as many 
times as it takes.
Feed only one type of treat per visit. The smaller the treat food the more often the visits. This will show the birds that your arrival, means nice things to eat. Hard boiled egg should be sliced & fed a full slice per visit.
If your birds shy away remove the treat food immediately until they settle down & move your fingers further back up tweezers away from the food before you re-offer it. Expect a few set backs. Birds like people, have good & bad days. Don't be in a hurry, only when your birds are 100% happy to eat from your fingertips through the bars for several days, are they ready to move on to the next step in your training/taming program......B.J.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

You've got to go step by step. Master one step and move to the next. And be sure to go at the bird's pace. The idea behind putting treats into the cage when you walk by is that, although it scares them at first, they will eventually realize that your hand going into the cage is something positive since they are rewarded each time. This means that once you get to the point where you are trying to get him take a treat from your hand or trying to get him out of the cage on your finger he won't be so scared because he'll know that your hand inside his cage has always given him a positive reward in the past.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> However one thing i'm reading that concerns me is putting treats in the food bowl.


If you use small treats like a sunflower seed or a clump of millet spray, you should be able to pass it through the cage bars so it drops into the seed cup. No hands in the cage required. If your cage is arranged in a way that makes this impossible, you may be able to figure out an alternative method that delivers the treat without scaring the bird.


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## Roodypoo (Sep 16, 2012)

Thank you all for your advice, I already see some improvement. One thing I want to address is that I have a dog, when I read the rules I noted that it is prohibited to put pictures of birds with predatory animals. Should i be concerned?


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## Payton Leeroy (Sep 10, 2012)

You need to know your dog VERY well to decide that. For instance, I'm honestly more worried about Little Dragon trying to attack my dog than my dog trying to attack Little Dragon. He's always been exceptionally gentle with my other pets, and even acts a little afraid of them. Little Dragon even accidentally chased my dog away from his food. LD was on the ground exploring the house, and he got close to my dog who was eating and my dog backed away. Yes, I was very close by and ready to grab/yell if my dog was going to try anything, but I'd already suspected that the worst he would do is give a warning growl. However, my friend's dog has a VERY high prey drive, and has even bitten one of the other dogs in their house because she got too excited. LD will NEVER meet that dog.

Honestly, I would just avoid letting them interact with each other unless you've spent a lot of time training and working with dogs, especially your dog, so that you know how to read them and can predict your dog individually. Even then, there is always a risk that your dog will suddenly surprise you, which can end in your bird's death. It's a risk you need to be aware of and ready to deal with.


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## Roodypoo (Sep 16, 2012)

I see, yeah there's always a risk of that considering how, no matter how domestic, animals are..well animals.


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