[Poly]

Hey everyone,

I hope someone is able to help me with some advice on my cockatiel, although I'm prepared for the worst!

My wife bought me a cockatiel about 2 years ago from a pet store near Manchester after I had spent a couple of months researching different birds and consulting a friend at work who has kept cockatiels for 30+ years.

I had read that the initial bond between you and your cockatiel is essential in building trust, so everyday for a week after I got him I would sit beside the cage and whistle to him, or otherwise just have the cage near me at all times.
After a couple of months of doing this I began the next step of trying to "pet" him, but he was still very timid and would move away, often hissing.
I eventually got close enough to him to be able to read the code on his ring and it turns out he was hatched in 2013 (so already 3 years old at the time) in Belgium.
After a bit more research I discovered that it is incredibly difficult to bond with a cockatiel of this age - unless it has come from a home before.
It seems that my cockatiel had been in the pet store for almost his entire life!
Nevertheless I persisted with trying to bond with him to no avail. I even upgraded the cage and made DIY perches around the house (to my wifes annoyance).
After a year he was still as timid :frown:

At this point I had pretty much given up hope of ever getting that special bond with him that is so common between cockatiels and their owners (sitting on shoulder, being generally playful etc). But I didn't want him to be completely isolated for the rest of his life so I bought a female and put her in the cage too.
We were told that she was approximately 6 months old when we bought her.
After some initial displays of aggression towards the female they eventually got on and regularly sit beside each other on the perch.

I've been letting them get on with it for about a year now and I'm quite happy with the setup, however I do still long for that playful relationship that many of you have with your own cockatiels.

The most common questions I get asked when people discover I have cockatiels are 1. Do they talk? 2. Do they sit on your shoulder? and 3. Do they whistle tunes?

To which the answers are no, no and no.

Is it too late to bond with my tiels or is their some hope yet?
Also, does anyone have any experience with bonding with older tiels?

Thanks guys! (sorry the post was so long)

ied::wf pied:

 

[Fran.bath89]

It’s such a shame he spent so much time in that pet store which is why he was so grumpy. It is still possible to tame them both but it will take a very long time and it will be even harder because you have two. When people buy babies from me I also advise them to have one to start with them once they have fully bonded then get a second other wise they decide the prefer company from their own kind rather than you. Either way your birds sound pretty happy and are probably still a pleasure just to watch

 

[Mahmoudm.k]

If the female is timid , you would get here out of the cage and play with her,

If the male cockatiel whistle
You are on the right page
Do this for couple of days.
So the next step you would need to close the light and bring both out of cage
With a towel or with hand,
When the male is out but your hand on his chest so he can feel your energy (best to stay calm) and but it above is beak after doing this you would need to open the light ,and try your best to move slowly

Disclaimer--
Don't clip his wings (this will make him more aggressive and frightened)
What I usually do is but thin non-toxic plastic tape around 5-7 feathers from the flight feathers .

Wishing for the best

 

[Mahmoudm.k]

A good Idea is have nesting box so both can have babies and you could tame the babies (make sure your in warm to good atmosphere)

If the male enters the nest box that good and will

If they don't mate or male doesn't check the box
Then what you can do sperate them so they feel interested in each other (hard to get😘)

By buying another cage

If they still not interested
You could do this tricks part is to rub them against each other (so the female and male feel like she is ready to mate)
((Breeder do these , put it feels like animals abuse to me))
Disclaimer--

Male best be 12 months old
Female best be 18 months old

This is the best age for mating and reproduction

 

[Poly]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions guys. I will take the advice on board and let you know what happens.

Yes, they are very happy and have a good life (large cage, free to fly around house, various perches around house, varied diet etc).

I will definitely try the nesting box though.