[Chels124]

Hello everyone! I just bought my tiel yesterday evening. Since Gaga has been home I have noticed she is very clumsy. My dad has a Goffin cockatoo, but we got her later in her years, at like 5. So I have never had a young bird before.

Gaga has a hard time climbing around in her cage and has a very difficult time getting out of the cage onto the door that folds down and out like a drawbridge. She fumbles around a lot and won't hop onto things. Is this normal behavior for a 6 month old bird? If so, about how long will it take for her to become more stable?

Her cage is a good size, I'm not sure on the dimensions, but the people at the pet store said it was a good fit. This is also not a pet store like petsmart, the people at MVP (most valuable pets) are trained and know what is going on.
I figure that she is still developing her muscles and learning how well she can hop around etc. But I just wanted to make sure there is nothing wrong with Gaga.

 

[JaspersMomma]

Yes I believe it is normal. Jasper was very clumsy when I first got him, he couldn't keep his feathers. Now at 6 years old he has a beautiful set of feathers and doesn't fall often.

Jezebelle is still young, and is clumsy BUT her wings are clipped...She doesn't get around in Jasper's old cage like Jasper did, but she manages. She was actually bruised up when she was taken to the vet, so you have to be careful of that. It may be cute but they can hurt themselves from falling. Jezebelle's vet said that a combo of her being young and having her wings badly clipped is probably why she seems so clumsy.

In a few weeks though you should definitely get your new birdie looked at by a vet, and you can probably get new information from your vet.

 

[Chels124]

Yay, she's normal! They clipped her wings right before I took her home, so I think she is in the same situation as Jezebelle.
She's been kind of cranky, scratching her head on her body, and pulling at feathers more than normal. So I think she is about to go through her first molt because she is constantly cleaning and picking, but isn't pulling her feathers out of anything. I will take her to the vet when she gets less cranky. Thank you for the info.

 

[Chels124]

I also don't know if she is actually a she, but I am so Gaga is too haha.

 

[clawnz]

I agree tiels are well known to be clumsy when young. Even older ones can make mistakes.
Henry has strained a wing 3x times now, falling off the Gym and getting tangled in the lower branches. He is fully flighted.
Being clipped could be adding to his / her clumsyness. if it is trying to fly.

 

[Woodstock'sMom]

My bird was very clumsy when I first got her too.
I think it is part of them being young and trying to learn. She would stumble when walking, trying to climb, she's lose her balance, she could climb up but not down, she couldn't turn around on her perch....it was pitiful to watch. But as she got older, she really doesn't have that problem as much. Don't get me wrong, every now and then she still has her clumsy moments, but it's part of growing up.