Hei everyone!
Another typical problem for a newbie like me. I really wanted a pet bird and after some research, my gf bought me a cockatiel since everyone says they are very friendly and social and a good bird for someone with little to no experience.
She got it from a petshop, I don't think he was ever hand fed. Very quiet and still the first days, he suddenly started acted very scared once in a while , flapping his wings and hitting the cage walls while screaming over and over again. I was really scared too, didn't know what to do, and finally after some research I got him a bigger cage and this behavior stopped. He got out of his cage a couple of times ( i left the door open), just flew around hitting some walls and then sitting on the floor and not moving or anything for HOURS. I had to take him with a towel and put him back.
I started working with him like i read online, talking to him, getting him used to my hand - and in less than a month he was eating from my hand, and in less then two he was stepping up on my finger. I was delighted.
But since then, I took of the cage top and just allow him to exit and explore, thinking that this would do him good and he would begin to trust me more. But his attitude changed all of a sudden. He never goes out on his own, even though he can fly whenever he wants. Just sits on his perch , struts around , doesn't want to perch on my finger when I come next to him, and every day he seems to be hissing more and more at me, even when I'm meters away. I can sometimes get him to step up when i feed him millet, but when i take the food away he just becomes scared and jumps back onto his perch.
I would accept a status quo for awhile , but I really feel this is regressing and I don't know what to do. I am really friendly around him and try to make him trust me, but it seems to be going backwards.
Can anyone advice me? I would really appreciate any advice. Is it just time he needs (even though time has a negative effect for the last 2 months)?
THANKS!
Another typical problem for a newbie like me. I really wanted a pet bird and after some research, my gf bought me a cockatiel since everyone says they are very friendly and social and a good bird for someone with little to no experience.
She got it from a petshop, I don't think he was ever hand fed. Very quiet and still the first days, he suddenly started acted very scared once in a while , flapping his wings and hitting the cage walls while screaming over and over again. I was really scared too, didn't know what to do, and finally after some research I got him a bigger cage and this behavior stopped. He got out of his cage a couple of times ( i left the door open), just flew around hitting some walls and then sitting on the floor and not moving or anything for HOURS. I had to take him with a towel and put him back.
I started working with him like i read online, talking to him, getting him used to my hand - and in less than a month he was eating from my hand, and in less then two he was stepping up on my finger. I was delighted.
But since then, I took of the cage top and just allow him to exit and explore, thinking that this would do him good and he would begin to trust me more. But his attitude changed all of a sudden. He never goes out on his own, even though he can fly whenever he wants. Just sits on his perch , struts around , doesn't want to perch on my finger when I come next to him, and every day he seems to be hissing more and more at me, even when I'm meters away. I can sometimes get him to step up when i feed him millet, but when i take the food away he just becomes scared and jumps back onto his perch.
I would accept a status quo for awhile , but I really feel this is regressing and I don't know what to do. I am really friendly around him and try to make him trust me, but it seems to be going backwards.
Can anyone advice me? I would really appreciate any advice. Is it just time he needs (even though time has a negative effect for the last 2 months)?
THANKS!
