[ali.iftikhar]

Hi, I bought an untamed 1 or 2 year old male cockatiel in March 2019. At first he used to scream a lot whenever he used to see birds outside our large window in the living room, but this got better gradually.

After about a month when he got settled in his cage, and screams were very less, I opened his cage so he can fly around in our living room. He took his time to come out, and then immediately flew around, in panic, bounced here and there, tried to go through the window, bounced at the glass, then ultimately settled on top of our book shelf.

Fast forward 6 months, the daily routine is something like this: he spends all day on the top of the book shelf where he has a perch as well to sit on, at around 6pm he flys back in his cage for food (as food is strictly in cage only), at that time we close the cage, and around 9pm move the cage in the bedroom with lights off. he sleeps throughout the night (i hope so, as there is no sound from him), and in the morning, we again bring the cage back to living room, and open the cage's door. he flys back to book shelf, sings throughout the day, sometimes fly around in a room, sometimes come down on floor, and then 6pm back in cage.

I think he is far from tamed, but the progress so far is that if I offer him sunflower seeds when he sitting on top of bookshelf he comes closer and takes from my hand, but this takes him about a minute to develop that confidence and come closer. This is a progress, as few months ago he would never let my hand even closer. However even now after taking seed from between my fingers sometimes he gets scared, starts hissing and biting back !!!

If I stand on a chair while he is on top of bookshelf, and bring my closed fist closer to bookshelf, where the arm is at the bookshelf celling level, he hops on to my arm. But as soon as he sees my fist open or sees my fingers he flys away or jumps back on top of book shelf.

That’s the progress in 6 months !!! which I think is really slow. He still never flys to me on his own, never sits on my hand … Is there something we are doing wrong?

Now I am thinking of getting another tamed female cockatiel that may help taming him? Is that a good idea? Or will it be dangerous for new tamed cockatiel to be around un tamed bird?

We really like him, but it’s frustrating that he is still so scared. Any suggestion is really welcome. Thanks.

 

[Giz & Godz]

I can't really say whether a female companion would help you to tame him quicker, as a lot of times, so called experts say to train one bird at a time & if you have more than one, make sure you do it separately.
I personally have 1 male & 1 female 15 week old babies & trust me, birds are just like humans. A lot will learn quickly & be great almost immediately & others will be slower. The one thing you need is a mass of patience.
My female would hiss & try and bite last week, but this week she is doing what your does & takes seeds from between my fingers. This is a huge step & I'm so proud of her, but it's also a very little step on the road to getting her fully tame to sit on my hand, fly to me etc...
The male has learnt things so much quicker & he's been on my thumb, fingers, hand & head, as well as taking food from my fingers, but he also gets jumpy at times too like you describe your bird.
Without another bird as company, he will look to you as his companion & maybe he's had scares in the past with open fists or fingers so you remind him of that even though it's some time ago.
Personally, I'd stick with him for now & if open fists make him unsettled, try opening one finger this week, two the next & so on until he is okay with it or , if you try a week & two fingers get him upset, go back to one for another week etc.... be patient above all else though. Give him time and hopefully he'll come around at some point & you'll have a lovely little pet

 

[Safia]

Not sure but I can tell u my case as I hand fed a girl and she’s tamed us all .... we got alpha a male friend for her totally wild.... after 4/5 months he’s around like her not as confident but he climbs on us sits on our shoulders and as my understanding is being with baby ( our female) sped up his process of becoming A part of our family....

 

[adelpks]

I would say if your cockatiel is coming near to you, you are making friends.Taming happens best for cockatiels in their early months after they fledge. The things they learn then will be a lot faster and stay with them longer. As your bird was untamed until 2 years, he will take a lot longer to learn the same things. I have been working with mine about 3 years old now for over a year and he still will only step on my hand to get a seed. We practice this every day, some days he does it really easily, others he bites me when my hand comes close. However since he was a baby I would put my face near the cage and he comes straight to me. It's only my hands that he dislikes.