Tiel' Training Question!

[Vikingchamp]

Hey everyone, im so glad to be back, but i still have a little bird problem. My tiel' slick is a great bird and is making good progress I suppose. Anyway when I walk up to his cage and wistle he will jump right up on the bars by my face. But when I even put my hand near his cage he will hiss and try to bite me. I really want him to be a companion bird, but i need help. Any suggestions?

[Monica]

Try handling him in a towel, stroking his back with your hand over the towel, covering both of you with a towel, and having him sit on your hand, or on your chest, taking him to a dim lit room, and letting him roam about or just having him sit on your finger or shoulder.

There is a bunch of advice in the Training Techniques and Cockatiel forums!

[Takoda]

I like to kidnap them and take them somewhere like the bathtub, where they can't get away. Generally they learn you aren't out to "get them" and they become more tame. Giving them a special treat they don't normally get right out of your hand works well too.

[Skyebirdsmom]

Originally Posted by Vikingchamp

Hey everyone, im so glad to be back, but i still have a little bird problem. My tiel' slick is a great bird and is making good progress I suppose. Anyway when I walk up to his cage and wistle he will jump right up on the bars by my face. But when I even put my hand near his cage he will hiss and try to bite me. I really want him to be a companion bird, but i need help. Any suggestions?

Clip his wings first, then do the birdnap to the bathroom for some nice one on one time. Its small and unescapeable be sweet, feed goodies, talk softly and in general, snuggle and love up to him. He'll come around. You need to do this several times a day too.
Linda & HRC~

[Vankarhi]

All of the above I have tried at different times. Basically I take the bird on a very regular basis and handle it gently. Let it sit on my shoulders etc and just let it get used to being with me. Some people prefer to take the longer (possibly the correct way) by sitting beside the cage and reading, eating, talking etc, so the bird gets used to them. I am reasonably impatient, I will wait a few days, but then I do "kidnap" the bird and handle it as often as possible. While handling at this stage I also teach to "step up" and take that opportunity to talk gently and show the bird that I am not going to hurt it. Within a few days to a week I normally can handle a bird without much problem. But hand raised birds are much easier to handle as long as they have been constantly handled.

[Vikingchamp]

When i take him out he immidatly flies away though, how do i prevent that?

[Monica]

Clip his wings. If he is still able to fly a good distance at a retainable heighth, clip a couple more feathers. After he is only able to glide down (not fall like a rock), you can try handling him. He might get angrier about not being able to fly, though if he wants to get around, he has to depend more on you, and so in this time can learn to trust you.

[Vankarhi]

CLIP him. He will not be able to fly away any more and his attitude will mellow!! I know this for a fact, plus I have seen many birds on this forum and others with similar problems and when they clipped their birds they all said withing a few days they had different birds. I have actually had problems with clipping cockatiels as no matter how short I clipped them, they always seem able to fly (that is how I lost quite a few of them, they seem to be able to get caught in wind currents). So still be very careful if taking him outside.

[Skyebirdsmom]

Originally Posted by Vikingchamp

When i take him out he immidatly flies away though, how do i prevent that?

I told you, clip him first.
Linda & HRC~

[Vikingchamp]

He is already clipped!!