New Birds Inherited/New w/birds/birds are mean

[DebbieRay]

:shock: I have inherited two grey cockateils. They are mean and bite. I really like them and think I could bond w/them but, I'm sooo dissapointed that they are mean and bite. I do not know how many homes they have had or how old they are( I think they are at least a year old) . I do not know how to handle them. I have tried the wooden spoon, and my finger. One of them the male? will sometimes step up and then sometimes just wants to bite. The female is really mean. She will not come out of her cage at all and do not think about even coming close to touching her. She hisses and bites. The bird came from my step sons Mother who has lots of birds. He recently lost his hamster, The next thing I know He's bringing home these birds from his mom's. We have a limited experience with birds. I wonder if she sent her two meanest birds here to live. If so, that's OK., I just do not know how to deal w/Angry birds. I do not know how to make them trust us. Will they every trust us? Am I wasting my time? I want to be patient, if it will matter. I guesse I need to hear success stories.
I am so dissapointed in their behavior that I plan on getting a baby (3 mo. old) cinnamon Cockatiel in the morning. One I can train and will love me and one I can love back. I do not want to give up on the two I already have; Please tell me how I can bond w/the two we have now. I have two children who really want to love the two new birds we have now.. But they are also scared of them. Please help, I do not want to be hopeless! Debbie Ray :? [/quote]

[smallonion]

How long have you had these tiels? Many birds that you bring into a new home are going to be completely scared at first, maybe for a few weeks or months. . Your cockatiels are not mean - they are terrified. They are not tame, but they can become tame. There is only one remedy: patience and time. You are trying to walk before you crawl. My bird, for instance, was a about a year old when I got him - untame and completely terrified. It took a few months of talking to him gently and letting him get used to me and our surroundings. The first thing I taught him was to take a treat from my hand. You could try that - what do they like to eat the most? Offer it from your hand. After the tiels get settled in, you can start slowwwwly with step up training. But don't expect it all at once. These birds are not tame and their whole world has been turned upside down. If you work at it, you can probably tame them. But it won't happen overnight!
Here are some links to read:

http://www.netpets.com/birds/reference/lafeber/

and

http://www.budgies-n-tiels.com

Best of luck!
Michele and Humphrey

[LMPego]

Are they caged together? If they are mates, then they are going to be fiercer at defending their territory, especially the female.
My 2 cents: birds are not "mean". They aren't maliciously trying to harm you or scare you. They don't understand what is going on and view you as a predator. That will change over time with patience. Read everything you can and ask as many questions as pop into your head, no matter how trivial. Also, don't show fear. If your bird tries to bite you and you pull away, it becomes a game and they will win. Also don't mistake the use of a beak automatically to a bite. Birds use their beaks to climb - if the bird puts his beak on your finger to try to step up and you pull your hand away thinking you're going to get bit, the bird loses his balance and will not trust your hand. Be persistent, but patient.

Sorry - I'm in a rambling place today.

[primrose04]

I have a pied tiel that I am her 3rd home she was so mean and mad that she had been moved again that I couldn't even walk by the cage without her lungeing at me. Well I went through the okay I'm not keeping you thing and was going to give her up but, she has been abused some time in her life and I just couldn't. She has a broken right wing(it has a kink in it) and is missing the middle toe on her right foot. So we had a long talk and I gave her a month to settle down. When she bit me I just pulled my hand back very slowly (even though it may be bleeding and throbbing) and told her no. She can't fly so I just started picking her up(biting and screeching) and put her on my shoulder.that lasted about 2 weeks. then I could pick her up and just put her on my shoulder no biting or screeching.It took a good month and 1/2 before her would step-up on my finger.now we are the best of buddies and is usually found were ever I am on my right shoulder.She can't get on my left shoulder as that is my lutino tiel's shoulder and they don't like eachother too well.give them time to adjust and if it is a pair try to work with them seperately.you may find you have to put them in seperate cages to work with them.As you work with them take them to a different room so they can't see the other one. I hope this helps. be patient and give them time they should come around. :D

[snowtigerr7]

This is corny..but they say patience is a virtue....and when it comes to birds..."they" are right!!! I have a sun conure that when I got her she tore my finger up! It was ripped up and bleeding....this was right after I took her from the store. I wanted to take her right back...but she was just scared. Boy am I glad I didn't. She LOVES me and my boyfriend. she's just a year this month and she tries so hard to say things and she ALWAYS is giving kisses. Another bird I have....tore my lip up twice! I am stubborn and got to close to his cage...when he first came and he lunged and bit me...on my lip....and he bit my hands...oh i don't know...8 or more times...most all of them bled. He's a big parrot...and it hurt. Just let them settle, and be patient...let them come to you...so to speak. They will tame according to your persistence and willingness to give them time. read up on them...and good luck to you!!!! :D :D :D

[DebbieRay]

Thank you so much for the advice you gave to me. I have been trying to use the advice and it is working. I guesse I expected them to be like little puppies and love me back. I am impatient and I have to learn to be patient. I have been putting to use everyone's advice and it is helpful. I have found out more information on them. I found out that they are both males. One, Snoopy, is a pied(yellow) and he is 3 or 4 yrs. old. I am his second home. He had a mate and she died. He's the tammer of the two. He will come out of the cage and sit but he want let you touch him, when he is the cage he will step up sometimes.
The other is a wild type (see I have been reading)Dusty is his name and he is not tame. He's a year old and he's smart, he sings and he say's I Love You. He will only come to the door he will not get on top of the cage. I have only had them about two weeks. They are caged together. Over the weekend I bought a pearl type, she is only 3 months old and is in her own cage. I also bought a book on cockateils so I can continue to learn. I do want to tame Snoopy and Dusty. Everyday I open up their cages so they can get out and play. I talk to them a lot and tell tham how beautifull they are. Thanks again for the advice and if you have anymore I am open for any suggestions. Debbie Ray :D

[ZARI]

I found that my baby eclectus was nippy and wild (well, she is a baby!) and I found the best way to cope with this was to "brook no nonsense". If I wanted her to come out of the cage and she lunged and bit my finger, I got firm, and made her come out. She behaves beautifully with her step ups now, and knows that She can trust me and I trust her. She sees me as her leader and guide. This is a very simplified explanation but probably the best way I can say it.

My husband used an "extractor" when we had two totally untrained lovebirds at our house for a while. This is simply a stick with a top that forms a "T". We got the lovebirds pretty tame but when their owners picked them up the lessons stopped and they are cage potatoes again.

The No Nonsense approach will probably fare you well with the tamer of the two tiels but I expect that the wilder one will take a lot longer. Kudos for not giving up on these birds. They will probably be your best friends.

[DebbieRay]

Thanks for the new advice. On Thurs. I had to take my husband to the doctor, His sinuses were about to rip his head off. Unfortunately, the doc. said that the birds were probably the reason for setting off his allergies. I have never seen him so miserable. He ended up having a severe sinus infection. so, what to do with the birds. I am going to send the two birds we have been working with back to my step son's mom :( (I wonder, because she's Allens ex. and she knows of his allergies and she sent untame birds, if she did it to be mean. I hope not, because she hurt more than just Allen). My new 3 mo. old little Lily, who is doing so well, she is sooo sweet and in just a week I have really gotten attached to her. Frankly, I don't want anyone else taking care of her. So, I'm going to clean really well from the other two birds, Change some filters and keep my Lily's cage super clean and see if my husband does ok. I love my husband so much, he's a wonderful man and bless his heart, he knows I love Lily so much. He said to me "I guesse I have to go!" I just laughed at him and told him he was being silly. I hope I do not have to give her up. I'm thinking that 3 birds have more dander and other allergens than just one. I'm assuming that a bath will also reduce dander. The other day I ran a small amount of cool water in the bath and put her in, she just stood their with her wings high in the air and squawking. I let her stay a few mins. and took her out. A little while later I put her back in, she acted as if she were going to melt so I took her out again. Then I thought if the two other birds took baths then maybe she could watch them and learn. So, this morning I took snoopy out and put him in a small amount of cool water in the bathtub and he was ok, walking around, not bathing, just walking around, drinking and looking. I put Lily in with him and she did the same thing. I ignored them a couple of mins. I did not hear anything so I knew they were ok. When I looked, they were beak to beak, not being ugly, I'm not sure what they were doing. Anyway, any ideas for the bath would be great. Also, can anyone tell me what kind of trees I can take limbs from for Lily's home. I can not see buying limbs when I live in the country. We have lots of different trees. If anyone has idea's on how to cut down allergens in the house it would be welcomed. I have already been online looking at acrylic cages with hepa filters. If we have to, we will invest in the acrylic. One more thing, where can I get a list of foods cockatiels cannot have? Thanks again and to all mom's "Happy Mother's Day". Have a great wekend. :)
Debbie Ray

[The Outlaw]

Debbi:

I have good news and bad news about allergies. Frankly, though I currently have 10 large parrots, I cannot live with even one cockatiel. My allergy to them is just terrible. In fact, my internist put it this way: if I keep one cockatiel it could ultimately lead to me having illness so acute I'd have to remove them all. Another problem is COPD. You should do a web search on that.

However, the good news is this: if you bath or spray them daily and spray the papers BEFORE you change them, you may find it greatly reduces the powder dust that gets airborne and gives you problems. Also, you absolutely need at least one good air filter near their cage. PLEASE don't allow them in your bedroom, for sleeping with dust only makes it that much worse.

THE OUTLAW

[DebbieRay]

I know how bad it can be now. I never knew allergies could be so bad. Those were great ideas, I never thought about spraying the papers or bedding. Thank you soooo much for your ideas and tips. We will definetly put them to use. Thanks, Debbie Ray