Tom the cockatiel singing on the sofa

Tom is getting more tame, bit by bit. This was the first time he dared to walk around on the sofa, and he declared it was his by singing all around it. Pete was nearby but not bothered, as he was chewing a zip!

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• cockatiel
• cockatiels
• singing

[brianvelasquez]

How do you get him back in his cage?

[mikepepler]

@brianvelasquez They go back to their cage to "roost" every evening. They see the cage as their home, and a safe place to go. When we start taking the toys off their cage, they usually go inside of their own accord, then we close the roof of it. They're out all day , and just go in the cage to sleep or if there's something going on in the room that would be dangerous for them.

[Winkiedoodles]

About tameness: we had 3 hand-raised and tame; 1 from a pet store - unfriendly and would bite. I heard that if you go on a vacation and put them in day care they can get mad and can be less friendly when you get back.

[mikepepler]

We've sometimes left them both with one of our parents, or alone for one day/night with a neighbour calling in to check on them. So far Pete hasn't become "untame" because of Tom. Mind you, Tom is tame enough to take seed from our hands, he just doesn't want to be stroked or handled.

[donnsexgod]

try clasical conditioning like pavlovs dogs this is how most people are able to train animals. This is why dogs or cats run in to the kitchen when they hear a noise of the biscuits poured = food. You need to condition the cockatiels actions with rewards e.g put your finger near cockatiel - it bites, put a stick near cockatiel it bites that reward the cockatiel everytime it comes to the stick until it follows the stiick to get a reward and use this process for handling the bird, stroking etc.

[Winkiedoodles]

Yes, some are naturally friendly, some aren't. We can't keep our cockatiel off our shoulder or head if he's let out. Plus, he constantly wants his "rubs" and seems to really enjoy being messed with. We got rid of (traded in to a breeder) a cockatiel that would freak out and bite (bad bites) if you tried to mess with him. I bet the more you mess with Tom the tamer he'll get.

[branny101]

oh ok that helps alot but you know the millet omg they are so messy when they eat that it goes everywhere:)

[mikepepler]

Oh he's not tame yet, we can't get him to stand on a finger... However, our other bird, Pete, is completely tame, and Tom likes to copy him, so he's getting tamer. A key trick is to use food as a reward/temptation. The first step we made when we tamed Pete was to get him to eat millet of our fingers. It takes time though - we were lucky with Pete, he must have been handled a lot in the past. Tom's taken 5 months to get to where he is now...

[branny101]

lol,can i ask you a q how did you get it to be so tame i lay a finger near mine and it pecks me

[mikepepler]

It doesn't sound cute when he sits on your head and does it! ;-)