Hi fellow bird owners.
First off, this is my first time owning a cockatiel. I've had budgies my whole life and tamed them myself. I'm giving details so maybe you could help me understand what I did wrong.
So, I bought him about 3 weeks ago from a breeder who said the bird was 3 months old although I'm not really sure. I put him in a cage which is not too big nor small for him and he spent the first 3 days hiding in a corner. Every time I approached him he'd just cling to the bars so I didn't really want to intimidate him.
Then he started vocalizing, making different sounds like whistling but mostly just screaming. I have been spending some time in front of his cage talking to him and he didn't seem scared anymore.
Some time later I tried giving him a toothpick (holding it with my hands) and he liked it. He didn't realize those were my hands through the bars though.
We filled his feeder with different fruit bits to find out what he likes, and now we put them them between the bars so he could eat them anytime.
But that's the problem now - he seems so comfortable in his cage he gets angry when we approach him. He lives in my room and sometimes when I look at him he starts screeching angrily (not every time though, but it does happen when I come near his cage, like some days when he's in a bad mood (?) ). When he gets out he sits on top of his cage and rarely, RARELY agrees to pick the toothpick from my hands (he can be chewing it for some time but then he suddenly realizes AAA IT'S HER HANDS!). One time I handfeeded him but it took him a long time to realize that those were my hands. He'd eat some seeds then just stare at my hand, scared, and hiss at it. And run away.
Mostly he just hisses at me. If he's inside he hisses and attacks the bars with his beak. Ofc I don't bother him after he does that, nor do I raise my voice. He just doesn't seem hospitable, never.
When he's outside I bring him his perch and ask to step up, but he just looks at it for a second and then pays no attention to it.
One more thing - he often stretches his wings, sometimes when he's upside down. I've read it's a sign of superiority, like he wants to show it's his territory. I tried taking his cage to another room to check if he feels at home there. I expected him to be scared but he just kept hissing at me and biting the bars. He just acts like he's the king, and seems to be rather aggressive than scared.
Honestly, at this point I don't know how to act around him. Should I not approach him at all to see if he becomes bored/ interested? I feel like the more time he spends in his cage, the more he thinks he doesn't need anything else/ anyone around him.
Please help me with advice - how can I let him know there are other interesting things outside his cage? Is there a way to make him less aggressive towards my hands and myself?
First off, this is my first time owning a cockatiel. I've had budgies my whole life and tamed them myself. I'm giving details so maybe you could help me understand what I did wrong.
So, I bought him about 3 weeks ago from a breeder who said the bird was 3 months old although I'm not really sure. I put him in a cage which is not too big nor small for him and he spent the first 3 days hiding in a corner. Every time I approached him he'd just cling to the bars so I didn't really want to intimidate him.
Then he started vocalizing, making different sounds like whistling but mostly just screaming. I have been spending some time in front of his cage talking to him and he didn't seem scared anymore.
Some time later I tried giving him a toothpick (holding it with my hands) and he liked it. He didn't realize those were my hands through the bars though.
We filled his feeder with different fruit bits to find out what he likes, and now we put them them between the bars so he could eat them anytime.
But that's the problem now - he seems so comfortable in his cage he gets angry when we approach him. He lives in my room and sometimes when I look at him he starts screeching angrily (not every time though, but it does happen when I come near his cage, like some days when he's in a bad mood (?) ). When he gets out he sits on top of his cage and rarely, RARELY agrees to pick the toothpick from my hands (he can be chewing it for some time but then he suddenly realizes AAA IT'S HER HANDS!). One time I handfeeded him but it took him a long time to realize that those were my hands. He'd eat some seeds then just stare at my hand, scared, and hiss at it. And run away.
Mostly he just hisses at me. If he's inside he hisses and attacks the bars with his beak. Ofc I don't bother him after he does that, nor do I raise my voice. He just doesn't seem hospitable, never.
When he's outside I bring him his perch and ask to step up, but he just looks at it for a second and then pays no attention to it.
One more thing - he often stretches his wings, sometimes when he's upside down. I've read it's a sign of superiority, like he wants to show it's his territory. I tried taking his cage to another room to check if he feels at home there. I expected him to be scared but he just kept hissing at me and biting the bars. He just acts like he's the king, and seems to be rather aggressive than scared.
Honestly, at this point I don't know how to act around him. Should I not approach him at all to see if he becomes bored/ interested? I feel like the more time he spends in his cage, the more he thinks he doesn't need anything else/ anyone around him.
Please help me with advice - how can I let him know there are other interesting things outside his cage? Is there a way to make him less aggressive towards my hands and myself?
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