So as long as it is young we can still bond?
The concern is that Fred is a awesome little guy. Cuddles, loves head scratches, follows me around, ect.
Star was a petco parakeet and after working with it(and still working with it), it only will sit on your finger or knee. If you go to pet it or scratch its head it will try and beak you. Not bite, but not allow it either. It does however except horse back rides from my 5 year old.
I love using my birds as examples of the age difference.
Merlin was handreared and I got him at 8 weeks old, he is as malleable as they come, bonded to both me and Andrew (Andrew more at the moment due to hormones and stuff!), he's fantastic with everyone, well socialised, bulletproof bird. His only issue? Screaming when left. That is something we need to work on, but overall, fantastic well rounded, bonded but friendly to everyone bird.
Charlie is 10 years old, and we don't know his background at all other than he was to be sold as a breeding bird. He HATED the shop keeper, but was an absolute doll for me. I can do lots with him, he puffs up and 'dances' when he sees me, whistles to me, comes in for scritches. He's wonderful. But he doesn't like Andrew - something we're working on. I can do what I want with Charlie because I spend time with him. He's not out all the time, but his cage is by my settee in the livingroom and we chatter back and forth and get scritches through the cage. The little things that reinforce 'Mummys good to me, I like Mummy'
Mister, my old cockatoo, was an ex breeding bird, approx 5 years old with a fear of men - and people in general. We had him for a few months and in that time we had him really coming out of his shell. He'd get excited to see us, call to us, began to play, taking treats from us and we just about had him stepping up for us when he was rehomed. He was wonderful and I cried my eyes out letting him go to another home (I was his halfway house to get him away from his living conditions.) It took longer with Mister than it would have done with a baby 'too, because he was so scared of humans and their hands. But we did it in a short ish time frame, a little more and we could have gotten some good scritches with that guy.
Merlin is my "best bird" but I've had him the longest. Him being handraised has
nothing to do with why he's so bonded or sociable - it's US bonding with him and taking him out and about, etc, that has made him such a good bird.
Age, is truely irrelevant. It's honestly all about the time you put in, some are so much easier than others. The younger they are, the 'easier' it is, because they already know that people are great - people meant food and loves etc. But even if you get a handraised bird, they need to learn that this NEW person, means food and loves too. So you make their experiences with you worthwhile - and they'll want to keep being with you! But whether they're a little baby, or a senior a bond needs to be made and moulded, it's not an instantaneous thing just because they're young.
A few weeks will make extremely little difference to how your 'tiels will respond to you. A handful of millet and some patience and they'll be all yours in a few weeks.
You say you struggle with Star - I understand that but if you can't quite put the time in for this little guy, are you going to have the time for the 'tiels? Handreared or not - they all need time for you to spend with them and work with.
My Brucie boy is great with me and Andrew, but will never tolerate scritches. He just doesn't like them! He'd rather leave the preening to himself/Lucie. So you might never get to where you want with Star and might just have to accept that he doesn't want the close contact.