How to safely get my untamed cockatiel in and out of his cage and learn to be handled

[Hmm]

I recently rescued an adult male cockatiel 3 months ago. He is at least 4yrs and was kept in the smallest cage you could imagine for 4 whole years.. never handled, never left the cage and only fed seeds..
I instantly got him a huge cage and have tried to improve his health.
He is much happier and chatty.
He is fearful/aggressive towards hands. We have made progress that he will place one foot on my palm if I offer him food in it but he will not allow to be touched or handled any other way.
I really want to let him out of the cage but am terrified he won't go back into the cage and will panic if I try to get him back in.
I'd appreciate any advice on helping this little boy have the best life possible. He's been through enough.

 

[LaManuka]

I recently rescued an adult male cockatiel 3 months ago. He is at least 4yrs and was kept in the smallest cage you could imagine for 4 whole years.. never handled, never left the cage and only fed seeds..
I instantly got him a huge cage and have tried to improve his health.
He is much happier and chatty.
He is fearful/aggressive towards hands. We have made progress that he will place one foot on my palm if I offer him food in it but he will not allow to be touched or handled any other way.
I really want to let him out of the cage but am terrified he won't go back into the cage and will panic if I try to get him back in.
I'd appreciate any advice on helping this little boy have the best life possible. He's been through enough.

First of all, welcome to the forums, and THANK YOU for taking in this sweet baby!! I'm so happy he has you to care for him and with his best interests at heart! Don't forget to tell us his name and post some pics if you have some, cos we love baby photos 'round here!

In terms of handling, you may be in for a bit of a long haul. Cockatiels even at the best of times can be a bit flighty, particularly when we want them to do something they may not want to do like get back in their cage. Mine are hand tame but will run a mile if i need to cage them because i have to go out!

Are you able to move his cage into a smaller room before letting him out? Bearing in mind when he *does* get out, he may panic and fly into a wall or something like that, so perhaps having him in a smaller room where he can build up less speed before hitting anything might be a good idea, and then graduate to larger rooms when the panic stage has worn off a bit. I think you've done a GREAT job so far with getting him to trust you as much as he already does, because trust is often a long time coming with parrots, even more so when they've come from an abusive or neglected background like yours has. In the initial stages, I would also only let him out when you have lots of time to spare, thus lessening the possibility that you might have to catch him. He might just get back in his cage by himself after a bit of exploration, and being in a smaller room might help make it easier to catch him in the event that you may have to do so to get him back in.

Have you ever had a pet bird before? Apologies for giving you this article to read if you have, but if not there are all sorts of hazards around the house that you may not be aware of, so I've linked this up just to give you a bit of added info that might be valuable for you ...

A Warm Welcome And A Few Friendly Warnings To Keep Your Parrots Safe

Bird ownership is a challenge for the best of us, especially in the beginning. So many things are dangerous or even deadly to parrots. The information and hazards can be overwhelming at first. We've all been there, we've all made mistakes. Straight to the point. Open flames-any open flames...

www.parrotforums.com

When I say it may take some time - I once took in an escaped cockatiel from the streets MANY years ago now, I'd hoped she was hand tamed but turned out was most definitely not. She was a pretty little lutino whom I named Twinkle, and it took eight YEARS before she realised I was not going to eat her!! One day, after all that time, it was like a light switch flicked on in her head and she became just the sweetest cuddliest lovingest little birdie imaginable. So don't ever give up, take everything at his pace, even if it's glacial cos sometimes it is, and try to make every interaction a positive one. Your birdie is already 1000% better off with your love and care and that trust WILL come, hopefully in less than eight years for you!

 

[Hmm]

First of all, welcome to the forums, and THANK YOU for taking in this sweet baby!! I'm so happy he has you to care for him and with his best interests at heart! Don't forget to tell us his name and post some pics if you have some, cos we love baby photos 'round here!

In terms of handling, you may be in for a bit of a long haul. Cockatiels even at the best of times can be a bit flighty, particularly when we want them to do something they may not want to do like get back in their cage. Mine are hand tame but will run a mile if i need to cage them because i have to go out!

Are you able to move his cage into a smaller room before letting him out? Bearing in mind when he *does* get out, he may panic and fly into a wall or something like that, so perhaps having him in a smaller room where he can build up less speed before hitting anything might be a good idea, and then graduate to larger rooms when the panic stage has worn off a bit. I think you've done a GREAT job so far with getting him to trust you as much as he already does, because trust is often a long time coming with parrots, even more so when they've come from an abusive or neglected background like yours has. In the initial stages, I would also only let him out when you have lots of time to spare, thus lessening the possibility that you might have to catch him. He might just get back in his cage by himself after a bit of exploration, and being in a smaller room might help make it easier to catch him in the event that you may have to do so to get him back in.

Have you ever had a pet bird before? Apologies for giving you this article to read if you have, but if not there are all sorts of hazards around the house that you may not be aware of, so I've linked this up just to give you a bit of added info that might be valuable for you ...

A Warm Welcome And A Few Friendly Warnings To Keep Your Parrots Safe

Bird ownership is a challenge for the best of us, especially in the beginning. So many things are dangerous or even deadly to parrots. The information and hazards can be overwhelming at first. We've all been there, we've all made mistakes. Straight to the point. Open flames-any open flames...

www.parrotforums.com

When I say it may take some time - I once took in an escaped cockatiel from the streets MANY years ago now, I'd hoped she was hand tamed but turned out was most definitely not. She was a pretty little lutino whom I named Twinkle, and it took eight YEARS before she realised I was not going to eat her!! One day, after all that time, it was like a light switch flicked on in her head and she became just the sweetest cuddliest lovingest little birdie imaginable. So don't ever give up, take everything at his pace, even if it's glacial cos sometimes it is, and try to make every interaction a positive one. Your birdie is already 1000% better off with your love and care and that trust WILL come, hopefully in less than eight years for you!

Thank you SO much for the encouragement and your tips. I thought the same about a small room at first so I have the spare room pretty much empty for when the time comes !
I never had birds before so it's all new to me but I am doing as much research as I can and talking to professionals so I'm getting there, slowly!
Cockatiels seem to be so stubborn. Well my one at least his name is Rossi and he is a little character. He was originally called Rosie because they thought he was female so we had to change to something similar! He does the McDonald's whistle and likes to cat call you when he wants your attention

I will definitely look into that article, thank you. I'm open to all the tips I can get !

Thanks for all your help ! I will attach some pics/videos of the cutie

 

[LaManuka]

Thank you SO much for the encouragement and your tips. I thought the same about a small room at first so I have the spare room pretty much empty for when the time comes !
I never had birds before so it's all new to me but I am doing as much research as I can and talking to professionals so I'm getting there, slowly!
Cockatiels seem to be so stubborn. Well my one at least his name is Rossi and he is a little character. He was originally called Rosie because they thought he was female so we had to change to something similar! He does the McDonald's whistle and likes to cat call you when he wants your attention

I will definitely look into that article, thank you. I'm open to all the tips I can get !

Thanks for all your help ! I will attach some pics/videos of the cutie

Awwwwwwww, thanks for the pics, Rossi IS a little cutie! He's so lucky he's got you in his corner and I'm looking forward to sharing in your journey with him

 

[Hmm]

Awwwwwwww, thanks for the pics, Rossi IS a little cutie! He's so lucky he's got you in his corner and I'm looking forward to sharing in your journey with him

Thank you so much. It's so great having your help and support. Here's to bigger and better things for Rossi