No more Harley :(

[SkitzChik]

So after I got my tiel on the 24th (I decided to call him Harley) I posted on here about his aggression and did everything I was suggested to make him feel comfortable, but yesterday and this morning he got so violent towards me and was biting and attacking me through his cage, not just that but he started smacking his head into the floor of his cage. So I contacted the breeder and asked for her advice, I told her my concerns for the tiels safety (because he was always flying at walls really hard and smacking his face against the floor) and also told her that I clipped his other wing because, personally, I find it cruel to only clip one wing. So her response was pretty much I am an irresponsible owner and should never own a bird! That I made her so angry that I could be so harsh to the bird!
I was like... Umm what? I'm expressing a concern and asking for your advice, because there could of been a certain way she calmed him down.
And for a tiel that was supposed to be completely hand reared he was very agro. I mean he attacked my 2yo sons face while he was just laying on the couch going to sleep!!
But this woman demanded I give her bub back because I'm so horrible!! So I just said fine, I didn't want to start a fight or anything.
But am I a bad person for simply expressing a concern?
So I don't have my little Harley anymore

 

[sonja]

Of course reaching out to the breeder was the right thing to do. Too bad it turned out the way it did, but if you decide to try again it might be helpful to do some reading first on what is reasonable to expect from a new bird. You only had the bird 2 days so of course he was frightened in his new home. Leaving him calmly in his cage for several days and taking things much, much more slowly likely would have had different results. Letting him fly free when he was panicked would of course cause him to fly into walls and such. Keeping him safely in his cage while you very slowly started to interact with him would have been a better way to go. Too bad the breeder didn't explain all of this before you brought the bird home.

 

[EdwardH]

I'm really sorry to hear about your experience. I bred cockatiels for about 5 years and have never had one of my hand raised birds be aggro with a new owner. It sounds like the bird wasn't handled or socialised very well by the breeder or possibly there was something in your home that frightened it like a barking dog, loud TV whatever. Don't let this put you off having a bird as a pet as they are great pets.

 

[SkitzChik]

I do love cockatiels and certainly won't let this experience deter me from them I have a yellow sided conure or another tiel lined up, I just have to go meet them and see if I bond with any.
I guess Harley just wasn't meant to be mine

 

[Allee]

Of course reaching out to the breeder was the right thing to do. Too bad it turned out the way it did, but if you decide to try again it might be helpful to do some reading first on what is reasonable to expect from a new bird. You only had the bird 2 days so of course he was frightened in his new home. Leaving him calmly in his cage for several days and taking things much, much more slowly likely would have had different results. Letting him fly free when he was panicked would of course cause him to fly into walls and such. Keeping him safely in his cage while you very slowly started to interact with him would have been a better way to go. Too bad the breeder didn't explain all of this before you brought the bird home.

Sonja gave you excellent advice here, if the short experience you had with the cockatiel doesn't deter you, then I hope it at least slows you down long enough to take the kind advice you were given. Good luck with your next decision.

 

[Kiwibird]

I don't think a good breeder would be passing off parent raised birds as hand reared, giving cruel one sided clips or chastising an entirely new to birds owner for reaching out for advice when a bird is acting out.

I don't think you gave a fair chance to her to become acclimated to her new home (what you describe is not uncommon, especially after only a few days), but you're new to birds and thought you would be getting a bird who was already used to humans and more trusting than she was. Heck, if I bought a hand reared baby I wouldn't expect that kind of behavior either. That's more on par with what you can expect from a parent-raised, not tamed bird. And that one sided clip just speaks volumes to me, it really does. It's not uncommon for birds to come clipped, but not just one wing for reasons mentioned in your other thread. I hope you find a breeder who knows what they're doing and is able to help you along more if/when you get another bird when you have questions rather than stamping their foot like a 2 year old, insulting you and taking the bird back. And don't be afraid to ask on here either. Lots of experienced owners who can give advice on just about any kind of behavior you may experience.

 

[MikeyTN]

Hand reared birds can be just as aggressive as a parent raised bird, it all depends on how much training was done to begin with. No socialization can cause him to be the way he is, it does not matter if they were hand raised. It's shameful of the breeder not giving you advice to help with the situation though. But he needed more time to calm down as you really haven't had him long enough to train him properly. It can be done, he just needed the proper guidance.

 

[SkitzChik]

I completely understand he needed more time to adjust and I was more then willing to give it to the little guy. I was simply asking her if she had a way of calming him that was different to my own, and the smacking his face into the cage bottom was very bazaar to me do I was just concerned.
Also when she came to get him, she wrapped him into her chest and starting saying stuff like "oh you're not being naughty are you" and "what has she been doing to you". While I was standing right there being polite as punch.
Thank you kiwibird, I'm glad I know I have people who are willing to help me out, I know what you mean about the one sided clip, I'm a beginner and the first thing I was taught with my very first tiel was you should never only clip one side because it can be dangerous. I just hope Harley finds a good home

 

[EdwardH]

The fact that the breeder "wrapped Harley" presumably with a cloth, suggests that he wasn't very tame to start with or else that the bird was so upset that it was the safest course of action. My money is on a poorly socialised bird.
I bought a hand raised princess parrot two years ago for my daughter only to find that it took us about 3 weeks to build trust with her. I put this down to insufficient time spent with the individual bird by the breeder. I have just raised two little scarlet chested parakeets and they love being on my hand or shoulder. They are not cuddly birds but are definitely not aggressive in any way and had similar results with cockatiels when I was breeding them.
Hand raising should include spending time socialising the bird which simply means playing with it as opposed to just feeding it and placing it back into a cage.

 

[Delfin]

I think the term " hand raised" is thrown around a lot these days. feeding and then putting back in the cage is not "hand raised". Delfin was Hand raised in a family environment. The Breeder and his children fed, talked to, handled and played with the birds every day.

I do believe that this had a huge impact on Delfin behaviour as this is "hand raised" in the true sense which is why we haven't had any behavioural problems with him. Of course hormones are a completely different scenario and is not related to being hand raised.

 

[Delfin]

While I'm not a fan of wing clipping, the clipping of one wing is cruel and should never be done . The bird can't fly or land properly because the bird is unbalanced and this is why Harley was always crashing into the walls and floor.

A bad Breeder will usually berate the buyer when they're ask for advice has to why their "hand raised" bird is behaving bizarrely. This is because they don't have a clue why the bird is behaving that way and are unable to answer your questions . Only a bad breeder would clip one wing, Then call the buyer irresponsible and harsh when the buyer corrects the bad breeders bad wing clipping method. These bad breeders are the ones who shouldn't never own birds, let alone being allow to breed them. For a bird to actively seek out and attack someone is more than a poorly socialised bird, I would say it's a bird who have never been socialised at all.

I do agree that the amount of time was a bit short but given the level of aggression from Harley and the behaviour of the bad breeder, It's probably better that Harley was returned. I would concentrate on finding a good breeder by doing research and visiting breeders to see first hand what they are like.

I do believe that all people on this forum would agree that clipping one wing is irresponsible and is dangerous to the bird.

 

[SkitzChik]

I would of really liked to have had more time with him but the breeder was persistent I hand him back so I just obliged to avoid any unnecessary conflict. I think she was just making excuses for herself.
I have a breeder I have been talking to over the last couple of days and I'm going to go and meet her and all her birds during the week I have been in contact with a couple of people who have bought birds off her and have heard nothing but praise also the birds are raised with a 1yo and 4yo helping hand feed and whatnot so I am very hopeful about this lady. She has pineapple and yellow sided conures and cockatiels. So fingers crossed for me