# Cockatiels



## lizard_lover (Oct 30, 2007)

these are my Cockatiels one of them is really old and yea we got them off my mums boss and they bite but the old one is coming out of her shell and finally jumped on to my finger but the younger one only bites what can i do to make them tamer and give them somethink to do when we arnt home


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## Twiggz (Oct 30, 2007)

Like the grey and white one.

I use to have one not long ago. Yellow and white in colour. cheeky bugger would be whistling and talking all day long. Wolf whistle, sing pop goes the weasel, say cheeky boy, hey, whats doing, sneeze and mimic the phone........miss the little fellow heaps.


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## Twiggz (Oct 30, 2007)

Just read over the psot again- not much you can really do if your not home. Just make sure you try and interact with them as much as possible though when you are.

Each time i've kept them over the years, i've raised them from a little over a month old, this way they become well adjusted to you as they grow.


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## lizard_lover (Oct 30, 2007)

yer they are cheacky things


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## Jen (Oct 30, 2007)

leave the radio on for them


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## Rocket (Oct 30, 2007)

I had a similar problem with Biting and aggressiveness from my young Lutino male. I got him when he was little over 6weeks old but now hes a very good boy once he is out of the cage. 

I did'nt try to teach him to tame down but daily interaction with them for even only a few minutes, even outside of the cage can make a big difference. Are the 2 together? Mine has lots of Toys and food games but his neighbour is a little Budgie and they seem to talk alot.


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## falconboy (Oct 30, 2007)

The only thing you can do is let them out to socialise with you a bit more when you are home. The other thing is too that cockatiels in pairs sometimes don't bond as well with their owner as they would if they were on their own, although their are plenty in pairs that get along well with their humans too.


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## lizard_lover (Oct 30, 2007)

they are togther


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## scorps (Oct 30, 2007)

cool i had one a few years ago thier great birds


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## Radar (Oct 30, 2007)

That whiteface grey male is a beauty. To try an tame them down, get yourself some "Egg and Biscuit" mix, its meant for raising insectivorous birds. Mix it up with warm water, and put some on one of their perches. If they dont eat it the first few times, keep trying, they most likely eventually will. Once they are eating it (and its pretty addictive stuff, they love it), use a small plastic spoon to and let them eat off it. Once they are comfortable being that close to you, hold the spoon in one hand, and put the other hand in between them and the food, so they have to step onto your second hand to get the food. They wont do it immediatly, but dont just give in and go back to feeding them without them having to 'step up' onto you hand. Eventually they should get onto you hand to take the food, and will get more confident the more you practice (you have to do this for a couple of minutes a day, a few times a day may be better, im not sure). You can also try with things like broccoli and celery heads (NOT letucce), seeding grasses, etc, if they love their green stuff (which should be part of their diet, if you're not already giving it to them then start).

If they are biting HARD, its one thing, if they're just hissing, aggressively 'nibbling' you hand and acting catty, its totally different. If its not hard enough to hurt (and they can hurt when they want to) then you just need to persist, otherwise the bird knows you're afraid of it and will continue to put on a show. If they werent hand raised it will be harder, and the bird probably wont become really tame or bond with you(ie, wont seek you out and get annoyed when your not there), but they will still calm down to the point of sitting on your shoulder, letting you scratch, etc, so keep trying. 

You may need to be careful with the old grey girl, she looks a bit frail, if she has trouble flying just make sure she doesnt get a shock and fall to the floor or something.

Hope that helps in some way


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## lizard_lover (Oct 30, 2007)

yer thanks for the advice


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## falconboy (Oct 30, 2007)

lizard_lover said:


> they are togther




Exactly my point - as I said, birds together tend to often bond LESS with their humans. Try keeping them in different cages where they can't see each other and they may bond with you more.


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## lizard_lover (Oct 30, 2007)

they have lived their whole life together and one is pritty old and might get stressed from being apart


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## falconboy (Oct 30, 2007)

lizard_lover said:


> they have lived their whole life together and one is pritty old and might get stressed from being apart



Thats a good point actually. Better off you keep them together and just handle the agro one a bit more.


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## nuthn2do (Oct 30, 2007)

Birds sexually imprint to whoever raises them, if the young one is playing up it may only respond with affection to a certain type of person and hate anyone that doesn't comply to their perceived mate. If you have someone in your family that resembles your mums boss ( hair colour, body shape) try getting them to interact with it, it may help


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## lizard_lover (Oct 30, 2007)

ow yer i might add thiss their both girls (or spost to be) and they hump


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## Hickson (Nov 1, 2007)

The whiteface looks like a male, the younger one (which looks like it's only a few months old) looks like a female but could be a male and will colour up after his first moult.

To keep them occupied during the day, giving them something to chew is always good - eucalyptus branches are good, as they will spend a lot of time chewing the leaves off at the base.



Hix


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## lizard_lover (Nov 1, 2007)

the whiteface is maby 1+


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