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I have to admit I have never seen a cockatiel do this. Is this something specific to certain breeds? If not how would I train my tiel to "roll over"?

Cockatiels ain`t too good at this, I fear. They never go over on their back by choice, unlike many other times of birds which willingly roll over of their own accord to play.

One of my friends trained her bird to let her flip him upside down in her hand by flipping him a little further and further upside-down each time, and rewarding him for not flipping out on her each time. If she went too far and he panicked, she`d back up a few steps and try it again.

I`ve never seen a cockatiel that would flip itself over on command... but that doesn`t mean it`s impossible. Just REALLY hard.

Hi itdead!

Thanks for your reply. I had a feeling that wasn't a thing tiels did willingly. I see jardines and other doing it but never a tiel.

I do cup her back and turn her upside down sometimes. She is a little more tolerant of it than she used to be but I am afraid it is more for my amusement than hers. I don't do it for long and she usually pulls herself up by her own feet which are still gripping my finger. I help her do that. I know I am MEAN!!!

Perhaps I will give her a break and stop with the shananegans!!

Well, Rom did eventually learn to even put his head back and let it hang there, like he was really dead and limp. But yeah, he much prefered being upright. He only put up with the indignity for the treats!

I wonder what kind of treat would entice my Pepper?

She mostly wants attention. Treats don't seem to mean as much to her as my attention does.

A bird on a pellet-and-veggies diet will do almost anything for a nip of millet or a sunflower seed.

Oh Okay.

Yeah my birds get a little millet every day. So they aren't going to go head over heels for it. Pun intended!!!!

My guys almost never get millet... Poor brats. Their treats are a mix of: whole sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, peanuts, pinenuts, almond slivers and walnuts. They each have their little favorites. I think not knowing what they`ll get next helps keep them motivated. They keep trying until they get that sunflower seed!

I gave them pine nuts once and they put their beaks up in the air. They like walnuts and pecans though.

Each to their own, it seems! Walnuts they can take or leave. More often then not, Kiana won`t even take a nibble of an offered walnut. She turns up her beak and waits until I offer a more suitable reward! Piper always takes any nut you offer him at any time EVER. But they both prefer the pinenuts to walnuts (Kia especially so! She loves pinenuts!)