Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a cockatiel and he's a wondeful bird, ive taught him how to talk and whistle etc he sits on my shoulder and walks with me everywhere around the house but last 6 weeks he has turned nasty towards me he wont allow me to pat him anymore, but when my guy is here he bows his head down for him to pat him, i just dont understand why hes gone this way, he actually gets very savage with me at times, he about 9 months old.. a male.he still sits on my shoulder tho very wierd and no i cant think of anything i have done to upset him like this, hope someone can help me..... jessie

hi jessiegirl
Cricket did exactly the same thing to me when I got him because it was spring. He was wonderful for a while then turneed nasty & all it was was hormones. The best thing you can do is ride it out with him & at the same time don't let him be too nasty or bossy because this is the time when he will think he can get away with everything & if he does you'll have a terrible bird on your hands. Also with the scratching, most love it at first until there first molt & maturing. How old is your tiel? After this very few of them alow you to scratch again. That's just the way they are. With Cricket I'm just persistant with this but not too persistant, you don't want holes in your hands. He now lets me touch his neck & head for a breif moment but still no scratching. He used to love it too.
Oh 1 more thing. If he's going thru a molt this also causes them to be really cranky, just imagine needles from new feathers poking thru your skin over the next month or so.....

Well you may be right Cricket thank you for replying, he's about 10 months old now and he is molting, and i am hanging in there like i said he sits on my shoulders ok but wont allow me to touch him, and talk about cranky geeesh yesterday he got up on wrong side of the perch he was grrrrrrrr at everyone yesterday, and thats not him at all he's a very friendly and loving bird but yesterday i totally ignored him because of his attitide, ill do what you say ok and you have helped me understand a little better i thank you for that. ill let you know how i get on jessie

Cricket is only 9 months old. It's autum here so i don't need to worry about him just yet but ever since his very first molt he has the occational cranky day. I leave him alone because no amount of niceness, talking etc gets him out of it. When they want to be left alone they relly mean it!!! LOL

Think of your bird as a teenager because that's what he is.

He will be moody. Sometimes cuddly and other times all "nasty"

Also it is spring and they react to this. My tiel who is a female will call and call to me and then when I take her out of her cage she hisses at me and hacks.

Sometimes I don't know what she wants but every year we go through this and every year she gets past it.

They are driven by their hormones.

Hi there,
I have had exactly the same problem with my male cockatiel of 9mths called Tilli. For the last month he has been quite loving to me one minute and the next very aggressive. I am quite sure he considers me his mate as he is constantly displaying courtship behavior at me and I find it quite amusing although the other evening he got a little to friendly with my hand. On the other hand my boyfriend can pet him and handle him without a problem and I am finding this a bit upsetting considering he is my pet. I have heard that you just have to be patient with them and the behavior is usually related to sexual development and hormone changes. I hope I get me loving Tilli back soon as I am sick of being bitten and pecked at.
Good Luck !!!

YES MISH.i m feeling that way too hahaha he loves my guy but attacks me but im not letting it get to me anymore.Im just going with the flow, its been a few months now i guess im getting used to it, but the funny thing with mine is he loves sitting on my shoulder etc etc but wont let me pat him, so im punishing him im not wearing ear rings anymore hahahaha .
thanx for your reply. jessie