Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all!!
I'm new here, just signed up today, but it looks like a great place. Somewhere I definitely want to be. I have two beautiful female cockatiels named Nikki and Noelle. Nikki is a common gray and Noelle is a pearl. I love them dearly, but am fairly new to the bird thing. I got them for Christmas last year - thus, their names. LOL!! I also have six rescued dogs and six cats (three are rescues). Since I'm still fairly new I thought this was a great place to come for questions/helpful advice. I had to change their diet because their previous owner had them on an all-seed diet and my avian vet said that wasn't good for them. Thankfully, they're doing great on Harrison's and the veggies I give them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Even though I try to handle them daily and let them out of their cage daily, they still seem kind of skittish of me. Both are older birds and when I first got them, had to give them meds for a while. Could this be the problem? I hated doing it, but the vet said I had to. Now they're great, just still hand-shy. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

6 months they've probably pretty much settled on the way "They" want things to be. (& "They" Are the ones to decide. LOL!) I assume by what you say about the former diet that these birds are "second hand" or rescues? Do you know how old they are? Are they caged together? Did you get them at the same time and from the same place? They have probably "bonded" with each other and have their own hiearchy (pecking order in bird talk If this is the case other than seperating them to dif cages and working with them as individuals will you come out as "top bird". That IMO is what's needed for a bird to bow to Your wishes But then you might (most likely) cause a Lot of stress & other problems. I hope that someone else with more experience will have better suggestions that will help. But even if they never become handtame i'm sure they will still bring you lots of love and joy. Tiels are just so sweet keep us posted on their progress & again Welcome! love, kay & Topaz

Thanks so much for your response. I don't know exactly how old they are, but the vet said probably at least a couple of years old, definitely not babies. They came from a home where the owner didn't have time for them and apparently kept them in a cage together all the time. I got a bigger cage (parrot style, but it works for them. Vet said it was okay.) and I house them together because they are DEFINITELY bonded. Whenever I take one out, the other starts her alarm screech. They can't stand to be out of each other's sight. That's okay with me. I don't want to disrupt their little world anymore than is necessary. They do seem to be coming around a little. I no longer reach in to take them out of the cage - just prop open the door and then they come out on their own. But, I had to do that all the time when I first got them (to give them meds) and they HATED it. Suffered some pretty nasty bites before I got smart and started using gloves. I really don't think they've ever been hand-tamed. At first, they wouldn't even come out of the cage with the door open. Now, they climb out and usually fly over to the bed and perch on my shoulder. But, they still don't like to be touched. I've heard how many birds like to have scritches on their heads and cheeks and, man, my two won't stand for that. I guess maybe I just have to be a little more patient? Also, how often should I spray/spritz them with water? It's funny...Noelle loves to be sprayed. She spreads her wings and contorts herself into the funniest shapes. But, Nikki HATES it!! She climbs all over the cage trying to get away from the water. Instead, for her, I put a small bowl in with water and let her bathe to her heart's content. Haven't got up the courage yet to take them in the shower with me. Though I've heard other people do this.