Trouble bonding with my new Cockatiel

[birdnerd]

Hi there ,

We have a new tiel that we have had for approx 2 weeks , we got him from what I think is a dodgy pet shop , the initial little one we got ( when our Ozzy flew away 3 weeks ago) was sick and unfortunately i didnt get him to the vets in time, this was in 3 days of having him , then we got a replacement and we were told he was 16- 20 weeks old and hand raised , some pet shops will tell you anything .... well he looks OLDER than what Ozzy was who would have been 1 in april , and hand raised ?? pffft he doesnt want to come near you and will sit on your finger reluctanlty for a minute then off he goes ! his wings are clipped so he doesnt get far but BOY can he run !!

Given my past 2 tiel experiences one came to us young and was very tame already , and ozzy was sick and we had him in quarantine for 6 weeks so he bonded with us as we were all he saw in that time, plus the fact he was weak but healed up nicely...

Now with this little terror (freddy) thankfully he is a healthy bird , but would isolation be a good idea for him to get used to us only ? can all cockatiels be trained to be people birds ?

I hope so as I miss my other 2 people cockatiels so much

[owszat]

Hi Birdnerd, How are you going with Freddy now? I see nobody has replied, so thought I'd ask. I am brand new here today so just getting familiar with all. Regards.

[harpy]

As far as my knowledge of cockatiels go (being the owner of one who is atm chewing my lip trying to mimic my kisses) I think they are very friendly birds that can easily be hand tamed

Just spend some time.
Is he in a cage with other birds? My bird is by himself so all he has is the family which makes him (perhaps a little too much) friendly and attention-seeking xD

If he is an older bird he may have had bad experiences in the past. Try to get him used to you. Have the cage open but dont pressure him to come out. Sit by the cage. He will come out in time. Always talk to him when you pass his cage I have a specific whistle for my bird so he knows when im near and hes started to respond (and call out to ask where i am and wont shut up til i whistle back xD)

Oh and keep him inside our problem with our last weiro was we kept him alone outside. Mine now is really happy cuz he is apart of a flock Hold him for a few seconds and reward him. A rewad might just be putting him back in his cage (this isnt always a punishment for birds)