Taming and training

Although I personally have only met one Cockatiel in my life who was probably impossible to tame down. I say probably because the woman who adopted him accepted him for what he was (a vampire) and got him a companion and wore gloves when she reached in to clean and feed them. It is very important that you understand your bird and clip his/her wings before being able to start the taming and training process, but given the proper time and attention, he may very well have been tamed down. As far as all of the others, the main ingredient in the taming process has been time.

First you have to ask yourself if you feel his quality of life would be improved by becoming tame. In most cases the answer is yes. Tame birds simply get more attention in most cases and, therefore, have better lives. However, some birds are perfectly happy to have another birdie companion and only need us humans for food and water! If you feel in his case his life would be improved by taming than I would begin by removing anything that may be adding to the aggression. Is he especially vicious in his cage? Most birds are but there may be things that cause extreme aggression. One of my tiels is the sweetest baby in the world until you give him a paper bag. Then he becomes Mr. Mean! Are there things in there that are contributing to his aggression? Nest boxes, mirrors and even some favorite toys can be major causes of aggression. They must be removed during the taming sessions (not all toys---only ones he may seem "overprotective over." This is why I say to make sure you feel his quality of life will be improved by taming. No one wants to take away a favorite toy even for a short time unless (in the long run) it will improve their bird's life.

Start by spending some time every morning and evening speaking softly and whistling to him through the cage bars. Does he come out of the cage on his own or at all? If not, there are a couple of ways to get him out. You could scoop him up in a towel but you must be careful not to harm him or scare him so that he harms himself running from you in the cage. (Never press down on the chest area of a bird while holding them in a towel. They don't have a diaphragm and can suffocate easily that way). If you feel comfortable toweling him, you should do that and take him in an unfamiliar room where he cannot see his cage and put him on the floor (never leave him unattended there). You should then begin speaking softly and whistling to him like you had been doing to him in the cage. You will then become the most familiar, comforting thing in the room to him and he may very well at that point "step up" for you. If he does, continue asking him to "step up" as though your hand was a ladder. Do this for a few minutes at a time, while speaking softly to him. Offer him favorite treats after this from your hand. Try to keep him from jumping to your shoulder. Your goal is to get him so familiar with the step up routine that you can eventually just go to him in his cage, show him the towel, then offer him your hand and say step up.

None of these steps will be accomplished overnight. The first few times you get him out of the cage he will probably be pretty freaked out. Give him only as much as he can handle and don't wear him out in any one session. Most birds get the picture about the towel fairly soon. They much prefer your hand to the towel.

Another way to go (an alternative to the toweling routine) would be to open the cage door and allow him to come out on his own. Then you could offer a perch to him and try the step up routine then. If he does, you would want to get him away from his cage and work with him further in a different room. All birds are easier to tame when they cannot see the security of their cage. Before you embark on any taming method, make sure you get his wings and nails clipped. It makes for a much "humbler" bird and makes taming much easier. I would also recommend that you have him health checked by an avian vet to make sure he doesn't have any underlying health problems making him "grouchy." Besides, the taming process is a stressful event for a bird and it's nice to know you are starting out with a healthy one. I hope this helps some. They are all individuals, and what works for one may not work for another, but this has been pretty successful for me.

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