Recently adopted cockatiel - advice?

[rivx]

It's been a while since I joined this forum, but I'm back --- actually a bird owner now, at that. Forgive me if this is the wrong section.

We adopted a female normal gray cockatiel, who's currently named Gracie. I have no idea what her current age is, but she's at least one.

My first question has to do with the conditions she was kept in. She came with a too small cage (old and dirty, to top it off), and obviously I want to replace it soon. But, how many days should I wait before replacing it? Should I allow her to settle first?

Secondly, she was bounced around quite a bit. She only stayed in her last home for a week, but the toddler who lived there gave her a fear of hands -- she was allegedly tame before that. How hard will taming her be, in your opinion? Is there any specific method for a bird getting over trauma, or is it just the usual?

The last questions aren't quite so urgent, but questions, nonetheless. When a bird is harness trained, and you take them out to the store or for a walk, do you bring water? Food? How exactly do you go about that?

Does anyone have name / toy suggestions?

Any other tips are appreciated.

[rivx]

to add onto the 'name suggestions' part; we're considering Nirvana! Her cage is definitely grunge, to put it kindly, and her squawk is totally drop-d. That said, I don't actually know if she's a fan yet. We'll see.

[Dragonlady2]

Welcome back and congrats on your new addition. I am sure you will be happy with her once she has settled in. You've asked lots of questions which is great.
My first question is why do you want to change her name? Right now it is the only familiar thing, besides her cage, she has left.
With regard to her cage. I would get the new cage, set it up with a few interesting toys, maybe some pellets and put it beside her cage for now. Let her look at it and explore it while she is out of her cage and make it a slow transition.
As to building trust with her, sit beside her and talk, read to her and try to give her some treats. Because of the number of homes, it may take a while for trust to develop. There are some tricks to use to get her to come to your hand and we can look at those later.
For right now, she will need some time just to settle and get used to your presence and routines.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Hi and welcome, glad you are able to give a rescue bird a loving home. As Helena says, please don't confuse Gracie (which is a wonderful name) by changing her name.
Tell her she's a sweetie etc but include her name to reinforce her identity. Time and patience will be required in getting her to accept you, but let her do it at her own pace, she will step up when she feels confident and is probably susceptible to bribes with treats as encouragement but if she refuses it at first don't try and force it on her, save it for another time. Talk to her lots, have her in the room where you spend most time and as she is a flock feeder and you are her new flock, let her be close with her food bowls when you are eating your meals. This usually means having her in her cage otherwise you will have a bird beak-first in the middle of your plate of food. Voice of experience here :)
She will settle into a new cage quickly and if she has anything in her old cage that you can move across it will help her.

[rivx]

Dragonlady2

Good thought! I'd been told she didn't know it, and we don't know if that was her name for her whole life or merely from her last home. She'll keep her name, I'm sure it'll help her settle!
Thanks for the help with the cage.
So far we've been leaving her be, just talking to her and changing her dishes/paper. We plan to give her 3-4 days before any more interaction, or more if she still seems uncomfortable by then.

Casper's 2nd best friend

Thanks! I'll move some toys into the new cage and keep it nearby so she can get an idea of it --- whenever she's ready, of course. We're trying to let her settle in as peaceful an environment as possible.
I'd heard about the flock eating thing! We have a pretty open floor plan so she can see us in the dining room from where she's at right now.


Thanks to both of you for the help. Gracie will appreciate it.
She's been playing with her toys a lot more today, and we're seeing her personality a little more from afar. Can't wait to get to know her better. <3

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I think most people with birds have a cupboard full of toys and things that the bird absolutely refuses to have anything to do with. Casper has, but is happiest playing inside a cardboard carton, chewing holes so he can sneak out and attack our feet.
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[rivx]

An additional question;

She seems to have a bit of squawking / screaming problem. I've been doing the whole 'ignore her' only pay attention when she's quiet' idea, but I'm wondering if maybe this is a flock call, considering she has been taken away from her old family? Or perhaps it's to do with her too-small cage. Thoughts?
For now I'll keep on ignoring the yelling, to avoid rewarding it. Just curious about the cause of it. <3

[Dragonlady2]

Her screaming may be the reason she was rehomed so many times. I wouldn't necessarily ignore her. Can you whistle in response? Just to let her know you are nearby and maybe teach her another way to get attention. As well, try some foraging things. How about taking a mini pepper and filling it with some fruits and vegetables. You may have to try a few times or different things to get her going. The idea is to get her busy doing things independently.

[Quakerella]

Everyone has given you fantastic ideas and remedies.

This poor little thing sounds like she needs some serious love and attention. This could be one of the reasons behind the screaming.
Does she only scream when you are not there, or not in her sight?
Cockatiels are extremely social birds and don't take too well to being left alone for long periods of time.

As was stated above, let her see you as much as possible. If Gracie was hand tame before it will not take long for her to be hand tame again.

Trust first. She has to trust you before she will respond to you. It will only take patience and time but I am sure she will come around to you

Good luck and please keep us updated on her progress.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

If Casper screams when we are out of sight we shout back to let him know where we are. If he screams when he is on my shoulder he gets told that it is not necessary to be so loud, I am right next to you. He is mainly a morning screamer presumably reaching out to other parrots in the vicinity. I don't know if there are any other parrots nearby, or if they hear him and call back. How good is a parrots hearing?

[rivx]

So.

Gracie's been here for nearly 3 days now (not quite), and we've learned a bit about her! I did have to give her a bath, as she was itchy -- I used a spray bottle and she spread out her wings and all that. She also likes dancing, particularly to Marilyn Manson which, I didn't expect, but whatever works for her. She likes watching TV and seeing the family eat. She's pretty accepting to vegetables!

She also laid an egg.

In her water dish.

Nice. I'm sorting that out right now, didn't expect it to be something to deal with so soon, though! Yikes.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

She may need calcium supplement to her diet if she is going to be dropping eggs all over the place. Someone who knows more about this than me should be along shortly to offer sensible advice.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper likes Shania Twain. A lot. Which the rest of us have learned to suffer. :)

[rivx]

Birds always have unexpected tastes, I've heard! I'm...not a big Marilyn Manson fan, really, but I guess I'm gonna have to get into it. The dancing was lovely.

Yes, she's definitely on some supplements and we're getting her diet changed. I have no idea how long she went without supplements, though.

Right now, it's cuttlebone (considering shaving some onto her everyday food), trying to get her into high calcium veggies like kale, and feeding her carrots and all that. She also has some calcium coated millet that she came with, so I'll see if she likes that.

I wonder if she'd like some cooked eggs, for extra protein?