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Thread: In DESPERATE need of assistance

 
  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Lulu's Avatar


    Parrots

    African Grey Cockatiel

    In DESPERATE need of assistance

    Hi all, this is my first post, hoping I can get some assistance/ reassurance.

    I am a mom to an African Grey, and on Saturday my husband bought me a juvenile Cockatiel as a Christmas present (as our conure died from old age earlier this year and I've been quite sad about that).

    I have never, NEVER encountered such a wild bird in my life. Even our conure (who was a rescue and was extremely aggressive) was not like this. Our African Grey was already four when we got him and has never been a difficult bird.

    It's now Wednesday (so five days in) and the Cockatiel (which we have named Speckles) is still not eating. Everything I put in the cage to eat first gets attacked then ignored. Speckles is going nuts in the cage, desperately trying to get out (I discovered that the bars of his cage are too big and he can stick his head out, so I've been spending the days filling the gaps with galvanized wire so he can't fit through. It's a nice big cage so I don't want to put him in a smaller cage).

    We have let him out, when we let out the African Grey (named Kratos), but getting him back to his cage is difficult as he's so scared of us and won't allow us to come near him. He's quite fascinated by Kratos but Kratos is petrified of him.

    We can go to the cage and talk to him for a while before he retreats to a far corner.

    Speckles bites terribly, so I've not even started training him to come onto my hands.

    Will he settle down eventually? I'm stressing that this bird is going to be crazy wild like this forever. The pet shop people have obviously never bothered to spend two seconds with them (I have already sent an email to them complaining that they need to interact with their birds more).

    Does anyone have any tips to help tame him? I feel like I'm not doing a good job.

    Thanks.

  2. The following user likes this post:

    Dragonlady2 (12-27-2017)

  3. #2
    Senior Member
    Casper's 2nd best friend's Avatar


    Parrots

    Casper, a blue fronted Amazon. Loves banana. Hates plastic bags and red coats.
    Welcome to PP
    You have a lot of experience with birds so I don't think you are doing anything wrong. They do pick up on our emotions so keep calm and take a deep breath before approaching him. Spend a lot of time just talking or reading to him so he gets used to you and doesn't feel threatened. Being in a pet shop must be very traumatic for them and whilst some staff are there for their love of animals others are just there for the pay cheque and have no empathy whatsoever.
    Reach out to him with your love and hopefully he will respond.
    Please keep us updated, we will offer all the support we can.
    "A busy beak is a happy beak" - David Strom

  4. The following 3 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (12-27-2017), Lady (12-28-2017), plax (12-28-2017)

  5. #3
    Super Moderator
    Dragonlady2's Avatar


    Parrots

    Willy-Eclectus, Oliver-alexandrine, Mookie-Senegal, Bella- Australian King, Joey and Peewee- Barrabands, Peachiegirl-Peachfront conure, Pepper- crimson belly conure, Peanut-plum head, Babyblue-parrotlette, Harry and Louie-canaries.
    Welcome to the forum!
    Your poor cockatiel is probably scared. I would be careful of the galvanized wire, particularly if it is chewing it or beaking it.
    I wouldn't let it out of the cage for the next little while. It needs time to settle in. Can you cover the back half of the cage with a sheet or something? It will give Speckles a feeling of safety. Have you tried giving it a sprig of millet? You could attach it to the cage where Speckles' favorite perch is. I agree with Casper's 2nd best friend, for now, sit by the cage, read to it quietly, offer it different treats etc.
    Don't be too discouraged. Some birds take longer than others to settle. Is Speckles flighted?

  6. The following 3 users like this post:

    Casper's 2nd best friend (12-27-2017), Lady (12-28-2017), plax (12-28-2017)

  7. #4
    Junior Member
    Lulu's Avatar


    Parrots

    African Grey Cockatiel
    Quote Originally Posted by Casper's 2nd best friend View Post
    Welcome to PP
    You have a lot of experience with birds so I don't think you are doing anything wrong. They do pick up on our emotions so keep calm and take a deep breath before approaching him. Spend a lot of time just talking or reading to him so he gets used to you and doesn't feel threatened. Being in a pet shop must be very traumatic for them and whilst some staff are there for their love of animals others are just there for the pay cheque and have no empathy whatsoever.
    Reach out to him with your love and hopefully he will respond.
    Please keep us updated, we will offer all the support we can.
    Thank you. Yes i think it must have been traumatic for him, shame. He is at least eating his seeds now (still unsure about treats, I have given him a honey seed ball which initially scared him but I see he has nibbled off it).

    I'm going to try get a nice picture of him today to upload, he's such a pretty bird.

  8. The following 3 users like this post:

    Casper's 2nd best friend (12-28-2017), Dragonlady2 (12-28-2017), plax (12-28-2017)

  9. #5
    Junior Member
    Lulu's Avatar


    Parrots

    African Grey Cockatiel
    Quote Originally Posted by Dragonlady2 View Post
    Welcome to the forum!
    Your poor cockatiel is probably scared. I would be careful of the galvanized wire, particularly if it is chewing it or beaking it.
    I wouldn't let it out of the cage for the next little while. It needs time to settle in. Can you cover the back half of the cage with a sheet or something? It will give Speckles a feeling of safety. Have you tried giving it a sprig of millet? You could attach it to the cage where Speckles' favorite perch is. I agree with Casper's 2nd best friend, for now, sit by the cage, read to it quietly, offer it different treats etc.
    Don't be too discouraged. Some birds take longer than others to settle. Is Speckles flighted?
    He's luckily not chewing on the wire, he just tried to poke his head out (which he could do before, and I was worried he'd get stuck and panic himself into a heart attack when I'm not looking).

    So his cage is against a wall, and I have a throw covering the back and both sides partially. Strangely he doesn't hide out in there (only when he gets sick of you talking to him). He likes to sit on a soft dog toy I tied in there for Fuzzy (my conure that died) and that sits right in he front of the cage. I'm thinking of putting another one at the back for him too.

    We let him out for a little bit last night and he was mostly good. But we won't let him out tonight because like I say, it's a mission to get him back inside.

    As for the millet, for the life of me I can't find any here. I went to three stores and a pet store and they didn't have. I last bought a few months ago from the normal supermarket so I don't understand why I can't find now. I'm going to try find at the avian vet tomorrow.

    Yes he is flighted. We've not clipped his wings (our African Grey as well- his were clipped when we got him but we let them grow out as he enjoys flying around the living room).

  10. The following 2 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (12-28-2017), Lady (01-01-2018)

  11. #6
    Senior Member
    Casper's 2nd best friend's Avatar


    Parrots

    Casper, a blue fronted Amazon. Loves banana. Hates plastic bags and red coats.
    I believe that wing clipping is not good for the bird either mentally or physically. But then we have a bird that doesn't rate flying as a method of transport and is quite happy to stay in his tree in the garden in the summer wandering backwards and forwards along what is known as Casper's branch. He too doesn't like some new things - he was terrified the first time I got the rope perches out of their packaging, maybe he thought they were snakes, so we left them on the floor for a couple of days till he realised they were not going anywhere.
    Keep an eye on the fuzzy toy and remove it if it starts shedding fibres because the bird can get them trapped in their crop or airways.
    We buy all our parrot food, cleaning products and toys online. It is usually cheaper and if you spend enough you get free delivery. We usually have to buy a couple of toys to get up to that level and as Casper rarely plays with them maybe we are doing it wrong.

    We would love to see pictures of both Kratos and Speckles
    "A busy beak is a happy beak" - David Strom

  12. The following 2 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (12-28-2017), Lady (01-01-2018)

  13. #7
    Nobility Member
    Mare's Avatar


    Parrots

    Sassy Goffin's girl, she IS Sassy Amigo, male umbrella cockatoo Chip! The cockatiel! The sweet, sweet Jellybean!
    Hi, Lulu! Welcome I brought home a cockatiel, several months ago, from a pet store in town. I felt sorry for him because he was alone in a small, dark space with no toys, one perch, one seed cup and one water cup. This bird was a freak when I came near him, I tried to integrate him into our flock and he was picked on, I had to segregate him into a separate cage but near the others. He still flips out if I move too fast around him, getting his food bowls out but he is becoming calmer with my hands in his cage. I’m guessing that some of these pet shop birds that don’t have continuous love..have a hard time adjusting to a home life..sadly.

  14. The following 3 users like this post:

    Casper's 2nd best friend (12-29-2017), Dragonlady2 (12-29-2017), Lady (01-01-2018)

  15. #8
    Junior Member
    Lulu's Avatar


    Parrots

    African Grey Cockatiel
    Quote Originally Posted by Casper's 2nd best friend View Post
    I believe that wing clipping is not good for the bird either mentally or physically. But then we have a bird that doesn't rate flying as a method of transport and is quite happy to stay in his tree in the garden in the summer wandering backwards and forwards along what is known as Casper's branch. He too doesn't like some new things - he was terrified the first time I got the rope perches out of their packaging, maybe he thought they were snakes, so we left them on the floor for a couple of days till he realised they were not going anywhere.
    Keep an eye on the fuzzy toy and remove it if it starts shedding fibres because the bird can get them trapped in their crop or airways.
    We buy all our parrot food, cleaning products and toys online. It is usually cheaper and if you spend enough you get free delivery. We usually have to buy a couple of toys to get up to that level and as Casper rarely plays with them maybe we are doing it wrong.

    We would love to see pictures of both Kratos and Speckles

    I'm battling to upload the pictures. I took a nice one of Speckles on Kratos' cage.

  16. #9
    Junior Member
    Lulu's Avatar


    Parrots

    African Grey Cockatiel
    Quote Originally Posted by Mare View Post
    Hi, Lulu! Welcome I brought home a cockatiel, several months ago, from a pet store in town. I felt sorry for him because he was alone in a small, dark space with no toys, one perch, one seed cup and one water cup. This bird was a freak when I came near him, I tried to integrate him into our flock and he was picked on, I had to segregate him into a separate cage but near the others. He still flips out if I move too fast around him, getting his food bowls out but he is becoming calmer with my hands in his cage. I’m guessing that some of these pet shop birds that don’t have continuous love..have a hard time adjusting to a home life..sadly.

    Hi Maree, thanks for your reply! I'm hoping he'll settle soon... he's been with us now for a week and a half and he still doesn't allow me to touch him or come near to him BUT I can put my hand closer to him than I was able to last week.

  17. The following 3 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (01-02-2018), Lady (01-08-2018), Mare (01-24-2018)

  18. #10
    Senior Member
    Casper's 2nd best friend's Avatar


    Parrots

    Casper, a blue fronted Amazon. Loves banana. Hates plastic bags and red coats.
    Are you using a phone or a camera/computer to upload pics?
    I use tapatalk for pictures from my phone (doesn't do videos though). Videos I upload to dropbox or Onedrive and copy a link from there.
    Pictures I have taken with my camera tend to be too big to upload directly to this website so I either reduce them in paint or photoshop or upload them to my flickr gallery first and then from there click on share photo and copy and paste the medium format bbcode option like this

    Mmmm apple by Jean-Pierre Declemy, on Flickr
    "A busy beak is a happy beak" - David Strom

  19. The following 3 users like this post:

    bill-e (01-03-2018), Dragonlady2 (01-02-2018), Quakerella (01-03-2018)

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