Scared Cockatiel

Question
I would like to tame and train my male pet cockatiel, Barney. When I try, i take him out of his cage outside with his girlfriend and into a small room into our house. He is terrified and screams and shakes. He runs to the corner and if I try to touch him he runs away terriefied or bites me. He refuses to sit on my finger! I don't understand why he is so scared of me and I dont know how I can get his behaviour to stop. Do you have any ideas for training a stubborn cockatiel?

Answer
Hello Georgia Maree,

The first step to working with your bird is to learn to understand him. Parrots are wild animals that we choose to share our homes with. They are naturally prey animals and we are predators. His behaviors of fear and protection are completely normal as he has not yet learned to have trust or how to interact with people. Those are skills that only you can teach him. He is not "stubborn," he is scared and needs guidance.

Take small steps with him. Always make the experience as positive as possible. Sit on the floor with him and make no attempt to chase him (as a predator would a prey.) Instead bring a favorite treat like a millet spray or sunflower seeds. This should be a treat that he sees at no other time. Talk to him softly and show him the treat. This may take a day, it may take weeks. Eventually he will learn to trust you, if you show him that you can be trusted.

Here is a past answer that will also help you.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Parrots-1638/Timneh-Parrot-Please-help.htm

Jennifer