traing and feeding my bird?

Question
Hi Patt,
Can you please advise on how to learn to start to tame my bird and what is best to feed it also.
How do I know I got a sexed cockateil?  I wanted a male, it cere is somewhat of a purple blue color.

thank you

Answer
Hi Susan
It does in fact sound like you did get a male which is the best for a pet for it will learn to talk, mimic sounds, etc.
Females are totally worth less as pets, just lay unfertile eggs, etc.
Everytime u enter its room and hope it is by a window to look out some.  In nice days put out on a hook high enough from aniamls on the porch of shade.
Enter the room and say kinda loudly WELL HELLO SUNNY, HOW ARE YOU TODAY OR GOOD MORNING, GOOD AFTERNOON, ETC.   Stand and talk at its cage untile u feel it is comfortable with you as its carekeeper and gain its trust by talking alot, while cleaning the cage daily just try to put your finger at its feet.  Takes tons of patience and time, if by time u feel it has been long enough u might have to force catching it, he might bite, do not fear nor holler, just deal with it so it knows it did not hurt u and not to do it again, it did not work.
My teil, Sonny bit me one time in catching him and tears whelled up it hurt but i did not move, he never did it again and taming was most easy after that.  Go to the cage and catch him 2 or 3 times a day every day and just cup your hand over him and talk to him.  Then start to peep and open the hand, he might jump down, catch him and keep this up until he sits in your hand quietly.  Then try to stroke his back or scratch under his wings, and just keep working with him, it takes alot of time and patience  some learn fast, some do not.
But, in the end they make wonderful sweet pets.  My Sonny would sing Rock a Bye Baby, whistle, but do not start to whistle first as that is easy for them and they might not learn to talk as easy.  Use P words like Pretty Boy, Pretty Bird, etc.  Just work on gaining his trust and love.

Kind Regards
Patt
Oh, feed him a good fruit grain mix for cockateils.  Give him a piece of hard cooked egg yolk daily what he does not eat in 2 hours remove until he learns to like it.  Offer fresh cubed fruit, veggies in a special washable dish.  Make sure he gets a bath dish u can set on bottom of cage daily for an hour or till he learns to bath.  U might need to spry him from a bottle to get him to like water, Sonny loved it.