about cockatiels

Question
I recently was given a cockatiel,when I came to pick up the bird I noticed the cage was very small, very poor lighting, with no attintion for about 6 months. My question is how long will it take for him to trust me, or if he ever will? I spend a great deal of time with him, and I let him out of his cage every day,I can get pretty close to him but he will not let me pet him, I have had him about 2 weeks now.I let him know how special he is to me all the time.Is there hope for us.

Answer
Hello Marie.

Some birds never come around to trusting people after thay've been abused/neglected.  Some come around right away, and some take a good long time to be able to trust people.
You just have to keep working with your new friend.  I have an Amazon Parrot and three cockatiels that have been abused/neglected the same way that you are talking about.  The one cockatiel has taken over 2 years to come around to trusting me enough to step up and ride around on my shoulder while I am feeding the others, but I still am not able to pet her.
I've had my Amazon Parrot for almost a year and a half, and he still doesn't want to step up.
One of my cockatiels trusted me right away, and I just got the other one.
Just keep in mind that this poor thing has had to deal with alot of set-backs, and it may take a long time for him to trust you.  Just be pateint, and keep doing what you have been doing.  It will more than likely pay off in the end.

I wish that I could give you a more definate answer.

Please keep me informed on the progress, and if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask me.  

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna