strange behaviour

Question
I have had Spikey for 6 weeks. He is about 4-5 months old. I put a fruit stick in his cage and for the last 4 days he keeps hanging next to it. He does not move for up to an hour or so just hangs with his beak and feet on the bar.  Also I have been very patient with him, it still takes a long time for him to come out of his cage but he will fly and land on hand if made to move off curtain. He would just sit there all night otherwise. What can I do to make him feel that he is part of the family and secure enough to fly of his ownwill. We talk to him lots and whistle etc.

Answer
Hi,

Unfortunately, I think the only advice I can give as to gain Spikey's confidence and trust is to give him time. Spend time trying to hand-feed him treats (like millet) and talking to him. Tellinig his what a pretty bird he is. Make sure that your body lanugage is submissive so that he doesn't feel threated (like not making direct eye contact... closing your eyes and pretending to be sleepy... playing with a cockatiel toy to show him that you aren't a threat, sitting so that your his height or lower, etc...)

The other option is to trim his wings and tame him... but letting him tame on his own time will probably lead for a better relationship.

Birds are flock animals, so he will naturally seek out companionship. Although he might seem to not appreciate your companionship now... in time he will learn to. Just spend a lot of time bonding with him through his cage and when he is outside of his cage as well. Talking to him lot and again, hand-feeding him favorite treats (like seed, millet, etc...).

Give him bird-safe samples from your dinner or breakfest each morning and make him feel like he gets to eat with his "flock" (his human flock that is). Birds love to eat and they especially love to eat with their loved ones. In fact- birds feel each other to show affection. If you all eat as a family and hand-feed him treats during other parts of the day, Spikey will be more likely to accept and look forward to this interaction and attention.

As far as Spikey's behavior about sitting in one place for an hour or so... could it be that he is frightened by the big seed (or is it fruit?) stick in his cage? If he has never seen anything like before it would be kind of scary... since it is as big (if not larger) than he is.

I hope this helps somewhat. Sorry I couldn't help more.

-Maggie