Taming Cockatiels

Question
Hi Rev Abbott

3 days ago, my partner and I purchased two male pied cockatiels from a pet
store.
However we are very disappointed to see they are not at all tame and are
terrified of us, everytime someone goes near the cage or puts their hand in
there to change their food they flap around and start screaming. We hoped that
we'd be able to handle them and have them sitting on our shoulders etc. Also
they are very quiet and do not whistle or sing at all.
They've obviously not been hand-reared so my question is will they always be
like this or is it possible for us to tame them?

Thanks
Danny

Answer
3 days is still pretty new.  You know that you're kind and caring, but birds can't afford to make a mistake with a too quick judgement. One mistake and they're someone's dinner!

With two together it'll be a bit harder to tame them and they may not fully human-bond, but you should be able to handle them.  If you want a more personal bird you need to house these two in separate cages. They can be nearby each other, but not in the same cage.

There's not nearly enough room for me to post all the methods I use to tame/rehab the bigger birds, but I outline it all at my page and have pictures of cage set ups too.   I don't sell or promote anything either. No ulterior motives.

  www.geocities.com/animalrelief_info

You can email me here or there, either way, I'll help you through this step by step if you want.

In the meantime, be patient.  A partial cover over all but one or two sides of the cage (especially at night) and low light, low voices is a first step.  Don't try to reach in, but put your hand up against the cage and let them get used to it.  When your hand goes in, have a treat (a tiny bit of millet is usually well received, which means that providing it freely should be curbed - so it's considered a 'treat').

 When they start to flail, just freeze and start whispering. No movement, no threats, just soft voices.

Their songs will start soon enough, usually with some whistling first, so start picking tunes to share - it can take some a few weeks to get going, but males are the best choice for talkers and whistlers (although, again, a pair is less likely to do so because they'll bond to each other).
  Take a look at my page and let me know, ok?