Ask Lafeber

Make cockatiel

I have a 1 year old cockatiel. I got him about 6 months ago. At first he was a lil scared but then he chilled out, but now when I go to his cage to get him out he tries to get away from me and he flys away and screams to the top of his lungs. He does step up when he feels like it. I’m not sure if he was hand tamed or not. I got him at my local petco and I just can’t seem to get him to like me or bond with me. Every time I go to get him he opens his mouth and tries to bite me. What do I do???

Hi Savannah,

It sounds like he may not have been hand fed. It takes a lot longer to try to tame a bird like this. I’m going to give you the links to our taming page and behavior. Be patient with him and work slowly. He needs to trust you before he will trust your hands. It also sound like his wing feathers grew back, if he was clipped when you got him. He will be easier to work with if you get his wings trimmed again.

Teaching Your Bird

Pet Bird and Parrot Behavior

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda