Ask Lafeber

My cockatiel is always scared of me

I have a make cockatiel and its been about 2 months since I have gotton him. When I got him, I left him alone in his cage for a few weeks, afterwards, I sit beside the cage sometimes, but he always walks away from me. I tried giving him some time, but it was no use. I let him be for some time, I would come near him every now and then. Sometimes, he starts screaming for no reason,weather I am in the room or not, because Ive checked his food and water, and he seems completely fine too. I dont understand what to do. He randomly starts screaming, and pacing around the cage. Everytime, I walk towards the cage, not necessarily to him,but if I do, he starts panicking and taking steps back. After about 1 and a half month, I tried feeding him treats from outside the cage, but he would keep a far distance from me, no matter how long I sit there with the treat, he would not move.I thought he needed more space, its been almost 2 weeks and nothing has changed. Please help, I do not know what to do.

Hi Morina,

While 2 months may seem like a long time for you, it isn’t very long when trying to tame a bird. If this bird was never tamed, it can take months and months to make any progress. And the bird may never be hand tamed. It depends on the bird and on you. All you can do is continue to be patient and spend time around him. Talk to him when you are in the room, sitting with him, or feeding him or cleaning his cage. But don’t make any attempt to reach out to him or give him anything from your hand. One of these days he will decide you aren’t a threat and will start to sit closer to you. Each time he approaches you is progress – but again, don’t offer your hand yet. If he gets to the point that he wants to be near you and stops moving away from you, then you can try getting him used to hands. You would start by just having your hand rest next to his cage. When he will approach you and maybe looks at your hand with curiosity, then you have made more progress. As far as the vocalizing and pacing, he is seeking companionship but still can’t bring himself to trust you. I’m going to give you some links to read to help you understand his behavior and to give you some taming tips. Again, this can be a very long process so if you were looking for a sweet pet bird, it might be better to find a home for him where he can be with other cockatiels and get a hand fed baby for a pet.

Teaching Your Bird

Pet Bird and Parrot Behavior

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda