Ask Lafeber

too attached?

my tiel won’t stop flying to onto my head or on me she screams if i leave the room for even two seconds i can’t do anything without her flying to me is it best to get her a friend or is she just too attached to me

Hi Cayden,

If your cockatiel is young, this is pretty normal, but you need to teach her to be more independent. If you get another bird to put in the same cage, then you are getting her a mate, even if you get another female. What this means is birds that live together in a cage will almost always form a mate bond, and lose interest in humans as companions. So unless you want her to revert to being wild, do not get another bird for her.

When a bird can fly, they can be hard to train. I would recommend having her wings clipped while you train her. She will molt and will be able to fly again in a few months, possibly sooner. But as long as she can fly, she can do what she wants. You can keep putting her back on the cage, and she will keep flying to you. Birds do not respond to punishment. They need positive reinforcement – rewards. When you leave the room and she screams, do not return until she is quiet. Then return and reward her for being quiet- treats or attention or both. If you go to her when she screams, you have just trained her to scream for attention. So only reward good behavior, and ignore bad behavior. I’ll give you the links to our behavior and training pages to help you with her.

Pet Bird and Parrot Behavior

Teaching Your Bird

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda