My friend got 2 cockatiels had them 2 years and sadly passed away. I decided to take them home they’ve been in my house two months now in male still hisses at me kind of breaks my heart cuz I want to Pat them and they won’t let me I have a male and female. A female has let me touch her belly a couple times but that is all. What can I do to get closer to them? I love them dearly they make me happy I can’t wait to see them aftercwork.
Hi Shay,
I am sorry you lost your friend and it was good of you to take in the birds. Do you happen to know if your friend was able to handle the birds? I am asking because when you keep two birds together, especially a male and female, they will tend to bond with each other and not want to be handled by people. They might stay tame for a while, but as they get older they will be more interested in breeding and less interested in people. I don’t think splitting them up would be a good idea since they just lost their owner. But you probably will not make a lot of progress in handling them as long as they share the same cage. It might be best just to accept that they have each other and let them live together. You can keep trying to handle them, but do not expect too much. It is just not in their nature to be friendly to people when they have each other. The most important thing is that unless you want them to breed, do not give them a nest box, bird tent or anything they can get inside of and try to use as a nest. Also do not give them anything to shred like paper.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
