Hissing

Daniellab

Daniellab

Registered
Hi people, im new 🙂 i purchased 2 cockatiels yesterday, not 100% sure on sex however im thinking male and female. 2 years 8 months old. One of my cockatiels is very very aggressive. If you go anywhere near the cage it hisses and sort of like shows its going to attack. The other however doesnt seem botherd as it nips at peices of apple you slot in the cage bars. Anyone els had this problem? Im hoping to tame however i know this is going to take very slow steps and quite abit of time. The previous owner said she hadnt handled them for 6 months 😭 or even been let out the cage !!! So im unsure again if even the previous owner before her had even handled them. Whats the chances im ever going to be able to tame them slowly. Thanks :)
 
Hi and welcome
That's a standard Go Away cockatiel hiss :) your scary Sooooo time and patience it's early days everyone needs to get to know each other and become friends but it does take time
 
Chances to tame hmmm depends on how long your willing to try and learn body language and how training works. It's done in the birds time scale not the human want time scale
So first I'll let you in to a secret..... Your a predator by natures design your eyes to the front and center, your new feather friends are prey species eyes to the side.... So you your scary and need hissing at to try and scare you away....after all you maybe looking at them as a quick snack :eek:
Remember they just went somewhere new, new human, new routine, new noises around them a whole heap load of stuff it'll take time to settle in and get the hang of things .... And obviously if your going to eat them or not! After all humans are large tiels are a huge personality in a small bird package. But they will settle and it's up to you to show your a nice human who wants to be friends on and your an easy score for a tasty favourite treat :lol:
 
Your next port of call is the training folder.... You can start learning the training techniques while they spend a bit of time learning the new routine of what you do in your house and when. Time and patience and the more of the same :)
 
You have a few to read your way through and get the hang of before you start the training with your birdies. So pull up a pew next to them sit lower than they are and gently read your way through it aloud. That way your not a threat and they get to learn your voice sounds.

Reinforcers And Parrots Who Are Fearful Of Humans

Reinforcers and how to use them with a Parrot who is fearful of humans Building a history of Reinforcement from almost nothing We all have to start somewhere. A new parrot will have had no time yet to build a nice long history of reinforcement with us. Maybe that parrot is used to humans and...
theparrotclub.co.uk
 
Hello, that's normal!! My Elsie came to me and wasn't use to being handled. It took a good few months for her to settle. She rarely hisses anymore. She prefers a cuddle instead 20200203_172847_copy_1485x1480.jpg
Patients, and allowing the bird come to you when they are ready has always worked for me. X
 
:welcome: Congrats on your two new beauties! You've already been given some good advice.

I'd say get to know them from a distance first. Let them settle in. It must be frightening to move to a completely new home with a new person, new toys, even new food, etc. and to lose their old flock/owner. If one of them isn't comfortable with you approaching their cage, then stay back for as much as possible for now. Let him/her see that you aren't a threat. If you have to approach the cage, move slowly and smoothly - see if you can do it without having him/her hiss at you. It might help getting down lower than they are since birds feel safer higher up where it is easier to spot predators. Right now you want to keep their body language as relaxed as possible. Relaxed body language = happy birds.

That's great that one is willing to eat apple you are slotting through the cage bars. Hopefully the "aggressive/fearful" one will learn from the more confident one that you slotting in apple is something to look forward to. Using food as a reinforcer is absolutely the way to go with new birds.

I'd keep them caged for now so that they learn the new routine, ie. when to expect meals etc. Later, you can try opening the cage door and letting them come out themselves if they want to, maybe an hour or so before their breakfast, so that there is incentive to go back in when you slot the food bowls in. But you want them to learn the breakfast routine first so that they know what to expect. When they do eventually come out, have you thought about where they are going to fly to/land on/hang out on? It might be an idea to get a play stand that you can set up by the cage at first so they get used to it.

It sounds like you are a patient person with no expectations of them which is great! That way every tiny step of progress they make will be so exciting!! Keep a journal of their progress so that you can look back and remind yourself how far they have come. Have they got names yet? :)
 
Cockatiels and Cockatoos are prone to hissing, all ours hiss at me daily.

Unfoutunately parrots are not like dogs, they require a lot of patience, time and little baby steps to tame and train them.

With all new birds, I would give them 24 hours to settle first, I would not even go into the same room as them or go near the cage except for food, water and changing the paper lining on the bottom of the cage (even better, place 7 layers of paper on the bottom of the cage and remove one daily)

After the first 24 hours, then just sit in the same room as them but ignore them.

After they get used to you being in the same room, then you can start verbally interacting with them by talking and singing to them.

If you are feeling brave and confidence in getting them back into the cage , I would provide them with a perch stand out side their cage and allow them out. When they feel comfortable, they will come over to you on their own accord. If you do let them out, make sure that the room is bird safe (they like to chew things) as well as escape proof (keep windows and doors closed at all times) and never leave them alone unattended if you do let them out. But don't let them out if you are not confidence in getting them back into the cage without chasing them or stressing them, they are quick flyers.

Also ensure that any other pets in the household don't have access to your birds.

Avoid eye contact with your birds and never put your hand in their cage (except for food, water change and cleaning), respect this as their territory and safe place.

If you are not confidence in letting them out of the cage, I would place a small perch on the front door (you can get bolt on ones with a wing nut) and attach it in such a way that you can still open the door (hence why a small perch). This will become your training perch for clicker training, you can do this through the bars without opening the door or letting your birds out. As you progress, you can train you bird to sit on the perch once the door is open and this will be the step up perch to bring you bird in and our of the cage.

Remember the key here is little baby steps and a lot of patience, taming can take weeks, years or may never happen. Not all our birds that we own here are tame, others have taken years to build up trust

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom