Ok so here goes....
I got a new cockatiel 8 days ago. I love him to bits already!! Image attached.
I got him from a pet shop in Broxburn, West Lothian.
They could not tell me his exact month age but said he was roughly 5 to 6 months old. He is not a hand tamed bird.
His introduction to the house was not the greatest. The box was too big and when I tried to get him into his cage he escaped from the box. This resulted in me panicking. I admit! Hands up. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to catch him with the box and then a blanket. He eventually flew himself tired and i got the blanket over him on the floor and into his cage. Not the best start.
He seemed to settle in ok and here are the current positive and negatives I am facing.
Positives -
He is eating and drinking. He also chirps away and when I leave the room he calls on me. When I say "Come see me" he comes down to the bottom of the cage and lets me get my face close to the cage without being scared. He is also letting me clap his tail when he is on his sleepy perch. He does occasional hiss but not a lot.
When i call his name he kind of shakes his head and the same with a few whistles that I have been doing reguarly. At first when changing food and water he would proper flap and panic however now he does not but only as long as i do not move hands towards him. He seems to get very excited with interaction and runs up and down the cage and along perches and does a strange little left to right and back dance along the perch.
Negatives -
He hisses if you try to touch him. I have been able to place my fingers near him on a perch but not enough to tickle or rub him. He seems to want to go to bed anytime from 6pm to 9pm and wakes up roughly about 8ish. He then takes a wee half hour to warm and wake up and then has a mad turn and chrips and calls a lot.
Obviously I know this is very early days. But are the above good or bad signs. I can handle the truth.
Few questions I also have are -
Are cockatiels one person birds?
Is it likely if not hand tamed he will ever trust me especially after his dodgy introduction?
If he is wanting to go to his bed, should I be vacating the livingroom where he stays?
How early should I be doing step up training, especially since he wont let me touch him?
He seems to stretch his wings to the side and then backwards. I feel it is because he needs exercise flying, but i dont feel i can risk this while he will not let me touch him and have the whole situation of trying to catch him all over again.
Should i be feeding him seed or not. He seems to love it. He is getting seed and some chop daily of veg and fruit.
Sorry i know its a lot to ask but really looking forward to some info.
Cheers
Jimmy