New tiel

[Pipers Mom]

Max is still somewhat new to the household and yes, many things will be "on his terms". Sometimes if you move to quickly for example, closing a closet door quickly would startle him. I know my bird still freaks out when I open the curtains to my home office/his room. From your description, Max feels safe and secure in his cage and that is going to be his sanctuary. Some tiels fly a lot and some don't. My lutino tiel, Piper never flew.. She was more of a walker than a flyer and she did not have any wing damage. She would climb up mine or my husbands leg while we had dinner or sitting in the living room watching television and she would put her head down for scritches. She was our little Houdini, she knew how to break out of her cage. She could easily manipulate the latch to her cage door. We even put a tie wrap on it once and she was so persistent that she chewed right through it and got out. Sometimes my husband would ask her if she had a bionic beak...LOL!!

There have been many horror stories about wing clipping. It's usually a very controversial subject on this forum and many times, the debates get very heated. I look at this way, you are Max's caregiver and you are going to do what is best for Max. I personally have my birds wings clipped about a couple of times a year. Matter of fact, he needs to have his wings clipped and his nails trimmed very soon. When Tango is flighted, he will fly his way out of the room and go through the living room, through the kitchen and land in the family room. Personally, I am afraid that he will land in a pot of boiling water or injure himself in another way like crashing very hard into a mirror or a window. If you decide to have his wings trimmed, I would go to an avian vet or an avian technician and have them do it. They know exactly which feathers to trim. They will trim them where he will just flutter to the floor and not crash. He would still have a little flight, but not enough to crash hard into anything. Some people believe that it will permanently handicap your bird, but in all my years of homing cockatiels, I have never experienced that kind of result from wing trimming. Keep in mind, when the wings are trimmed properly, your tiel will molt the trimmed flight feathers and grow in new ones. Having a birds wings trimmed is not permanent. When done properly, the flight feathers will grow back.

Speaking of chewing, you mentioned Max likes chewing on toothpicks.. I agree with Ellen, it could be a potential danger. Even though these birds do chew on wood toys, toothpicks are made to be smooth and help get food from in between our teeth. I suggest going to the dollar store and pick up a box of plastic drinking straws. My bird has toys with plastic straws on them and usually those are the first toys he goes for. I have seen him chew on the straws for hours and they are completely safe.

When Max squawks, don't entertain it each time. There are times when my bird gets vocal, I leave the room and close the door, almost like a time out.. Like I mentioned before, these birds are intelligent, Max will catch on that he will not get his way each time he starts squawking. Usually the time out would last for about 10 - 15 minutes.

You are doing very well on being a good parront for Max. As you and Max get to know each other, your relationship will build and before you know it, your going to know his personality like the back of your hand.

[Stray_mind]

Thanks for all the advices. I will keep everything in mind and continue my friendship with Max.
He seems curious and goes to the edge of his perch when i go lie down on my bed at the other end of the room. Maybe he will decide to come hang out with me.

I pulled a new toy out of the bag where his things are held today and he got very excited, even started tippytapping with his feet. The toy is made of wooden beads and thick leather pieces. He likes chewing on it.

[Pipers Mom]

He has already perched on your shoulder and preened your hair and he goes to the edge of the perch because of curiosity, this would definitely be a good time to ask him to "step up" on your finger. Don't expect a miracle right away, but it seems like he is trusting you more. Training a tiel to step up takes time. Also, changing toys out is a great idea. Keeps their minds stimulated and an excellent way of keeping Max from being bored.

[Stray_mind]

He does step up if i have a treat. He bites my hand if i ask without one. I will keep working on it. I can assure you that i am not expecting any miracles. The fact he actually likes my face and comes to give kisses to it and allows me to preen him with my nose in such a relatively short time Already makes me happy. I am very patient with him, i just don't want him to become ill due to inactivity.

I switched the entire set up outside of the cage today. I put the perch he used to sit on all day in a different place, higher up, and instead of it i put his toy ladder with beads. It seems it worked to stimulate him as he is now climbing around the cage, from the lader to the perch and back. He also got interested in toys again.
He grinded his beak today for the first time after a while (he stopped doing it in the day a while ago and did it only before sleep).

I think he might have been bored of the same set up and needed a change.

I ordered the play gym for him too. It should arrive in few weeks. Until then i will look for more ways to keep him entertained.

[Stray_mind]

It's me again heh.

I have found a tiny tiny bald spot on the right side of his face on the forehead. He has been molting out his feathers pretty seemlessly but i was wondering if it's normal for some feathers to not grow out immediately? Or is this a problem? The skin there does not look irritated nor does he look itchy.
Our only avian vet is 60 miles away so i was thinking of what to do.

[Stray_mind]

Still can't eta on mobile but today i changed hid water and went with it in my hand back to the room and he was sitting on his cage. He flew from the cage towards me when i was in the middle of the room, landed on the bowl in my hand and had a drink, then flew back haha.

[Pipers Mom]

It's me again heh.

I have found a tiny tiny bald spot on the right side of his face on the forehead. He has been molting out his feathers pretty seemlessly but i was wondering if it's normal for some feathers to not grow out immediately? Or is this a problem? The skin there does not look irritated nor does he look itchy.
Our only avian vet is 60 miles away so i was thinking of what to do.

If Max doesn't seem to be bothered by it, then don't worry. I had a cockatiel (Caesar) that had a bald spot on the top of his left wing. He was fine. If Max is not scratching on it or it doesn't look irritated, than it could be contributed to his molt.

[Pipers Mom]

Still can't eta on mobile but today i changed hid water and went with it in my hand back to the room and he was sitting on his cage. He flew from the cage towards me when i was in the middle of the room, landed on the bowl in my hand and had a drink, then flew back haha.

Yay!! Sounds as though Max is playing with you!! It's progress when they fly to you. It means Max trusts you.

[Pipers Mom]

Keep in mind that it wouldn't hurt to have Max examined by an avian vet at least once a year. The vet will do blood work, gram stain and weight just to make sure that he is keeping healthy. It also would help in the future if Max were to get sick, the vet would have an idea where to benchmark his readings and if the vet did have to treat him, they would have good target numbers.

One thing I do tell bird owners to have is an avian scale. It's a tool that I personally use to make sure my bird maintains his weight +/- 3-5 grams. I weigh my bird weekly, usually on Saturday mornings. If there is a major fluctuation in his weight, that would be a red flag for me to get my bird to the vet and have him checked out. Cockatiels are weighed in grams. You can find avian scales online. Usually grays weight anywhere from 76-85 grams. Show tiels will more than likely weigh a little more (100+ grams).


When pet birds do get sick, sometimes it could be too late. Birds hide their illnesses as long as possible and it's instinct. Reason being if they did show any sign of illness, it would make them vulnerable in the wild.

[Pipers Mom]

Keep in mind... There are many cockatiel owners that never have taken their beloved birds to the vet and they still lived long, happy and healthy lives. So far, you seem to be doing a fine job taking care of your sweetheart Max.

[Stray_mind]

Thank you. I think i will take him when i can and i was thinking already about getting a scale and watching his weight. He eats plenty though. Weird that he prefers pellets only when i give them to him out of my hand and never touches them from a bowl.

Today i tried to coax him into flying to me from a short distance with pieces of millet. He does fly to me but is still afraid to land on my hand, so he kind of hovers above my arm and flies back.. It must not seem very stable to him yet. But hey, at least he is excercizing instead of being a perch potato.
That said i am not forcing him to move all day. I know molting and growing new feathers takes tons of energy out of them.

[Pipers Mom]

Give this a try.. When Max is feeling brave and flies to you, let him land and don't coax him to your hand. Max will land where he will feel safe. It may be the top of your head, your shoulder, your arm.. When Max does fly out of the cage to you, let him walk to your arm from your head or shoulder or wherever he may land. He is going to have to learn that arms and hands will be safe and that takes a little time. You are still building the bond and trust, let it be on Max's terms. You have made incredible progress, you should be proud.

[Stray_mind]

I'll try that. He lands on the waterbowl no problem, but probably still doesn't feel safe to land on my body.

However he immediately steps up now if he sees a treat in my other hand and when he is done eating, he does not attempt to step off of my hand immediately like he used to a few weeks ago. He actually tucked one foot in and started preening while still there. However my hand got tired from his weight so i had to put him back on his perch.
I am very happy with this development and that he is getting more comfortable around me.

He learned to immitate my dog barking by the way. He sounds just like her. Now when she starts barking in the other room or outside, he also barks. Haha

[Stray_mind]

I have noticed an odd thing he does sometimes. He dunks his beak in the water, slurps it up, makes a whistle and shakes his head. Then he makes a snorting sound.

He did this today in the morning and yesterday in the evening.

Is he washing his nostrils or something?

[Pipers Mom]

I have noticed an odd thing he does sometimes. He dunks his beak in the water, slurps it up, makes a whistle and shakes his head. Then he makes a snorting sound.

He did this today in the morning and yesterday in the evening.

Is he washing his nostrils or something?

Birds like to play in water, especially the water cups.. What you described is perfectly normal, my bird does the same thing.

When we lived at our old home, our neighbors had a dog that was quite the barker, my bird also barked... Don't underestimate their minds, these birds are very smart.. Don't be surprised if Max does other sounds too.

Also, if Max is preening himself on your hand with one foot tucked, he is comfortable with you..