Cocky Cockatiel.

Question:
My cockatiel is being very difficult in training. I don't want to clip her wings,
so is there anything like a hood for her head or a chain for her foot I could use?



Answer:
Hand taming a pet cockatiel can take a long time and in some instances
will not work at all. It is best to purchase a young bird from a breeder
as soon as it is independent of its parents, usually when it is about eight
to 10 weeks old any older than this and there is the possibility that the
cockatiel will never become hand tame.

It is also best to obtain a cock bird rather than a hen if you want to have one
indoors as a pet, hens kept indoors as pets will very often become
perpetual egg layers with disastrous consequences. When attempting to tame a
cockatiel time and patience are of the essence. Lessons must be carried out at the same time each day.

Initially you should concentrate on gaining the confidence of the cockatiel, if he or she doesn't feel safe in your company then you will never tame him or her. Gloves, hoods, chains or the like will never make a cockatiel feel confident with you and must be avoided at all costs. At first, try to get him or her to take food from your fingers through the cage bars. Once he is doing that, try it with the cage door open, then try to get him to come on to your hand. After a while he should be confident enough to perch on your hand inside his cage. After you have accomplished this, try taking him out of his cage while perched on your hand.

This process can take weeks or months, depending on the nature of the cockatiel and your patience, but the time and effort expended are really worth it. Unfortunately there are no shortcuts, apart from purchasing a hand-reared tame cockatiel to begin with. Even then, if you are not confident with the cockatiel he will quickly revert to being partially wild.

_{source Bird Keeper Mag}