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| Question about Pets:My cockatiels behavior? |
First, kudos on being a new fid (feathered kid) carer. May I suggest you join an online parrot, cockatiel, or bird group or groups and learn as much as you can from those who are already owned by their beloved fids? Even after being owned by birds for more than 14 years I'm still learning stuff.
Your cockatiel is a member of a bird family that gets scared very easily. These little guys are food to bigger birds and a prey bird. She is in a new home, has new people around her, doesn't know what's happened, where she is, or if she's next on the menu. That's why she's just sitting and trying to protect herself. How did she respond to you when you checked her out wherever you bought her from?
Get her to an avian vet for a checkup to make sure she's nice and healthy. Trust me, this is very important. I've bought a cockatiel from a place that I'd bought my first one from, only to learn the poor fid (feathered kid) more than likely would not last 2 more days upon a veterinarians exam. Needless to say, the bird went right back to where it was purchased from and no further birds were bought from there.
Give her time to settle in. Cover about 1/4 of her cage so she'll feel she has a safe place to retreat to (until she gets settled in). Leave at least a nightlight on in the room where she is for a bit. That way, when she has the inevitable night frights that cockatiels undergo - especially when in a new home - she'll see for herself no one is going to eat her.
Make sure she gets her 12 hours of sleep per day. If she's in a room where there's a TV or CD player, turn one on and let her get used to human voices during the daytime when you're not with her. This will help her feel that she's not abandoned by her new flock and that she's safe as well.
Did you give her what she's used to for food? You need to give her some of that and gradually give her a good cockatiel diet if she's not already on one. In the meantime, after you've had her examined, remember that hunger will kick in if she's healthy and she will eat. If you've offered her fresh fruits and/or veggies remove them after 2-3 hours and toss them so you don't attract fruit flies. Make sure she's kept with plenty of fresh, clean water. No feathers, seeds, or poop and trust me, they love to put those things in their water. Getting something along the line of a hamster water bottle will give her her water, and keep the undesired stuff out. If you get a clean, new spray bottle, you can gently mist her, which should cut down on feather dander and help keep her clean and healthy.
If you don't have cockatiel toys, get her some. She needs them to keep herself occupied and happy. She WILL be scared of them when they're first introduced (happens every time you change a thing around a cockatiel).
Have patience with your new fid. Sit near her cage, talk to her, offer her treats through the bars. These tactics done daily starting from today will help her learn that she's in a safe place and she's got friends. Gradually, she'll learn she can trust you. Wherever she came from, she's been subjected to abuse along the line and has to learn that people can be trusted. She will come around, that I can promise, as LONG as you are patient and gentle with her.
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