A young, female, either gray or cinnamon 'tiel found us approximately 2 months ago. I put out about 15 signs, but no one claimed her. She has the markings of a female gray, but has yellow on the face, which is purportedly characteristic of the cinnamon. Your advice on that is appreciated. Her name is Kes (after a character in Star Trek Voyager). She's is approx. 8 months old now, in excellent health and physical condition, as advised by my neighbor/'tiel breeder. Kes was obviously hand- fed, unfortunately seed only. I need advice about the following:

  1. She is a seed junkie. I give healthy stuff mixed w/ seed...she eats ONLY the seed. I give only healthy stuff. She won't eat for up to 36 hours when I give in with worry for her health and give seed (she subsequently eats voraciously!). I have tried several recipes and suggestions recommended by people, books, and magazines; rarely will she eat anything, occasionally she will take bread, eggs, cornbread, saltless corn chips, and sometimes, peas & corn. I am a vegetarian, and I prepare plenty of tasty veggies, grains, pastas and the like...just perfect for a 'tiel, too! What should I do now?
  2. She showers with us and goes about our daily tasks on our shoulders. She grooms my husband's goatee and whiskers, plays with jewelery, and likes to sit on the kids. Why won't she let us pet her? She tries to bite and squawks if we bring a finger/hand close, and bites if I hold her body/wings in my hand and pet her head. How can I get her to let us touch her?

I have fallen in love with her, and prefer her to my 2 dogs, 2 cats, fish /mice /hamsters/ gerbils, and prior parakeets. I recommend 'tiels as pets now to anyone who will listen. Your advice to this enthusiastic rookie will be of tremendous assistance and certainly appreciated!

I am sorry someone lost a companion, but I am happy Kes is a member of our family, now.

This is a wonderful web site that I will visit again and again, both for fun and when I am looking for reference materials!

Sheli

Sheli,

We wish all lost birds could be as fortunate as your Kes.

Both the gray and cinnamon hens have some yellow on their faces. It varies from bird to bird but usually the cinnamon do display the yellow more. All the other characteristics are pretty much the same.

Convincing a seed eater to eat vegetables requires persistence on your part but the benefits of a well balanced diet are priceless. Continue to offer the veggies every day while still feeding the seed. Gradually reduce the amount of seed offered with the fresh vegetables or after she has had her fill of seed eah day, remove what seed is left and replace it with the pasta or veggies. If she will eat bread, peas and corn occasionally, it sounds as though you are making good progress, just keep it up.

Cockatiels make great companion birds, however, there are some that just don't like to be petted. They feel much safer when perched high. Place her in the floor, then you or someone else sit with her. Usually birds are eager to step up onto just about anything that will raise them to what they perceive as safer heights. It's very important that just one person at a time works with her and that there are as few distractions as possible.

The first step with any type training is that the bird must trust you. We're not implying that you are not trustworthy, but you have to prove it to her. She is still adjusting to her new home, but it takes a little time to win her confidence.

The second phase of training is repetition. If you are persistent in offering her veggies daily and repeating training, she'll be eating those veggies from your hand before you know it.

Cockatiels are intelligent birds that like a lot of attention. It appears that you and your family are pet lovers and that Kes has blended in well. We think that's terrific.