Hi Folks!

[prettywolfeyes]

I'm Karen and about 8 months ago I adopted two sweet little angelface cockatiels from a bird rescue. Their names are Beanie (a little whitefaced - well all grey with no red cheeks...) female who is handicapped) and Cecil (a whitefaced male) who has become very attached to her! Before they were rescued, they lived in a flock of 27 tiels that a lady had. When she passed away, the family turned all 27 tiels over to the rescue! As of yet, I can't get them to step up, they are interacting with me, but touching is out of the question! These are my first tiels, I've had budgies before, and have helped with wild bird rescue and rehab, but I am kind of at a loss as how to get these two little sweeties to trust me enough to let me touch them! They both will sell their little souls for millet, and I've tried to use it as a "lure", and they will come up to my hand and eat from it, but if I put my finger out or my hand out to try to get them to step up, they quickly move away. I've tried with a perch stick also and that TOTALLY freaks them out!
Any hints? I'm so glad I found some other cockatiel people! Thanks for being here!

[cherylrowland]

Karen,

The only thing I can tell you is to continue to work with Beanie and Cecil (wasn't that a great cartoon). Eight months might seem like a long time, but considering how they were living before you got them (probably with very little human interaction) it still might be several months before they learn to trust you. With cockatiels, consistency is a big thing. Set up a scheduled time(s) every day to work with them and hopefully, you will be able to work through their trust issues. Keep us informed and post pictures if you can.

[prettywolfeyes]

Thanks Cheryl,
Little by little they are getting tamer, but I think you're right, they don't act like they had much interaction with humans. I'll try to get some pics on soon!