Why won't my cockatiel come out of his cage or let me hold him?

If your cockatiel was not hand tamed then she may be less social and not as handleable. It will take a lot of time and patience to get her hand tame. Try using treats and just leaving your hand in there until she is more used to you. You can find video,guides online for,hand taming your bird. Some birds never tame up and are always less social, but with patience many will come around. Good luck to you!

I would give cookie time to acclimate to his new environment. Let him get to know you and gradually offer treats to gain his trust. Depending on how old he is and what he his previous experience and training is will help determine how quickly he may trust or learn your cues. Birds for dummies is a great book for beginning bird owners. There is lots of great behavior advice from an avian vet. Good luck! http://www.dummies.com/pets/birds/birds-for-dummies-cheat-sheet/

You will need to gradually acclimate him to you. This will take time and patience but is not impossible. Begin by sitting next to the cage for ever increasing periods of time. At the end, provide a small treat or reward. Once he accepts you nearby, place your hand IN the cage for ever increasing periods of time. Simply leave it there. Do not move or try to touch him. Again, leave a treat or reward when you are done. Move your hand closer each time. Eventually, he will acclimate and begin to show curiosity. At this point you can try getting him to perch on a finger. Don't force it and don't grab at him. Move slowly and speak softly. Always provide a reward or treat as he progresses.

Taming can take time, and doing it in several steps with a lot of patience can help. A good first step is to just offer/toss a favorite treat to both birds any time you approach their cage. Once they are used to you being around, you can then start placing your hand in the cage with the treat on it, letting them approach it and eat from your hand. Once they are comfortable with that, you can transition to petting them while offering a treat, and finally handling/asking them to step up while giving a treat. if at any time they become scared or try to get away, simply take a break and go back to the previous step once they've calmed down. It can take days to weeks depending on the bird, so patience is key!

I would recommend training Peri with lots of treats, whatever is his favorite fruit or veggie (you should use seeds in moderation). Make every interaction you have with Peri be a positive one, even if you are doing something as simple as cleaning his cage. Once he realized seeing/being with you results in a positive reward he will begin to grow more comfortable around you. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

It sounds like Cheeko still is wary of you, and honestly, you need more time to bond before focusing on tricks, especially if he is still flying away from you. Going back to a previous step such as hand-feeding, just being near his cage and spending time with him, petting him without handling, etc are all good previous steps to work on. You can then begin step-up training with a dowel or other object instead of your hand, that may help him train without being frightened by your hand or being handled. Training birds takes time and patience, so just keep trying, and if he seems fearful, give him a break, go to the previous step that worked, and then move forward from there.

Thanks for reaching out about DT. Many parrots don't recognize humans as part of their flock but needs to learn to interact. Keeping movements slow and deliberate, offering treats via hand. Positive reinforcement for wanted conditioning. A book titled "A Guide to Well Behaved Parrots" is a good start, or other behavioral literature. Good luck.