kollette27
05-20-08, 04:00 PM 05-20-08
I have had this bird for a week,hes a beautiful fancy cockatiel,about 11 weeks I believe.The first day we had him,he sat on my finger for a bit and chewed my rings,then sat on my chest and chewed my rings,but then flew away.I let him stay out for awhile,then went to pick him up to put him back in his cage,and he started biting me,not hard really,it didnt hurt,but hissing,biting and screaming almost.I put him up,then tried again the next day,he wouldnt let me get him out of the cage,he ran from me all over the place and hissed and pecked,still never bit hard,just pushing his beak against my fingers and chewing my rings.I let him out for 2 hours everyday to play and fly around the house.Usually an hour in the morning while I'm getting ready for work,then an hour in the evening while we are eating supper.His cage is right beside my spot on the couch,and I talk to him sweet all of the time.I constantly look directly at him and talk,call his name alot,sing and whistle to him.But even when I lean over to the cage to talk to him,he hisses at me.He also does this funky head roll thing,it is wicked.It looks like hes turning his head 360 degrees!I thought it was because he was agitated that I came around,so I tried to move to the other side of the couch,he still does this spiratically throughout the day.He purposefully snatches all of his toys off of the side of the cage,when he finally does,he seems to calm down until I or my spouse or kids come around him.Like I said,he has never actually bitten me,or given me the feeling that he was going to,but I'm worried that I may be traumatizing the poor thing somehow.I keep the TV low,and dont play loud music,I dont let the kids get too loud around him as not to scare him anymore,my husband and I dont raise our voices but he still seems to hate me!A little background...He is a pet store cockatiel,I bought him because he seemed to have the most personality of the bunch,they clipped his wings before we took him home,he was just as bad with the pet store personel,but she was really sweet to him,and calmed him easily.He was also in a cage by himself,maybe that was a sign that we shouldnt have bought him? I noticed a bald spot on his neck above his chest,I havent been able to find any feathers in his cage to suggest that he's been plucking them,but also cant figure out why he would have a bald spot.I noticed it the day we brought him home.I love all of my babies so much,I just cant help but to think maybe I should take him back so that someone else can purchase him,maybe make him happier.