Progress = 0

[ScantyNebula]

Well, we've had our tiels for 10 days now .. starting to get frustrated and at a lost of how to make this work.. They are super loud, squealing almost all day .. and it seems now they are even worse with us! They scream whenever we put our hands near their cage and they even bite .. I guess I was expecting to see a little bit of improvement once we had them over a week, but nada. Its so frustrating! I am trying to talk calmly to them at all times but sometimes the noise is so overwhelming I yell at them to be quiet and that just makes them worse .. lol

*Sigh* I just had to rant. Now I need to take some tylenol for my headache.

[popcornbird]

Are they still mating? That could be it.

I guess the main problem is that they're 15-17 years old, and obviously, very *set* in their ways. If you got babies, I'm positive you wouldn't have a noise problem, especially because babies usually bond with you immediately. I don't know how to advise you with older tiels already set in their ways, sadly. I do hope they'll learn to behave.

Maybe you could call an avian vet and ask for advice?

[ScantyNebula]

They are still mating, yea... I mean do you think its possible because of their age they may never warm up to us because of such a drastic change? They lived with other tiels too in their previous home so they probably miss their babies =/ I really want this to work out obviously, but at the moment its not very promising.

I don't even know if there would be an avian vet here .. but thats a good suggestion, I will look into that

[ScantyNebula]

I put the cats away today and opened the doors to their cage ... Chip climbed out and started moving around the front of the cage. Then a minute later he freaked out for some reason and started flying around the living room! Then Fancy just flew right out of the cage and they were both flying around like mad! What a fright!! So anyway the both of them landed and they both climbed onto my hand so I could put them in the cage .. Progress? I don't know .. I think they were just desperate and scared and wanted back in the cage .. but it seems good that at least they did trust me enough to step onto my hand!

Progress = 10%

[popcornbird]

That's great they came on your hand! If they didn't trust you, desperate or not, the wouldn't have come near you.

Do you think its possible to clip their wings, and take them out everyday? I think handling them on daily basis outside of the cage is the best way to get them used to you. I don't know how you could bond with a bird without doing that.

[ScantyNebula]

I don't know much about clipping wings .. I can't see how it would be possible if they won't go near me .. how is it done?

And second, I really don't want to do that for emergency purposes around the cats ...

The previous owner said it took them a while to get used to them too, but she said she just eventually put her hand in the cage and took them out, and after a while they got used to her ... we've tried that but it freaks them out even more and we can't catch them cause they go all over the place

[Logan]

That flying around stuff is nerve wracking! I know!!!!

See if you can find a petstore in your area or a vet that will help you. I don't do the clipping on my own, either. I pay my vet $12/bird to do it for me, and it is very much worth it.

Patience will pay off, but letting them out is a good thing (better when you get those wings clipped).

Logan

[ScantyNebula]

More progress with Chip today. He was on my shoulder!! He freaked out again and flew around the house eventually landing in the blinds in the window .. so I go to pick him up and he climbed onto my hand and then he walked up my arm and stayed on my shoulder!! He started squealing so loud at first I had to cover my ear, but eventually he just let out little chirps. He stayed there for like 5 minutes - and climbed back down on my hand with a little coaxing to put him back in the cage!

So at the moment he will only come to me in times of desperation, but I'll take that for now! lol

Oh, and he pooped on me. Good job I was wearing a tank top and it didn't land on my white shirt .. lol

If their wings are clipped will they still be able to fly a bit?

[flamepony12]

Baby's wings are partially clipped, and she can fly, but i would expect that a bird with fully clipped wings wouldn't be able to.

[Logan]

They will flutter a bit (try to fly) when their wings are clipped, but you will find that they are much easier to control and catch. I worried so much about ours bumping into things and getting hurt when they were flighted. It's a good idea to set them on the ground after clipping wings to let them "see" that they can't fly, so they don't try to take off from a high spot and get hurt.

I'm so happy that you're starting to get somewhere with Chip!!!

Logan