Umm ... Is this common?

[ScantyNebula]

Ever since we got our tiels, the girl, Fancy has been so unapproachable. If we put a finger near the cage she lets out a big sqwual and then will bite if you keep your finger there. Do most Tiels to new homes do this?

Also .. what could it mean when they scream so loudly it almost hurts my ears!? I mean they everything they need in their cage .. so could it be they want out of the cage? But I don't know how that would work cause they wont' come near me .. lol

[popcornbird]

It seems that she's afraid of you. Tiels usually behave in that manner if they feel threatened. If she's a tame bird and has been handled all her life, she shouldn't be that way. In that case, you'll have to work on taming her...and that would require letting them out everyday.

She could very possibly be screaming because she wants to come out. I know my birds would literally go insane if I locked them in a cage, and though they are very quiet birds, they *would* scream, for sure, if I had them locked. They scream every morning when we take their cover off to make sure we open their door. Once its open, they settle down. I know I would go insane if I wasn't allowed out of my room. :p Tiels feel the same way.

Do you think you could lock the cats out of their room for an hour or so everyday to let them out and play? That would give them the freedom they want for at least awhile, and you'll be able to bond with them too. I don't think its possible, from my experience, to bond and become friends with a bird that can't come out of their cage.

[ScantyNebula]

I see .. . but ... how will they come out of the cage if they won't even go near me? And if they do, say fly out of the cage ... how in the world would I get them back in there .. they keep as far away from me as possible....
She had told me they were tame .. so I just thought maybe they were acting this way because they weren't used to me. I guess its more than that ...

Also, I should mention .. something scared me out of the bed last night .. everything was silent then all of a sudden we heard the birds flying like mad in their cage .. I swear I thought they had tipped over the cage or something! Then I went out and Fancy looked very odd .. she was just leaned over and her eyes wide open ... they were both fine but that was ODD!

[Honkers36]

Its called night fright, very commm in tiels. They catch a bit of light from somewhere and it scares them it is perfictly normal. I have had them even fall out of the cage. Be patient you have only had them for a few days. Coax them out with foos that they like, mine like wheat thins, rattle the box and there on top of my head. Start with baby steps, they will warm up to you soon.

[popcornbird]

He he he! Sometimes tiels see something at night and freak out. Its very scary when it happens. Do you cover their cage at night? If not, that really helps in limiting night frights.

When I first got my tiels, they were not tame at all. The would run to a corner of their cage everytime I went near them. If I opened the door, they wouldn't come out. Very similar situation to your's. Now they're totally different birds, and everyone who meets them thinks they were handfed babies.

What I did was I forced them to come out. Their wings were clipped so I didn't have to worry about them flying and getting away. I wouldn't recommend wing clipping for your birds though, because in a household with other animals, they should be able to fly, just in case they ever need to.

Get a small towel, and put it over your hand. Then put your hand in and hold the tiels with it, very gently, but also firmly so they can't get out. Make sure the towel is not on their face.....the only reason you need one is to prevent them from biting you. Take them out, and put them in your lap, and talk to them gently. I used to put a huge sheet over me and the bird so I could let go of them, and they couldn't get away from me at the same time. Do that everyday for at least 10 minutes, and reward them with millet whenever they do something *right*. Once they get used to you, teach them to step up to your finger, etc.

That's how I tamed my birds. It took a total of 2 weeks to fully tame them, but they're so sweet now its like they can't live without me. Good luck. The key is patience.....some birds take longer than others, but hopefully, they'll warm up to you soon. Once they get to know you, flying in the room shouldn't be an issue, because if you go to them, they should hop on your hand on their own.

[dogs_4_me]

I dont know much about teils, but I hope things work out soon, I love tiels they are so pretty:D

[Logan]

Mine have done that middle of the night flapping thing on occasion and it scares me to death! Thank heavens, it doesn't happen often.

Our Milly never bit me, but to this day, she doesn't like me to take her out of the cage. She likes to come out on her own, then she will "step up". I have worked with Bennie on stepping up, but I can't get him out of the cage either. Roger is the only one who will willingly jump out on my hand. He literally leaps!!!! :) When we got Milly, they had a stick (a short plastic pole) that they used to get her out of the cage. She would step up on that, then you could "retrieve" her out of the cage. Maybe you can just either allow Fancy to climb out on her own by putting something tempting up on top like a leaf of lettuce or something like that, and just sit back and quietly watch, then gradually start talking to her softly, then approach her, etc. It may take a while for her to get comfortable, but she will, eventually. I have just sort of learned to let Milly do what she wants to, the way she wants to, but I do hold her on my shoulder, quite often. She is the best behaved of all my 3 when she is on my shoulder!

Good luck!

[animal_rescue]

When I first got a bird, Mesha(RIP baby boy!), he was abused so he wasn't tame at all!!! He would squak and bite us as well, what got him out was my sister's braces:p he loved the shine of it! He would crawl on her and talk to her braces! I think it took him about 1/2 year to come around to us. But like popcornbird said you should bring them out everyday or at the most sit with the cage door open and talk to them, that's what we did with Mesha