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.