Problem with an aggressive cockatiel?

I have used forced handling to tame very aggressive birds when all other attempts failed. You sound knowledgeable, and it sounds as if you have exhausted your options. Are you familiar with forced handling, or would you like a small briefing?

Is it an option to have another bird in a separate cage? It would be company, even if they aren’t in together..

I don’t know about cockatiels in particular, but birds of the parrot order tend to be quite smart and have distinctive personalities. It is entirely possible that this is her personality, and it isn’t going to change. I have known birds whose aggressiveness professional trainers were unable to deal with.

I was hoping you were drunk, misspelling “cocktail” and “problem,” and asking about aggressive treatment for alcoholism.

I can be of no service here.

Hi thanks for the responses.

@pdworkin I am familliar with forced handling in terms of small mammals and such, mainly the more aggressive types such as ferrets and particularly skittish rodents. When it comes to birds I am a little more wary as I know stress can be really bad for them, so yes a little advice would be much appreciated

@ccrow Another caged bird isn’t really an option as I am a lodger in someone elses house and only have this bird thanks to the kindness of my housemate, who is quite allergic to animals as it is.

@gussnarp Yeah I am aware that might be the case, and if so I will abandon any attempts at training and just focus on taking care of her, but you see why I have to try?

@ECassandra You made me laugh anyway =P

Can your bird fly? One approach is to take it into a small room, and never let it perch except upon your finger. It is an exhausting process for both you and the bird, but by the time it has perched and not flown off, 90% of the battle is won.

@pdworkin yeah she can fly but she does it in such a panicked way it’s kinda risky, she ends up losing feathers and generally getting stressed. As for letter her perch on my finger.. I have quite a big chunk missing to prove thats not the best of ideas! But maybe if I take her into the bathroom (bird proofing first of course) and just kinda let her out and get her to tolerate my presence. But as I say, she is halfway between panic and killer-bird when anyone is near her.

I know. This is not unusual. Wear a leather work glove, and make her fly until she is exhausted. It seems brutal, but I have made it work on 4 or 5 occasions with feral cockatiels.

Ok I will give it a try, thankyou very much for your advice. As I said I am only doing this to try and tame her so she can have some interaction and company, she seems depressed and lonely and I don’t want it to get to the point where she is plucking and such. Thanks again for your help

That is what she will need – to become a part of your flock, so that she doesn’t get completely neurotic.

Hi it was a long time ago I asked this! I tried quite a few things and thanks to everyone for your help. We have moved to our own house now and she just prefers not to be harassed, she lives in my sewing room where she gets to come out and fly around, and when I am working she enjoys the company as I keep my distance. I think it’s just the way she is, and she isn’t plucking or showing distress so I guess she is happy enough. Thanks again everyone