Time flies when you are having fun with your new cockatiel! (The cockatiel may fly too!)
Interacting with your pet is an important and fun thing to do, so let’s talk about proper holding and interaction. The best method of moving your bird from one place to another is training a step-up behavior. This stepping up to your finger can be used when you need to clean the cockatiel’s cage or just for a fun interaction. It is a trust and bonding exercise for you and
your bird.

To start, never chase your pet around its cage with your hand, but instead calmly offer rewards when you’re near the cage (like a favorite treat). When your cockatiel is excited to see you (thinking about all the treats) it will likely come closer. Continue to move your hand closer with each treat or reward, and soon you’ll have a finger next to your animal with no trouble or stress. Finally, with you finger next to your animal, hold a treat just beyond reach and say “step up” until your animal “steps up” to reach the reward. With practice your bird will learn that the words “step up” and putting out your finger means step on the finger to get a reward. Building up friendship and trust may take some time, but a little time everyday will remind your cockatiel
that you’re a great person to be around.

Your bird will learn it is rewarding for your bird just to have you around! Interact with your cockatiel as often as you can, even if it just means talking to it when you walk by.

Cockatiel boot camp and training with treats.
As explained in the process of “step up” above, training and treats are great tools for any pet owner. Determining a reward or treat that really makes your pet interested and motivated is the key to successful training. The more it wants your reward the more your pet will do to get it. Use small pieces of the treat so that you can work with your pet longer, and your cockatiel will
keep coming back to you for more!

Here are some possible cockatiel rewards/treats:
• Small amounts of strawberries, oranges, and other sweet fruit
• Small amounts of seeds, nuts (pine nuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts)
• Small pieces of unsweetened cereal such as toasted oats or non-frosted shredded wheat
• Small pieces of popcorn (No salt or butter!)

Small amounts of treats can go a long way, so only use the smallest amount that will still motivate your animal. Now that we have some treats, you can start training. Remember to use slow, baby steps. Think of what you want the bird to do, and then make a plan to get your animal there. Rewarding with a treat when your pet makes steps in the right direction will keep the animal moving in that direction.

Cockatiels are intelligent animals and can be taught more complicated behaviors like a mini-version of basketball, or mimicking a certain word, like “hello,” on cue. Training simple behaviors like “step up” and stepping off your hand onto a perch are a must for the well-adjusted cockatiel. Many training resources exist; search the web and your library for animal training information.

Keep ‘em busy (and out of trouble)!
What does your cockatiel do when you are not around? It will get its beak into anything it can find and sometimes cause trouble. Just like people, animals can get bored. Since animals can’t go out and buy new toys, they will often use whatever is around. This could mean chewing the wrong things, trying to get out of their housing to explore or developing other bad behaviors
like plucking out their own feathers! When your cockatiel has something to keep its mind busy, it will keep out of trouble. To keep your bird busy and happy, use training or items to keep them active or “enrichment.” Not only will this make a happy pet, it will prevent problems before they happen.

Here are some great cockatiel enrichment ideas:
• Put paper tubes, cardboard boxes, shredded news paper
• Hide food inside small cereal boxes or cardboard tubes
• Train your cockatiel
• Let them walk around a safe place in your home (always under supervision!)
• Change the location of the perches in your cockatiel’s cage

Giving your animal fun things to do is an important part of pet ownership, so change up the enrichment regularly to keep your pet’s home new and exciting!