I am pretty sure my baby tiel does not like us. I am not sure what to do. We got her the same time we got our quaker. The tiel is only now about 11 weeks old, my QP is almost 1 yr and I thought I would have a harder time with her than the tiel.

But boy was I wrong, Abbey (tiel) hisses at me whenever I go near the cage she does not bite me if I have to stick my hand in the cage but if I try to get her to step up she runs. So, I do not force it. She whistles and eats and seems very content. I will open her cage door and she is so excited to come out, she just sits on her door and whistles and can stay there for hours. BUT if I go to her and tell her step up, she will step up but then tries to fly. She scares me that she is going to hurt herself because she starts boucing around and flapping her wings so hard. Is this normal?

Should I not try to pick her up? I have taken her to a separate room where the cage is not around and she still acts this way and then she will start biting me and will not stop. She just seems so young to have an attitude already?? I got her because she was the only one that came to me sat on my arm and wouldn't leave, she adopted me.

What am I doing wrong???

Doesn't sound to me like attitude, sounds like she's scared. How long have you had her? Was she handfed? Was she handled a lot once she was weaned?

I have only had her for 12 days now. She was handfed, I am not sure how much handling she got after she was weaned but by the way she is acting I would have to guess not much.

I do not bother her much beacuse I want her to get use to us. However, I do try to handle her at least once a day becuase I do not want her to get use to not being handled. I talk to her all the time though hoping she will get comfortable with my voice.

We go to the vet on Thursday I am hoping he will have some advice for us too. I am not a pro at this and I really want to do the right thing. I already love these little birds so much.

You are doing nothing wrong don't worry. I agree with Carrie~Anne, she sounds scared to me as well, just keep doing what you are doing now and give her more time to settle in as 12 days is not that long really. Teils are abit more flighty birds by nature anyway compared to quakers. Are her wings clipped?

Thank you~

Her wings are clipped so she cannot fly but she flaps a lot. If I put her down she flaps so hard and she does the same thing if I try to hold her. I noticed some dried blood tonight on her left wing, which is what I feared may happen.

It seems like she just wants to fly so bad. I do not even know how to describe it but it is like she is a wind up toy and does not stop until we can get her back in her cage.

Her back tail feathers are all bent out of shape. Its strange to me, I have not had this happen before.
I feel so bad for her, she is so young.

I hope you don't mind me asking but how big is her cage? can she easily spread her wings without banging into toys/perches or the side of the cage? If you are really worried about her a cheak-up at the vets might help relieve your mind. I covered my Teils at night time as teils can suffer from Night fright and this is when they can go beserk and flap around and hurt themselves, do you cover? it also helps to make them feel secure.

OMG!!! I feel so stupid. I took Abbey to the vet tonight and he said she is not 8 weeks old like we were told. He said she has to be a at least 1 year old. Her weight is 89 grams which would tell him that she is just a little under what an adult tiel would be.

So......He said that she never had a chance to form her claws. She cannot grip a finger and is very wobbly on perches. Poor baby was left in one of those tanks and never was able to build her muscles like a normal bird. He said we need to work with her everyday practicing step ups. Also, he said that is why she is flapping so much when we pick her because she is not stable. Awww I feel so bad, I am glad I have her though because I know she is getting good care.

Thank you for all your suggestions. Her cage is 18x18x24 which I think is a pretty good size for her. She does have room but she stays at the bottom a lot and now I know why. I do cover her at night and so far I have not heard anything from her once she goes to bed.

I feel so much relief now that I went to the vet. Just have to be patient and work with her.

Awww... that's so sad. Not sure if you mentioned this before but did you get her from a petstore or a breeder?

Keep us posted and let us know how she is progressing!

Wow that's amazing I am so glad you decided to have a vet check, now you can definatly help her along, the poor little thing. With your TLC I am sure she will come right and settle down, good luck and keep us informed.