Hi Riot
Welcome to the forum.
RiotBoyer wrote:we tried bringing in a cockatiel to befriend her, but she was mean to him, altho she did pick up some of his chirps.
Unfortunately IRNs will not get along with a cockatiel... If given the opportunity the IRN will probably kill the tiel... so best to keep them separate.
RiotBoyer wrote:I try and work on words with her, but she doesnt talk, im not sure when shes supposed to start, but im afraid im going to miss the window and she wont ever be able to talk.
Females are less likely to talk than males. Are you sure she is a female? You won't be able to tell visually at 8 or 9 months.. Our female speaks some words but not as clearly and not as many words as our male who is a year younger. You could also try teaching her some whistles.
If she likes treats, you could say the same simple phrase (eg. "beautiful bird" or "wotcha doin") each time you give her a treat... and she may then start to mimic it as a way to get you to give her the treat.
RiotBoyer wrote: I try and use treats to help tame her, she loves treats, but she hates hands, so she will not come near a treat if its in my hand.
If you want to tame her, she is going to need to get used to taking treats from your hand. There are a number of things you can try... all are slow going... but with persistence and consistency it should work. Here is one idea. If you search the forum you will find others.
Eat in front of her some food you can share... when she looks interested, offer it to her through the cage bar wires... Hold it there a reasonably amount of time and if she takes a step towards you (rather than retreating from you) or looks interested... either say "good bird" (or whatever phrase you want) straight away - alternatively you can use a clicker if you want.... and put the treat in her food bowl or however you would normally give her the treat.... Make sure she sees you do it and do it as soon after you say "good bird" so that she learns to associate you saying that with the reward. Each time you do it, require her to improve her response. Eg... maybe she edges a millimeter closer than before... do the "good bird" thing as soon as she does what you want and then offer the reward.... You will need to do this several times a day. Eventually, over time you should be able to build enough trust to get her eating out of your hand. I also find having biggish treats that they can tear a bit off of is helpful... because it is further away from your hand.
RiotBoyer wrote:Also, i dont cover her at night cause she would become very aggresive, trying to attack the blanket when i tried to cover her and she would try and bit at me thru the cage each night
Mine did this for a while... but eventually they seem to get used to it. I cover mine every night.... but not right up... they need to be able to have some light in there when its morning... I would be interested in what others think.... but I feel that covering whilst they are sleeping makes them feel more secure. I am only basing that on I notice that before I cover our two at night, they will huddle together on their swing... I'm guessing its an innate security thing... they feel safer from predators when they are together. However, once they are covered, they feel safer and seem to find their own spaces to sleep.
So whilst they may find it scary to have the cover on... my opinion is that overall, they feel more secure throughout the night when its on. How does she cope with you putting the cover on when she's already asleep? Depending on how soundly she sleeps it could scare her more... or she may be less inclined to notice it.
Sorry for the long reply.
Best wishes!
Ellie.
