Instructions
Give your new cockatiel time to adjust. Every pet bird will got through an adjustment period when brought to a new home. Cockatiels will act fearful and sometimes even hiss at people when placed in a new environment. If you plan on putting the cockatiel in a large cage or aviary with other birds, first put it in a smaller cage alone in an area of your home where most activities occur, like the living room. This will help the bird to get used to people. If you see the bird start to preen or eat when people are around, the animal is starting to relax.
Clip your cockatiel's wings. If you are unsure how to do this properly, take the bird to a veterinarian or avian groomer. Clipping a bird's wings removes the first few flight feathers and is not permanent. This will make your bird more dependent on you and prevent it from harming itself by trying to fly away when startled.
Spend time with your cockatiel. This is key to taming a wild cockatiel. Do not take the bird out of its cage the first week. Just spend several sessions of 10 to 20 minutes a day sitting near the cage and talking to your bird quietly. If the bird will let you, slip it treats through the cage bars. You are teaching your bird to trust you. Take this time to observe your bird and learn its body language.
Teach the cockatiel the "step-up" command. Before you know it, your cockatiel will be eating out of your hand and may be standing at the door of the cage indicating it wants to come out and join you. Do not put your hand in the cage or try to force the bird out by wrapping it in a towel. This may cause your cockatiel to lose trust in you. Hold your index finger or palm of your hand out, and move it in a swift, upward motion toward your bird's legs. Say "step up" when you do this as a verbal cue. The key is to not give your bird time to think and learn to do it automatically.
Reinforce the bird's positive behavior. Each time your cockatiel performs the step-up command properly, give it a treat and plenty of verbal praise. Food is the most powerful motivator you can use when training a wild cockatiel, but praise and approval are also important. If your cockatiel responds aggressively to the step-up command and bites at your hand, do not turn the lesson into a confrontation. Close the cage and try again the next day.
How to Tame a Wild Cockatiel
Although the importation of Australia's wild cockatiels is strictly limited or banned in many countries, every day pet bird enthusiasts are faced with new birds that need to be tamed. These cockatiels often weren't hand-raised, have been neglected for a period of time or were breeder birds that never had human contact. Cockatiels are sociable flock birds and taming them isn't a difficult task, but it is one that requires consistency and patience.