Cockatiel Bird Training

Manners

• When a cockatiel is first introduced into your home, be prepared to wait a few weeks until he is prepared to accept his new family. Give him his space. When the time comes to work with him, a quick tip to prevent him from biting is to lightly flick his beak when he nibbles or prepares to bite.

Teaching Whistles

• Whistles are the easiest for a bird to learn, as they are closest to the natural noises the bird makes. To teach a cockatiel to whistle, pick a certain whistle and constantly repeat it around her, no matter how pointless it seems. She will pick it up eventually; training takes time.

Teaching More Whistles

• After he has learned his first whistle, keep repeating the first whistle but add another one to your list. He will learn both after some time.

Using CDs to Teach

• There are CDs available for purchase online and at pet stores to help teach your cockatiel. These will have whistles, words and spaces as tracks. Set your CD player to play one sound track and one space track. The space is to allow your bird time to think and mimic the sound. Resist the urge to play the whole CD. She has to learn one at a time.

Teaching Your Bird to Talk

• Male cockatiels tend to ''speak'' better than females. Females may still learn, although their voices tend to be muddy and slurred. Repeat a word or phrase around him, such as "hi," "hello," or "pretty bird" until he learns it. Just know that once he learns it, he is going to use it and the novelty will wear off quickly.