Hand-reared cockatiels- Do they come to you straight away or do they also have to get used to you?

Question

Whats the difference between a hand-reared cockatiel and a parent-raised one. The parent reared cockatiel my friend has is not very tame and does not like to be touched by human skin.

Recently, I found handreared cockatiels in a shop and they also try to move away when I put my hand near the cage. The man in the shop held the bird when both hands for me to stroke its neck and when I put my hand near its beak, it did not bite very hard (although it took my finger in its mouth). Could this bird be hand reared or not?

Answer 1

If you are planning to buy a cockatiel as a pet, a hand-raised one will be much friendlier than a parent-raised one. You can tame parent raised birds, but they will never be as friendly as a hand-raised one.

I would suggest getting a bird from a breeder rather then a pet shop, as the bird could develop behavioral and stress problems from being in a busy environment for lengthy periods of time.

Each bird has it's own personality, some hand-raised birds will jump on anyone's hand, others are more shy. If the cockatiel jumped onto the man's hand when offered it and happily came out of his cage, then it is most likely hand-raised.

Answer 2

Hand reared or parent reared , it makes very little difference it is all down to the birds temperament and the person who has the time and patience,to train a young bird.

A bird that has been hand reared will be amicable to handling at first,before a parent reared bird, but it all comes down to the person that cares for the bird and the way it is treated.

Time and Patience is the deciding factor of all training.

Answer 3

When i took my hand reared cockatiel home, he was more scared in the cage than he was on me, but he was only 6 weeks old and had only spent the last week  in a cage, and was constantly around humans, so would have felt more comfortable around people than in a cage because thats what he new best. He instantly warmed to us, and now he thinks he is people, or acts more like a pet dog, and constantly wants his head rubbed and loves being touched and played with by humans, and goes to anyone, even if they've never seen him before. So i think having one from a breeder who spent alot on time and attention at the start goes a long way to making an extremely tame cuddley friendly bird.

If the ones you are describing are in fact hand reared, then maybe only that one man has ever handled them, so they get scared or protective.

As everyone else has said, you are better off re-searching and finding a good breeder and getting a young one from a breeder.

Answer 4

A hand reared cockatiel has been with humans ever since they were born.

A parent raised cockatiel has been raised by its parents until its old enough to be alone.

I think the cockatiel in the shop would have been hand reared, the only reason it started biting you is because it doesnt know you. If this bird was a parent raised cockatiel, it would have probley flapped it's wings and made lots of noises.

Hope this answer helps.

Answer 5

Yes it could well be hand rared. I always thought they meant the same.

Answer 6

When I bred my Cockatiels I let them feed their babies. They were great parents. I hand played with the babies all the time from the beginning. So the babies were really hand tame and made wonderful pets.

What has happened is you will hear hand fed, hand tame babies with a higher price on them. The question is are they hand friendly. Were they played with when they were babies.

Your best buying a baby from a breeder who you can meet and see the baby. When they are in pet stores they are left alone in the cages and people poke their fingers in their and scare them.