There are many people that are looking to the cockatiel as a pet. They are very independent and do not rely on their owners as much as a dog or cat. That is all part of the appeal of these wonderful animals.
However, you may be coming to the point where you want your male cockatiel to do something from the training point of view. That is very common because the cockatiel is known for its intelligence in most cases.
They will be able to learn to do a good many things that are not only amazing but also very entertaining to say the least. With that in mind you must be sure of what you are doing because training is not a thing for someone with out patience and so on.
When you start to work with the male cockatiel then you must understand their position. They are going to be very protective of their private space. They do not want to be messed with in the cage where they reside because that is their castle.
Most will defend this space with highly aggressive behavior and could even deliver a bite that you would not soon forget. There are many ways to learn to curb this happening but you also have to be sure that you are going to get things in the right way.
All in all there is the chance that you will get the most positive out come with some very simple techniques that can be learned over time.
In all truth there is no end to the intelligence of the cockatiel. However, you should understand that only a male will learn to talk and sing the various songs. The females will not speak and are much harder to train for things like finger and hand walking.
The female of the species is best for someone who wishes to have a bird that is not going to be loud or what have you. They will be better suited for someone who is not home as often as well.
The male will require much more attention and will often times latch onto a female human as a mate. They will then want to defend their mates and so on when the time is right.
Talking and Tricks When you are trying to teach the bird to talk you must know that repetition is going to be the best method. The cockatiel will learn to speak based on what it hears all the time.
They do not have great memories for small things and will need to hear the intended speech pattern over and over again. You can do this yourself or you can simply get yourself a training CD that can be played throughout the day.
This will help you train the bird for specific sayings and so on. When it comes to tricks you simply need to be patient and work with the bird. You will be very surprised one day when they simply perform the trick after many weeks of training and so on. Be sure to reward them for it.
Flight Issues It cannot be stressed enough that you need to get the wings clipped on your cockatiel. If you let them fly around they can be hurt or they can get loose.
You need to make sure this happens and it is best done through an avian vet. They will be the one that can clip the wings without harming the bird at all.
