I have a cockatiel that i got from a petco a few months ago. since then i have managed to hand train him and teach him to whstle and "laugh" and a few other things but he is resisting recall training ive tried many different methods from treats to having him go from his perch to my finger and moving them further apart but as soon as he has to do more than jump, he just walks away. we have up to 13 small kids around the house at a time and i need more control. And im only 13 and not really good at training so simplified directions would be appreciated.

It sounds like a lack of confidence, either with you or his flying ability. Will he fly from you to a perch? Are you trying to train him with other people around?

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I agree with Hawksport..
Im no expert , but our parrot Basil was like this at first..
He was undernourished , not used to being outside his cage so had never really been able to spread his wings on a daily basis and he had been clipped quite severly..

We have allowed him out every day since he arrived, his feathers have grown back, he is well fed and now his confidence is growing.. He holds onto his perch and flaps , just to test, he still wont fly to my OH when called but on the short flights he has made we can see than he is gaining both in skill and confidence.

My OH does one to one training with Basil while I go out with the dogs, that way its quiet and calm in the house, maybe having so many people around is scaring your bird.

Everything takes time so dont give up but dont force him..

Yes he will fly from the me to the perch and from other peoples shoulder to mine. It doesnt seem like he has a problem with his flying, he will fly around the room and up to his perch (its about as high as the top of a door frame).

I am having a similar problem with our parrot (blue fronted amazon). Maybe i am expecting too much too soon though.

She was kept more or less in a cage for nearly 6yrs but since we have had her she comes out every day. She will mainly sit on her cage with the odd fly around the room, she will fly on to my head if she thinks i'm ignoring her!

However, every time I put my hand out for her to stand on she will sort of go to put a foot on but then back off. Shall i just continue trying? Should I try food for a bribe?

She's very friendly with me & will come over for a stroke, put her head right down, sidle up to me & almost cuddle up to me when I go over to her but I would like to be able for her to come to my hand. Should I just keep trying but not push things too much?

Cleo38 , your bird does sound a lot like Basil ...
He also used to do the shall I shant I thing when asked to step up..
OH tried just putting his hand flat on the perch and letting Basil investigate it and be reassured that his hand was safe, then Basil would stand on his hand while they were safely inside the cage gradually he has built up confidence and now 6 months on OH carries him all over the house..

I think it is just a matter of going at their pace and letting them know they are safe..

If that is the perch you are calling him from that will probably be the problem. When you start recall training always call the bird from a perch that is lower than your hand. It takes a lot more confidence to fly down than it does to fly up

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