Your cockatiel doesn’t have to talk to you for you to understand it, its gestures will tell you how it feels. Gestures like sitting in the corner.
This article looks into why your cockatiel may be sitting in the corner.
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Why does my cockatiel sit in the corner?
Your bird’s body language seldom lies about how the bird is feeling, so, if you see your bird doing something you can usually guess how the bird is doing.
Here is why your cockatiel may be sitting in the corner:
The bird is about to lay eggs:
If your bird is a female bird, and you find it sitting in the corner of the cage, then the bird may be about to lay eggs.
Other signs that an egg-laying cockatiel may show include squeaking softly, becoming defensive of others around her, and biting whoever gets too close.
What to do:
If you want your bird to start laying eggs then seeing this behavior will be wonderful news, your bird is about to lay.
You can leave the bird alone if it does this, give it time and space to lay its eggs.
If you don’t want the bird to lay eggs and hatch them, then you may want to replace her eggs with fake eggs.
If the female cockatiel lives alone, or lives with only female birds, then she will lay unfertilized eggs that aren’t viable.
These eggs won’t hatch a chick.
The bird is scared:
If your bird is sitting high up in its cage, and is acting aggressively, then the bird is likely scared and is in self-preservation mode.
Your bird is likely traumatized because it is in a new environment or because it has a new owner.
The cockatiel is sitting as high up as possible to watch out for potential threats.
Your bird may also bite its cage bars, as a way of moving around, while in self-preservation mode.
What to do:
You can stop this behavior by getting the bird to start trusting you. Once your cockatiel trusts you it will sit normally.
You can get it to trust you by hanging around it, while it is in the cage, to show it that you aren’t there to harm it.
Once the bird is comfortable with this then you can put your hand in the cage.
Put your hand in a flat, face-down position to encourage the bird to hold you.
Once the bird is comfortable with this you can take it out of the cage and sit quietly with it.
Doing all of this will help the bird trust and bond with you.
The bird is sick:
Cockatiels are usually very active and playful birds.
If you see the bird sitting in the corner of the cage, not doing anything, then the bird may be sick.
An illness may make the bird lethargic because the body is using all its energy to recover.
This lethargy will cause the bird to sit and be inactive in the corner of the cage.
What to do:
A variety of conditions may be affecting your bird.
So taking your bird to the vet, if you see other signs of the bird being sick, is recommended.
Other signs of the bird being sick include droopy wings, changes in appetite, depression, fluffy feathers, and a poor general appearance.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Does My Bird Put His Head Down?, Cockatiel Swaying Side To Side, Why Does My Cockatiel Flap Its Wings Really Fast?, Cockatiel Sleeping On Me, String Stuck In Chicken’s Throat, How To Save A Choking Chick, How To Tell If Your Chicken Is Choking, How To Stop A Chicken From Choking, Baby Chick Choking On Water