If you have a cockatiel...

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Is it a funny jolly one? DC have one inspired by Youtube clips of them doing peekaboo and cuddling their owners. Ours is quite grumpy (although loud and chatty) and tries to peck the if too close. It is early days but just wondered. I read online they can be a bit like cats and not all are cuddly.

I grew up with a lovely cockatiel and he was a lovely pet. He could be a bit grumpy sometimes and would hiss at strangers (particularly men) and the cat.

But he would also whistle the EastEnders theme tune, mimic the phone and tweet "Who's a pretty boy, then?'. He would hang upside down in his cage when he wanted some attention, loved being sprayed with lukewarm water from a plant mister during his cage cleaning and would sit on my head, pulling bits of hair up around him to make a little nest.

We're not sure how old he was when we got him- maybe a year? But he lived with my family for 24 years and was such a character. As others have said, lots of handling and attention will help. Train him to 'step up' from hand to hand or onto a stick/perch, which makes moving and transferring him easier.

Can we see a picture??

He is a lutino- sorry not very good with pictures / uploading, but like this..

www.google.com/search?q=lutino+cockatiel+pictures&client=safari&channel=mac_bm&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifpeu6qeTgAhWtURUIHcKHCeYQ_AUIDigB&biw=1177&bih=623

My cockatiel would groom me for hours but didn't like fingers or toes. He would hiss and attack them.
He could also talk and whistle little tunes to me and didn't like being alone.
He was a grumpy little old man bird.

I had a cockatiel for 25 years and she was such a character. It takes time and patience to earn their trust but once you have they will love you forever and are very affectionate. If your cockatiel is truly afraid of you or dislikes you it will draw blood when it pecks you - but sometimes they peck simply to communicate that they are annoyed by something and not because they want to hurt you - if they wanted to hurt you they would. They express their grumpy feelings by pecking/hissing and you just learn to understand their body language. Let them come to you, encourage them by talking and singing and whistling, let them whistle back and you will start to understand their mood by the whistles they make ie slightly nervous or wildly happy. If the bird is is skinny then leave it alone as that means it is nervous/scared - if it fluffs up it's happy. You can even tell when they are smiling by the contours of their cheeks feathers which sounds nuts but it's true. We got our cocktiel when I was 8 years old and we loved each other for 25 years, I remember her sitting at the top of my pregnant belly and nose-nuzzling me with her besk, she would literally sit there wuth her beak pressed against my nose, her way of cuddling, she often did that. She loved to be stroked - would gently peck if you stroked her in the wrong place - but if you did it right her eyes would flutter closed, she loved it. She would gently twizzle my earrings with her beak. She also used to sit their with one of her claws in her ear hole with a look of contentment on her face, so funny. She was totally devoted to her human family but any strangers would dice with death if they approached her, she would attack anyone she didn't know. When we first got her she was totally suspicious and bitey but after a while she grew to love us - she was wonderful and I miss her terribly.

No. He’s a hissy, selfish, anti-social wee bastard. I can’t understand him at all. My other cockatiel was not like him. He’s like a wet weekend in Blackpool and always has been.

Doesn’t stop me loving him to distraction though. 🥰

Yes, our cockatiel was hand reared - all of ours have been. Within an hour of us first bringing him home he was sitting in our laps eating kale and bonded with us instantly.
We had one who had his wings clipped just before we got him and I really wouldn't recommend it - he became very depressed. It was horrible to watch him desperately want to fly and not manage it.
Our current one has masses of toys but won't play with any of them as it's much more fun to chew the coffee table, mantelpiece, office desk, all our books......