Help Male being aggressive.

[Sops1306]

Hi i was wondering if someone could help me..
I got my mams Male cockatiel off her hes about ten year old. Well the cage he was in was too small so I bought him a cage that's about 5ft and quite wide. (Suitable for a parrot)
Any how we put him in and he would not stop screeching, so we bought him a female companion, shes only a baby shes now 14-15 weeks old and shes very happy singing all the time and follows the Male around the cage all over. However he did stop squealing and quitened down. Withing a few days they were both eating together sleeping onthe same perch ect and they seem to get on well most of the time. However he was at his mirror and hes just been pulling her tail as she was on the perch above and her tail kept getting in the way. I have now covered them up. Ive never seen him get that aggressive with her. They are now on separate perches because I have moved one around that she was on..
He seems to hump his perch a lot lately but like I say shes the one that follows him around..
They have been house about 3 weeks now. Will they be ok?
Has anyone ever experienced this? Shes an aviory bird and hes never been one for being handled.

 

[sunnysmom]

She's a baby and probably used to being with a flock. So I think that's why she follows him around. And it sounds like he's hormonal? How much sleep to they get? Tiels need about 10-12 hours of sleep/darkness. If he's not getting that, start there. And if he is, you can increase it by a couple hours for a couple weeks. Also, I would take out the mirror. It could be confusing him. Hopefully, they'll be okay.

@Tiel Feathers ?

 

[Sops1306]

They get covered about 8 at night and they get uncovered roughly about 8 in the morning..
Hes always been on his own and has always loved his mirror. I can try take his mirror out and see if hes any better with her.
Thanks for your reply.

 

[Lady Jane]

He may have seen the male bird in the mirror and got jealous because his female is with him. I would remove the mirror and see if he settles down.

 

[Sops1306]

I'm defo going to try that. Hes always been aggressive with his mirror before he even had a female with him.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[Weelasmaree]

In general, mirrors are not good for birds because they create obsessiveness and that can lead to aggression and frustration. I'm glad to hear you're removing it. Make sure he is not in site of any of your reflective items too until he adjusts.

Is your male tiel full flight yet? I noticed once my tiel's wings grew back and he was able to take flight around our home he was much more happier and he didn't seem as pent up.

Love to see photos of both your fids!

 

[Sops1306]

Yes they dont fly out the cage though when I leave the door open they stay in there. They both fly well around the cage

 

[Lady Jane]

You may want to look into getting some different perches because the dowel perches that come with some cages are not very good for a birds feet. Think natural and a little wider. You can gather safe wood perches outside after a windy day and clean them up yourself or search a pet store.

Your 2 birds are very cute. Do you have some out of cage places they can play and land or orbits and such hanging from ceiling? They love those places because they are up high. They will come out of the cage for that I bet.

 

[Khizz]

Awww how cute! They look like my two!

Did you put them in the same cage straightaway or did you have the female in a separate cage for a while?

When I got mine they were from separate cages and I just put them together in once cage instead of slowly introducing them to each other. I only learnt later that this is not ideal and can lead to fights.

After putting them in one cage mine did have a brief period of establishing territory and getting used to each other. Fortunately they now get on well enough, but still bicker and have little beak fights around bed time or if the other is in the way. They don't really preen each other but will share things and sleep near each other.

So if it's not aggressive and he isn't pulling out feathers/drawing blood it could be that he just finds her slightly annoying, or still hasn't figured each other out yet. Or even is not used to having to share!

Mine are also aviary birds and I've had them for 2/3 months now and they still aren't too used to my hands or come out the cage yet. Some things take a while.

 

[Sops1306]

Lady Jane no they have perches out of the old cage as well as the ones the cage came with.
I never gave it a second thought but now you mention it I will look Into changing them..

I've got a few more toys ect for them coming just waiting to be delivered.

Khizz I put them straight in together and they dont bicker to the point they are ripping feathers or anything like that..
They hate being touched although you can put your hand in the cage. Were working in the trust issue to come onto my hands ect.

Lady Jane. They wont come out at all and if they do decide to come out how would I get them back in as they dont like to be touched at all?

Today has been good they have had no arguments and they dont preen each other yet but they sleep together and eat together so that's a good start right?

 

[Weelasmaree]

They wont come out at all and if they do decide to come out how would I get them back in as they dont like to be touched at all?

As they are already comfortable with perches you can practice bringing them out of their cage with a spare perch. Still practice the "Step Up" and reward when they do. Eventually, over time, they will see you as an opportunity to come out of the cage and them stepping onto your hand will be easier.

I've had my two since they were lil ones so the bonding was a lot easier, but I did have a chance to care for someone's three year old cockatiel and that's how I was able to bring him out and put him back into his cage safely.

 

[Sops1306]

Thanks for the advice I will try.. I'm quite new at owning birds.

 

[Lady Jane]

Did your birds come from another home? That may be why they are Leary of human hands. They will come around if you are consistent in showing them your hands hold good things like millet spray and you do not grab them. Keep up the good work.

 

[Sops1306]

Yeah Leo the Male was originally my mams and the female is just new. Leo was used to me looking after him when my mam was away but she has three dogs and he was starting to hate the noise so he ended up with me.

 

[Weelasmaree]

Thanks for the advice I will try.. I'm quite new at owning birds.

I'm very new to it too, so you're not alone.
My biggest tip with bonding with a bird is patience, and taking into consideration their natural instincts. Learn and watch everything you can on your little fids.

 

[Sops1306]

Well I've just uploaded a vid on Facebook of her being very vocal to find out now off the breeder that he made a mistake and thinks she could actually be a he... they seem to get on ok so hopefully I dont have nothing to worry about. I will just have to change the name from crystal to Chris lol

 

[Weelasmaree]

Birds can really surprise you with their gender. They also don't care about their names being gender specific, so if your tiel is already familiar with being called Crystal I wouldn't change it.