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Breeding Pair of Cockatiels - Aggressive Male

Alessandro_D

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Hi all,

My name is Alessandro. I'm new to this forum! I recently (February 16, 2019) adopted a breeding/bonded pair of cockatiels. After losing our 25+ year old cockatiel Charlie, my girlfriend and I waited nearly two months before adopting new feathered friends, Donald and Daisy.

They have seemed fine for the past couple weeks. They preen each other, eat out of the same food dish together (Even though there are two) and Donald would sing to Daisy for hours at a time. Last week they began mating, so i attached a nest box to the side of the cage. They mated a couple times per day for the past week and a half. Since this mating has started and the birds have been spending some time preparing the nest box, Donald has been VERY aggressive toward us. He will charge at us when we enter the room and bite (draw blood) when we are refilling their food/water. After having read some cockatiel breeding books and forums, this seems like perfectly normal behavior during breeding. It wasn't until yesterday we noticed aggression toward the female. I heard Daisy screeching so when I entered their room I saw Donald chasing her around the cage and biting her feet, even making her bleed. We removed him from the cage and put him in a spare cage that we have. We tried to reintroduce them a few hours later but he did the exact same thing.

Donald spent the night in a separate cage from Daisy and we again tried to reintroduce them this morning. Immediately upon entering the cage he tries to chase her out of it. Once she flies out of the cage he goes into the nest box. When we took both cockatiels out of cages and let them walk around the house they act like nothing ever happened. I'm very confused/concerned about this behavior - especially since she should be laying her eggs soon. Can anyone offer any advice on how to calm Donald down so they can go back to how they were before?

FYI they have raised several clutches before, according to the place we adopted them from. They were free-range breeding birds in their previous home. When we were first introduced to them, they were in a large cage with three of their 6 week old babies, who were all adopted out.

Thanks in advance for any help! I appreciate it so much!
 

Zara

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Welcome to the forum :)

1. Remove the nest box. If you do not know what you are doing, then just don´t do it.

2. These birds have just come to a new home. They need time to adjust, and instead of giving them that time, you gave them a nesting box. Just because they are mating, doesn´t mean they need a box.

3. Just because they have done it before, doesn´t mean they need to keep breeding. Would you rescue a pretty lady from a puppy mill and then breed her in your home?

Toss the nesting box. Put the cages together. When they cool down, you will be able to reintroduce them. If they are getting on well out of the cage, then let them out as much as possible. If they lay any eggs, destroy them. They need to be well settled before even thinking about letting them breed.

Also, I´m very sorry for your loss.


Edit:
The filter has blocked the B word.
Would you rescue a (female dog) from a puppy mill and then breed her in your home?
 
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Alessandro_D

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Thanks for the quick reply, Zara. :) That was going to be my next step. They got along just fine before breeding behavior started.

I think removing the nest box and trying again in a few months to a year after they've gotten used to the new home sounds like a great idea.

Also, thank you for you condolences for Charlie. He was quite an amazing friend. :(
 

Zara

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I´m sure he was :( It´s never easy to lose someone.

Is breeding very important to you? Have you bred birds before? You know, it is possible to have the two living together without breeding.
 

Alessandro_D

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I do know that, but would like to breed them eventually. Definitely not a priority at the moment while they get used to their new home. In fact, I plan on moving in a few months so it may be well over a year until I try to breed them. I plan on referencing the books I have along with this amazingly helpful forum when I'm ready to do so. In the meantime, I think I just need to work on getting Donald and Daisy back on good terms. Will definitely post here again if something else come up.
 

Cynthia & Percy

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welcome
 
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