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Cockatiel being picked on

ACtiels

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1/19/19
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Hi everyone,

I have 4 male cockatiels (Cocoa, Merry, Sweetie Pie, and Sunny), who were all adopted from the same home. Cocoa and merry are very bonded, and Sunny and Sweetie Pie are somewhat bonded.

Last spring Cocoa and Merry were very hormonal and started picking on Sweetie Pie. They would chase him around and scream at him if he invaded their “territory” or sometimes just randomly. Poor Sweetie Pie can’t escape easily because he’s missing the flight feathers on one of his wings (not sure how that happened, he came to us like that.) So sometimes he ends up stuck on the floor after being chased and we have to rescue him.

The behavior got somewhat better after the spring hormonal season ended, but it’s still happening, and I worry that Sweetie Pie is unhappy or stressed. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this?
 

Kelpie

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I’m sure I’m not as experienced as many others here.
That being said, my first thought is to give them more room? Maybe having two separates cages (Or one large one) that they have free access to would alleviate the territorial issues. I have a “common ground” play-stand in my living room to hopefully avoid this issue, I wrapped the thinnest bars in cotton rope for easier perching. I’ll link it here!

Also, I remember reading a thread where a lady was having issues with two of her birds during the breeding season. The hen was not physically capable of egg-laying, so a certain kind of shot administered by the vet would lower the hormones for a period of time. While a more intrusive procedure would implant a permanent “birth-control”, this could be done on both hen and cock. I’m sure it wasn’t a cheap service, though.
 
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Kassiani

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You could keep the two pairs in separate cages. They would have their own spaces, and could still have some out-of-cage time together?
 

ACtiels

Moving in
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14
I’m sure I’m not as experienced as many others here.
That being said, my first thought is to give them more room? Maybe having two separates cages (Or one large one) that they have free access to would alleviate the territorial issues. I have a “common ground” play-stand in my living room to hopefully avoid this issue, I wrapped the thinnest bars in cotton rope for easier perching. I’ll link it here!

Also, I remember reading a thread where a lady was having issues with two of her birds during the breeding season. The hen was not physically capable of egg-laying, so a certain kind of shot administered by the vet would lower the hormones for a period of time. While a more intrusive procedure would implant a permanent “birth-control”, this could be done on both hen and cock. I’m sure it wasn’t a cheap service, though.
I like the play stand idea, thanks!! We are taking them to the vet next month, so I’ll ask about a way to control the hormones! Funnily enough they’re actually ok in the cage together, it’s just when they’re loose (which is most of the time these days) that they have issues. They get territorial about things like our parrotlets cage and the space under furniture
 

ACtiels

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You could keep the two pairs in separate cages. They would have their own spaces, and could still have some out-of-cage time together?
I’m not sure if separate cages would make a difference because it’s actually only when they’re out of the cage that they have issues, but maybe they’d like having their own space?
 

Tiel Feathers

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Maybe let them have separate out times then?
 

isabella99

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isabella
Hi everyone,

I have 4 male cockatiels (Cocoa, Merry, Sweetie Pie, and Sunny), who were all adopted from the same home. Cocoa and merry are very bonded, and Sunny and Sweetie Pie are somewhat bonded.

Last spring Cocoa and Merry were very hormonal and started picking on Sweetie Pie. They would chase him around and scream at him if he invaded their “territory” or sometimes just randomly. Poor Sweetie Pie can’t escape easily because he’s missing the flight feathers on one of his wings (not sure how that happened, he came to us like that.) So sometimes he ends up stuck on the floor after being chased and we have to rescue him.

The behavior got somewhat better after the spring hormonal season ended, but it’s still happening, and I worry that Sweetie Pie is unhappy or stressed. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this?
definitely look into equa holistics avian calm or morning bird avian calming formula, or for another alternative loose chamomile flowers is also an option:)
 
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