My girlfriend and I have made a few posts recently on different sub-forums about my two cockatiels, Russet and Baby. I had Baby for around three years and got Russet during this past Summer from someone who was rehoming him because they could no longer take care of him. It has been difficult to understand where most of the issues I have with these birds is coming from, but I think I am beginning to see the core of the problem. When I first got Russet, both birds were quiet as they got to know each other and bonded. I keep them in separate cages at the moment. They (especially Russet) love to explore out of the cage and are usually sweet to me. Recently, I believe the excitement has faded out and we have had extreme difficulty with stopping screaming and hormonal behavior. This post is addressing the screaming.
Russet seems to have very little, if any, ability to be entertained in his cage. Last night, I rearranged their entire cage layouts and introduced several new toys they had not seen that I thought he might like. This morning I had them out for a couple of hours and then had to put them in to go to work. Before I left, I set up foraging for them both, which Russet has been interested in at times in the past. As soon as they were in, there was almost constant screaming for the next 4 hours, wether or not someone was in the room. Later in the day, I placed them both in Russet's cage so I could open our door to go outside briefly. I watched as Baby went from toy to toy and played with them briefly, exploring the new cage. Russet, however, perched at the front of the cage, ignoring all toys, and began pacing and screaming. This quickly riled up Baby into screaming as well, even if he was not upset. The past few weeks Russet has been completely unable to be caged and completely unwilling to play with any toys I put in his cage, even with seeds and millet in/on them. He is only interested in chewing base boards and wires, which I have tried to simulate with toys, but he has very little interest in. His cage is quite large for a cockatiel and he has lots of time out of it, as well.
Russet and Baby are now completely bonded, and I am extremely worried about having to rehome Baby because I cannot take care of Russet. Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Russet seems to have very little, if any, ability to be entertained in his cage. Last night, I rearranged their entire cage layouts and introduced several new toys they had not seen that I thought he might like. This morning I had them out for a couple of hours and then had to put them in to go to work. Before I left, I set up foraging for them both, which Russet has been interested in at times in the past. As soon as they were in, there was almost constant screaming for the next 4 hours, wether or not someone was in the room. Later in the day, I placed them both in Russet's cage so I could open our door to go outside briefly. I watched as Baby went from toy to toy and played with them briefly, exploring the new cage. Russet, however, perched at the front of the cage, ignoring all toys, and began pacing and screaming. This quickly riled up Baby into screaming as well, even if he was not upset. The past few weeks Russet has been completely unable to be caged and completely unwilling to play with any toys I put in his cage, even with seeds and millet in/on them. He is only interested in chewing base boards and wires, which I have tried to simulate with toys, but he has very little interest in. His cage is quite large for a cockatiel and he has lots of time out of it, as well.
Russet and Baby are now completely bonded, and I am extremely worried about having to rehome Baby because I cannot take care of Russet. Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.