Mating with Toy Aggression

[nimbirds]

Nimbus is a white-faced cockatiel believed to be a he as he was very vocal and mates a lot. He flew to my house around February this year and I have kept him since I could not find his owner. He looked happy and lived well with my family at that time.

We decided to get him a 3-month-old friend, Sunny, in April. Nimbus has become aggressive ever since and seems to be protective over his little friend, but not anything severe.
I was told Sunny was a female by the seller but she is now more vocal than Nimbus so I'm skeptical she is a male. However, her feather wasn't fully molted yet.

Recently, he starts becoming territorial in multiple dark corners in my house and starts mating with an object on top of a cabinet. Often when I walk past the cabinet, about three meters away, he attacks me all of sudden. He also attacks me when I am further away from the house from time to time. I barely have a day without his bites on my hand .

I tried positive punishment, putting him in his cage after he attacked for a few weeks but he did not seem to be better; I wonder if it works.
I didn't change a thing since I got Sunny. Is aggression comes from his friend? I desperately want him to be happy again .

I would love to have suggestions from you all. Thank you in advance!


Nimbus and Sunny respectively!

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[Wardy]

The hiding in dark places is cavity seeking worth having a read of the following.

cavity seeking – Pamela Clark, CPBC

Posts about cavity seeking written by Pamela Clark, CPBC

blogpamelaclarkonline.com

I had a similar experience with one of my conures and done the following.
Blocked access to all dark cavitys.
Increased amount of darkness during the night from 12 to 14/15.
Stopped feeding soft warm food also as this can encourage hormonal behaviour.

Returning a bird to a cage when its getting up to no good is not really advisable its cage should be a safe place, as you have found this doesnt really work.

Can you call the bird to your hand for a treat ?

If you need to move him and he is biting then use a perch to move him.
I would remove what he is mating with to stop this behaviour.

I cant give you any specific info on keeping two of this species together though sorry.

@Sodapop&Co.

 

[nimbirds]

The hiding in dark places is cavity seeking worth having a read of the following.

cavity seeking – Pamela Clark, CPBC

Posts about cavity seeking written by Pamela Clark, CPBC

blogpamelaclarkonline.com

I had a similar experience with one of my conures and done the following.
Blocked access to all dark cavitys.
Increased amount of darkness during the night from 12 to 14/15.
Stopped feeding soft warm food also as this can encourage hormonal behaviour.

Returning a bird to a cage when its getting up to no good is not really advisable its cage should be a safe place, as you have found this doesnt really work.

Can you call the bird to your hand for a treat ?

If you need to move him and he is biting then use a perch to move him.
I would remove what he is mating with to stop this behaviour.

I cant give you any specific info on keeping two of this species together though sorry.

@Sodapop&Co.

Thank you so much.

No, I cannot call him for a treat. I'm not sure what he really like as a treat either, as one day he likes millets, the other day he's not. He also doesn't usually like petting as well

I tried removing the object and his aggression kind of reduces so far.
I'm also trying all the suggestions above. To be updated! Thank you again.

 

[Zara]

he starts becoming territorial in multiple dark corners in my house

Definitely block access to anyu small nooks and other dark spaces.

starts mating with an object on top of a cabinet. Often when I walk past the cabinet, about three meters away, he attacks me all of sudden.

Remove the item and block access to the top of the cabinet - fill it with duvets or boxes or something.

I tried positive punishment, putting him in his cage after he attacked

This generally doesn´t work. It will teach the bird that biting is ok and so it continues.

The link Wardy gave explains the behaviour very well