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Should I separate them or keep them in one cage?

KikiRiki

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Hello fellow tiel owners! I think I could use some help. My boyfriend and I already have some expierence with cockatiels and we do bird rescuing. However we took home single cockatiels before and things were easier, but this time we took a bonded couple - male and female (1 year old and 1,5 year old). They were never hand fed, they're not tame at all. However Kiki (male) is showing major improvement, on the second day he learned step up, and let me touch his crest. He's adapted pretty well insuch a short time. But female Riki is totally the opposite. She's scared, she doesn't want to learn anything, she keeps screaming all the time and she's very attached to male Kiki.And I see that Kiki is eager to explore, he likes the food, he likes to go out of his cage, but Riki is very clingy and she follows him everywhere and he gets annoyed by her. I guess he needs his personal space lol but she doesn't give him so he starts fighting with her. When he sits on the perch she always comes on the same perch and he starts biting her wing, I need to break a fight quickly. Then he flies to another spot, she comes too close to him again and the whole fight thing starts again. When he eats or drinks she comes close to him and starts poking him and he doesn't like that so he stops eating. But even though he likes to be on his own, after spending some time in another room he misses her and goes back to her. It's like he likes her but wants some distance and she never gives him that. So I don't know what to do... We have another smaller cage, should I seperate them until they cool down and fully adjust to new home or should I keep trying to train her while she's living in the same cage with male Kiki. but I don't want them to fight, and I feel while she's with Kiki she won't be able to learn anything, because she desperately clings to him and he wants to explore and learn but she interrupts his progress as well.
 

Lady Jane

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Are you sure the gender is correct by DNA?
 

Zara

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Welcome to the Avenue :starshower1:

Usually it's better to train shy birds with one who is more brave, it encourages them.
I am able to get my completely non "tame" lovie on my hand only with the help of her boyfriend, something that is almost impossible for me without him.
 

Cynthia & Percy

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Tiel Feathers

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I had two tiels like that, only it was the male who wanted more attention from the female. She still liked having him around however, and they were friends, but he wanted to be more than friends lol. I ended up keeping them in separate cages, but I let them have supervised out of cage time together. As time went on he became less pesky, but my female cockatiel liked having her own space, and she still does. I would get her her own big cage to live in.
 

KikiRiki

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Thank you for your warmth welcome and tips! I'm currenty working with the brave bird as Zara suggested. :) Hoping that my shy girl will follow his training.
Tiel Feathers, thank you for sharing your birds story, I keep them in separate cages today. Because boy Kiki got annoyed by girl Riki once again, she was following him everywhere and got too close for his comfort, so he started to attack her. He seems to enjoy his space now, but poor girl seems sad. I don't know how to cheer her up, she has plenty of toys and a large cage, fresh food, but she wants her boyfriend
 

Begone

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Separate cages, but put them together as close as you can. And as @Tiel Feathers says, let them spend out of cage time together.
Don't separate them more then in their cages. They are birds that spend all time with another bird.
Place both their favourite perch so close each other as you can. It will make her feel better if he is placed closer to her.
 

Tara81

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How big is the cage they are in ? Do they have 2 food bowls and 2 water bowls? Do they have some smaller perches that only 1 cockatiel can fit on ? (That can get one of them to stop chasing the other , if one of them is on a perch too small to fit two ).
I agree with Eloy, maybe seperating them for awhile would be best, but as Eloy said, keep their cages next to each other if possible. He might eventually change his mind about her, and not mind her being close.
 
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