What do I do :(

[Alex92]

So Andre is guarding my whole room now. I can't walk through it without him nailing me somewhere...I am seriously about to give up because I haven't had any luck trying to help him. I love him, but this is getting to be not worth the pain. He literally swoops down and attacks anyone and just tried attacking my female through her cage bars. He is extremely territorial and I can't move him to any other room in the house because we have two dogs and my mom is allergic to cockatiels....

 

[purl1]

How old us Andre? I have a male cockatiel and his first few breeding seasons where very hard on him, and me. Hes 3 now and it was easier this year. Is he out of the cage all the time?

 

[Akoni]

My male cockatiel is 8 years old and still gets extremely hormonal. He was dive bombing my husband repeatedly earlier in the season, but he's settled down a lot since then and is even allowing my husband to hold him and give him scritches. Partly he is less hormonal, but I think some changes we've implemented have also helped. Here's what we've done:
-Limit the opportunity to provide aerial attacks. Bad behaviors become reinforced if they have the desired effect. If he's allowed to attack someone and that person then leaves the room, Andre has achieved what he intended with the attack. This may mean less out of cage time for a couple of months, but it's worth it if it saves your relationship.
-Spend some time working on your relationship with him. What we did with my husband, was every night my tiel sat on his lap and ate a Nutriberry, a favorite treat he only got from my husband. This became such a habit that every night at around 9pm my tiel would fly over to my husband and wait politely for his treat. If Andre can't be out of his cage without attacking you, then give him a treat through the bars of his cage and sit with him as he eats it. Spend some time talking quietly to him.

You should also make sure he's getting 12-13 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, limit his intake of soft foods, and rearrange his cage frequently; basic steps to reduce hormonal behavior. You may also try giving him things to keep him busy; new wooden toys, time outside in his travel cage sitting in the sunlight, etc.

Don't give up on him yet, breeding season is not forever.

 

[birdle]

idc if people dont like this, but maybe you should clip his wings. instead of just giving him up. that way he can't fly at you but you could probably still let him out of the cage. let them grow in later and try again. also maybe you could start clicker training him and then he can be redirected when he's feeling aggressive

 

[tastybeets]

... breeding season is not forever.

I keep having to remind myself. Ugh.

But seriously, Akoni has great advice!

 

[Buckbeak]

More cage time is NOT the end of the world for Andre, either. If he is using his out time to attack you, then limit his out time. Just make sure he has toys available, and try to block his line of vision toward your female. Drape a towel over that side of the cage, maybe?

 

[SunUp]

idc if people dont like this, but maybe you should clip his wings. instead of just giving him up. that way he can't fly at you but you could probably still let him out of the cage. let them grow in later and try again. also maybe you could start clicker training him and then he can be redirected when he's feeling aggressive

 

[sunnysmom]

I think the risk you run with clipping his wings is that it might make him more upset, if he's used to being flighted. When my normally sweet tiel went through a bad hormonal stage, he would chase after my fiancé and attack his feet. So, he can still attack whether flighted or not. Is there anything specifically that he's protecting? When my tiel is hormonal he gets really possessive over this fleece Steeler blanket he likes. So we have to remove it. Also, I've never tried it but I've read about people on a cockatiel forum I belong to giving their tiels chamomile tea. It might be worth looking into. There are also products like Avicalm. Again, I've never used them nor have I read up on them but it might be something to check out. And of course, the long night treatements.

 

[Monica]

This is generally what I recommend for egg-laying hens. Who knows, some of it might help a hormonal male, too!

1. Remove Eggs
   • Rearrange the cage
   • Move the cage to a new location
   • Use a cage grate
   • Get a new cage/Use a different cage
   • 12-14 hours of complete darkness (may require as much as 16 hrs for 2 weeks - or try providing the opposite, as little as 8 hrs of sleep)
   • Full Spectrum Lighting/Better Lighting
   • Lower the indoor temperature
   • Decreace calcium and protein within the diet (if she is on a high calcium & protein diet prior to laying eggs)
   • Remove anything that could be taken as a nest
   • Remove anything that could be used as nesting material
   • Don't allow her in any dark place or enclosed area
   • IMPORTANT: save the eggs in the fridge
   • If she lays more than 3-4 eggs, put them back in the cage
2. Leave the Eggs
   • Leave the eggs alone in the cage
   • [Optional] Replace with fake eggs (prevent eggs from breaking)
   • Increase calcium
   • Let hen sit on eggs for 3-4 weeks or until she gets bored of them
   • Once done sitting, toss

Can you rearrange your bedrom and prevent access to the windows?

 

[birdle]

of course a bird can still attack with clipped wings but Id rather have my feet chased than my face dive bombed.

 

[Akoni]

I'd clip him only as a last resort. Like sunnysmom said, and in my experience as well, it changes their personality when their wings are clipped. My tiel became very sullen, which could further complicate your relationship with him. This would be my concern. IMO, better to not give him the opportunity to practice aerial attacks by limiting his out of cage time and/or giving him an hour or two to be in the room alone without you there.

If "giving up" means rehoming him (?), then I fully support clipping over this option. I'd just make sure you bring him to the vet to get his wings clipped rather than doing it yourself so he doesn't associate you with this act.

Really though, the things I suggested helped us tremendously.

 

[birdle]

completely agree ^ I only said clip cause you said you were giving up and I took it to mean giving him away.

 

[Vegemite]

Welcome to my world. My male tiel is totally obsessed with my male quake - last year was Kai, this year its Murphy which is really hard on ME, as Murphy is my most hands on bird and he loves being on me which is when I get attacked. Rhyly sees me as a threat to his one true love. I just suck it up and do whatever it takes to avoid being attacked. My hubby and son do not get attacked only me. As he attacks mainly my face/ears, I wear a beanie andcarrya feather duster - to shoo them both away

 

[Macaw Lover]

I have heard of several occasions where there was a much better relationship after a wing clipping. The level of dominance is gone and you can start working on an even basis when the little stinker realizes he does not have the upper hand over you to make you fearful of him. Then when your relationship develops the need for any more clippings should be gone also.

Much better scenario than having to rehome him.

 

[petiteoiseau]

I have heard of several occasions where there was a much better relationship after a wing clipping. The level of dominance is gone and you can start working on an even basis when the little stinker realizes he does not have the upper hand over you to make you fearful of him. Then when your relationship develops the need for any more clippings should be gone also.

Much better scenario than having to rehome him.

Let's not confuse things with outdated terminology. Dominance and 'upper hand' in birds are myths. They don't exist. These are behaviors that are not necessary for life with a flock so nature did not 'program' them into their brains. The only thing clipping does is handicap the bird by preventing it from flying up, thereby putting it in a vulnerable position akin to been wounded or sick because once he goes to ground, he can't take off. Sometimes clipping works because when a bird feels vulnerable, it loses its self-confidence and tries not to attract attention to itself. But it doesn't do anything to the 'feelings' (in this case, instincts) that prompted the behavior so a hormonal bird that feels he needs to guard over his nest would still feel that way. Personally, I like my birds self-assured and confident.

Why don't you try putting him in a flight cage until breeding season is over? It'll only take a couple of weeks and it'll be over for the year -well, if you keep your birds to a solar schedule that is.

 

[Alex92]

More cage time is NOT the end of the world for Andre, either. If he is using his out time to attack you, then limit his out time. Just make sure he has toys available, and try to block his line of vision toward your female. Drape a towel over that side of the cage, maybe?

He has no interest in my female at all. He actually tries to attack her. It's his own reflection that he is obsessed with.

 

[Alex92]

I do have a bigger cage that I can put him in, just gotta make room for it again. He spent nine years of his life cooped up so I always feel bad for him. But I'll try that if all else fails.

 

[Alex92]

Everyone has given really great input. He obsesses over dark corners in my room....and lets face it covering up every little dark corner is impossible. Same with reflective surfaces. He is infatuated with himself even if it's as little as his reflection off of a varnished dresser. I'm gonna try putting him to bed earlier and it might help my girl as well. She just got off of sitting on her eggs for about two weeks. Thanks for your suggestion guys. I really don't want to clip his wings unless it's completely needed. We have two dogs, a cat and two ferrets...and my door is always shut, but god forbid they got into my room hell would break loose. Leela ended up flying downstairs once and got pinned down by one of them. Luckily no harm done, just glad she had her wings to fly away in time. Thank you all.

 

[SandraK]

Before you clip his wings I'd highly recommend that you move his cage (within your room) and move things around inside his cage as well. These are things that I've seen recommended when someone has tiels who go into "nesting mode". The reasoning for this is that if a bird is comfortable and feeling secure about the safety/availability of food in his/her area (cage) it is more conducive to breeding situations. The fact that the living habitat/food/toys are relocated even slightly (and frequently) makes the whole scenario "less secure" for a breeding situation since a normally tranquil situation is being disrupted. I didn't completely believe it but it is true - my tiels abandoned any nesting ideas they had when I moved their cages and changed their cage set ups. It also applies to any nest boxes that are available to any couples.

IF that doesn't work, then I'd agree to a wing clip but I'd make it minimal - like a "show clip". He won't be able to fly as easily but he also won't drop to the floor like a rock if he tries.

 

[Alex92]

Before you clip his wings I'd highly recommend that you move his cage (within your room) and move things around inside his cage as well. These are things that I've seen recommended when someone has tiels who go into "nesting mode". The reasoning for this is that if a bird is comfortable and feeling secure about the safety/availability of food in his/her area (cage) it is more conducive to breeding situations. The fact that the living habitat/food/toys are relocated even slightly (and frequently) makes the whole scenario "less secure" for a breeding situation since a normally tranquil situation is being disrupted. I didn't completely believe it but it is true - my tiels abandoned any nesting ideas they had when I moved their cages and changed their cage set ups. It also applies to any nest boxes that are available to any couples.

IF that doesn't work, then I'd agree to a wing clip but I'd make it minimal - like a "show clip". He won't be able to fly as easily but he also won't drop to the floor like a rock if he tries.

I have switched my room around 5 times in the past month for him haha. Doesn't seem to matter where his cage is. >< I won't do a full clip if that is the case.