Hi,
I’m not sure who told you it was OK to let your male mate with a female and then be removed, but this was very, very bad advice. Cockatiels mate for life, so it is cruel to separate a pair. Not only was it confusing and stressful for the male, but it left the females alone to try to raise the chicks. They are driven by instinct and would have literally died trying to complete their duties. It is a true exception that the first female managed to incubate the eggs and raise 6 chicks. It is also an exception that the experience didn’t kill her. I can only say she is in bad health as a result, even if the owner thinks she is OK. With most bird species, both the male and female share the incubation and care of the chicks. With cockatiels, one parent sits during the day and the other sits at night. Both parents feed the chicks and the male typically takes over at some point and weans the chicks. I feel sorry for all of the birds involved here. The second female is much more typical of what was likely to happen. Even with the male there, he and the female didn’t have time to properly bond. Cockatiels mate for life, so you ripped him away from one mate, and then expected him to bond with another female and for them to act like a breeding pair. When you turn a bird into a breeder, you have to stop handling them. You have to give them up as a pet. It isn’t natural for a breeding bird to interact with other birds. You are basically a flock mate, so continuing to treat him as a pet when he was breeding only caused a lot of confusion for him and possibly jealousy for the female. And it caused the chicks to die because neither parent was devoted to the clutch. I’m not trying to be harsh, and I do believe you are beginning to understand that you did create a huge problem. Now your male has been ripped away from a second mate. Of course he is upset. He is confused because his instinct is to protect his mate for the rest of his or her life. Now the females are gone, he is sort of tame with you, but his hormones tell him he needs to find his mate. His behavior will take time to improve. He is going to be stressed and continue to call for the mate, and this can go on for months. All you can do is tolerate the behavior and reward him when he is quiet. You can’t punish him by covering the cage. Cockatiels do not learn from being punished. You need to reassure him, ignore him when he is screaming and again reward him when he stops. You must be consistent and understand that this may take months. And please do not put him with another female unless you are ready to give him up as a pet and let him bond with his mate and no longer be tame.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
