Ask Lafeber

Aggressive Male cockatiel and Cockatiel Chicks

Hi, I have 2 pet cockatiels, one male and one female and recently they have layed eggs and they have hatched into 3 baby cockatiels. My birds are 3 years old almost 4 and 2 of the babies are 2 weeks old one the other one is a week old. The parents are raising them and have been taking really good care of them. I read recently that at around 2 weeks old you should start handling the babies to socialize them with people as I do plan on taming them. I have taken these babies out around 3 times without issues, and a little while ago today I took out one of the babies for a few minutes then put him back in the box. When I did this, the birds seemed to have no issues with me holding him and they seemed calm, but after this my male cockatiel has been really aggressive towards me and his mate. He keeps chasing her out of the box and won’t let her see the babies. I tried to offer them a treat to calm them down and he was fine when I gave him the treat but when I gave the female a treat too he got aggressive again and started biting her. He also bites me every time I try to pick him up. He has done this before with eggs, but he usually settles down. I am a little worried now because I read your reply to some other people and you said that you have to give up your bird as a pet if they are gonna be a breeder. This is the only time I was allowing them to breed because I wanted to keep one baby as a pet. I never wanted to be a “breeder” or start a buisness or anything as these birds are my pets and I have a strong bond with them. Now I’m worried about what to do because I don’t want to lose him as a pet and I can’t just get rid of the babies. I also have nowhere for the female to go as i only have one cage. Sorry for the long message, but i really need some advice on what to do because I have never had cockatiel chicks before. Thank you

Hi,

You have to keep in mind that cockatiels are an exotic pet, even if they are captive raised. Their behavior is driven by instinct. In the wild, when a pair bonds, they no longer have close contact with other members of the flock. When breeding, the pairs distance themselves from other pairs, and establish a territory around their nest. Other cockatiels that get too close will be chased off. Now that this pair is bonded and breeding, you are a rival. The problem is, you are still trying to have contact with the male, and this is causing confusion for him. He is being aggressive to you and his mate and chicks because of this confusion. You may have to separate him. He could end up killing the chicks or killing his mate. If he is attacking to the point of pulling her feathers or biting her hard enough to make her bleed, you must separate him immediately. I realize you only have one cage, but you will need another one anyway for the chicks. Parents will not tolerate chicks once they are eating on their own. They will start to attack them if they aren’t separated. This again is natural instinct, and it prevents related birds from breeding in the wild. You also can’t plan to keep 5 related cockatiels together in the same cage. And you really should not keep related males and females together. If you end up keeping the chicks, and any are females that lay eggs when they are older, you have to throw the eggs away. And you really should not have males and females together until they are at least 2 years old. It can cause the females to try to lay eggs when they are too young, and young females are at a much higher risk of becoming egg bound and dying.

I’m sorry, because know none of this is what you want to hear, and it is disappointing, but you need to make plans now. I would recommend choosing one chick to keep, and finding good homes for the other two. And of course you will need another cage. If the male continues being aggressive, you may need two more cages. Unfortunately this behavior is hard wired, and when something goes against their instinct, they tend to sort of short circuit. This is not unusual behavior for captive males. Many turn aggressive in the middle of raising chicks, when he also has a human in the picture that he was bonded with. It’s a common mistake that owners make, because they do not realize the bonding process that must take place for a pair to breed, and the fact that cockatiels do breed for life. This means as long as both birds live – they will eventually choose a new mate if their mate dies. Please don’t try to make this work the way you want it to. While there can be rare exceptions, as it looks right now, you are going to end up with dead chicks or a dead mate if that male continues his aggression and you don’t separate him. Sometimes after being split up for a day or two, the male can be returned. If not, you should try rotating the male & female and letting one be with the chicks during the day, and the other at night. And unfortunately, I would not recommend trying to handle the chicks anymore until they are weaned, or it could set him off again. The best chance for him to settle down and care for his family is for you to ignore him, don’t talk to him, handle him or offer him treats. After these chicks are weaned, remove the nest box, and do not give it back if you don’t want them to breed again.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda