I have two male cockatiels about a year apart and they have a very strong bond.
The younger one does this thing where he sits in his little triangle hut, shakes (like he is cold but its not cold) and makes little pip squeak noises and the other one stands near him. Im assuming this is some sort of mating behaviour but there arent any eggs…
Ive taken a video for the vet the next time i go
Hi,
The best thing to do is remove the hut. Birds should not be given any type of nest, hut, tent, coconut, box or anything they can get inside of, unless you have a breeding pair, in which case you would get a nest box. Birds do not use nests in the wild except during nesting season, and only breeding pairs use a nest. The rest of the year, they roost in trees or whatever is in their natural environment. It’s unfortunate that they sell these huts and houses for pet birds, because they create so many behavior and health issues. In many cases, the birds consume the fibers and eventually die from impaction, because the fibers cannot be removed and don’t pass through the digestive system. These huts trigger hormones in pet birds, and such as in your case, trigger hormones much too soon in a young bird. The poor little guy has no understanding of what he is feeling. In the wild, he wouldn’t have a mate until he was at least 2-3 years old. He will be much happier once you remove his “nest” and give him some time for his hormones to settle back down. Hormones are such a problem in pet birds that we have an entire series of webinars about hormones, trigger and the behavior and health issues that result from hormones being triggered in a bird without a mate. While two males or two females can bond and behave like mates, you still want to avoid any type of nesting situation because these urges can lead to serious health issues, particularly a prolapse. I’ll give you the link to our hormone series.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
