I have a 1 year old male cockatiel. He was friendly but has recently started to become aggressive. He will swarm my face and has bitten myself (drawing blood) and my husband when my husband walked by me. I am now afraid to take him out of his enclosure. What suggestions do you have?
Hi,
He is exhibiting hormonal behavior, and this is his first time experiencing adult hormones. If he favors you over your husband, then he is likely to attack your husband if he is in the same room. Or if he can’t get to your husband, he may turn his aggression towards you. In the wild, he would drive his mate back to the nest if another adult cockatiel gets too close. It is best for him to be in his cage when he is acting out. But you may want to move his cage, so that he doesn’t decide it’s just one big nest to protect. Moving the cage can disrupt any nesting or territorial behavior. While flight is important for good health, sometimes you have to slow a male like this down some. If he isn’t settling down soon, a modest clip on both wings can slow him down and can settle him down. Hormones are such an issue with pet birds, we have hormone related webinars every March. I’ll give you the link to that playlist. You might also consider hiring an avian behaviorist.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
