Ask Lafeber

Stressed cockatiel

My cockatiel is eight years old. She has been on her own for most of this time. I recently put my canary in with her. I know parrots and canaries generally do not get along and the cockatiel would normally attack the canary but my cockatiel was born with deformed feet and a crooked wing so she can’t fly well and movement is a little slower so she is gentle.
I’ve had them together for 2 weeks. The cockatiel lost 4 tail feathers. I expect this issue to stress at having another bird in her house. It is a large cage with plenty of space for multiple birds.
Should I remove the canary? Is this just too stressful for my cockatiel? Or will she eventually accept her new friend and relax?
Thank you for any wisdom you can share.

Hi,

You should definitely remove the canary. These birds were never meant to co-exist and while each bird might enjoy seeing and hearing another bird in the same home, having them in the same cage is not a good idea. They are not going to view each other as “friends”. They are driven by natural instinct and having a strange species in the same cage isn’t calming to either bird. This is very stressful for the cockatiel because of her limitations. All she knows is a faster moving, flighted bird is in her cage and this is cause for her to be alert at all times. While both birds are a prey species, the cockatiel has no way of knowing that the canary isn’t a predator. And the canary really can’t know that this huge bird isn’t going to try to eat it. Let them each have their own space. The canary would probably enjoy another canary as a companion. It’s not ideal to keep a canary by itself. Hopefully you interact with the cockatiel and handle her. She probably would not do well with another cockatiel because of her disabilities. If you put a healthy cockatiel with her, instinct could kick in and she might be attacked. A sick or wounded bird is a danger to a flock because it will attract predators, so a flock will tend to leave an injured flock member behind or actually attack it.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda