Hi Sandra,
It is never a good idea to have an odd number of birds in a cage no matter what their genders. You have a potentially volatile set up having them all together since the male and female are bonded. In the wild, adult birds only interact with their mate. Any bird that gets too close will be driven away as a rival. Both the male and female can be territorial and the females can actually be more aggressive.
Rico in an interloper. Your other male has been kind so far, but his attacks will get more serious and caging them together is going to eventually result in one of the birds being killed. If the male feels like he can’t get Rico far enough away, then he will turn on the female – in the wild the male would force the female back to the nest. While they tolerated each other up to this point, the weather is warmer and the pair may be thinking of nesting. This has caused the attacks to get worse.
Since the pair isn’t tame, I would let them stay together. If you don’t want to deal with breeding, do not give them a nest box. Keep Rico separate, even when they are out of the cage. Cockatiels can attack suddenly and viciously, so Rico could be badly injured before you have a chance to react. If you keep Rico separate, he might become a better pet.
You might also want to check out our recent webinar about hormonal behavior with Pet birds, plus we are presenting Part 2 this Friday:
Webinar: “Spring Is In the Air: How To Deal With Your Pet Bird’s Hormonal Behavior!”
Webinar: “Pet Birds & Hormonal Behavior: Part 2!”
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
