Ask Lafeber

Question:

August 26, 2019

Two cockatiels


I’m going to handrear two baby cockatiels. I want to handrear them separately and keep them in separate cages when they are older… I really want each cockatiel to choose me over each other and interact from time to time without forming a closer bond than with me. Can they be kept in the same room in separate cages and still bond closer with me?


Answer:

Hi Kayla,

I would keep them together while you are handfeeding and weaning them. As long as you play with both of them daily, this will be fine and they are likely to learn to eat on their own better if they have competition from each other. Then you can cage them separately. At that point, you should be able to keep handling them both separately and even allow them to have some time out together without them forming a strong bond with each other. Ideally I would say to try to get two males, although that can be hard to do if you are getting young chicks to handfeed. If you end up with a male and female, then you may not be able to let them interact much as they get older. Being in the same room should be OK but then you never know until you see how they do. Birds have their own personalities and in some cases they can bond without being in a cage together. But this is less likely with two males or two females. I suggest two males because they tend to make better companions.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

 

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