Ask Lafeber

Why does my male bird bite me?

I’ve had my male cockatiel since he was 7 months old. He was very kind and easy in the beginning but when I moved back home, he started getting aggressive with me after trying to court my boyfriend’s female cockatiel. They’re not compatible at all as she attacks him when he’s near. They’re in separate cages but he always tries to go to hers when I take him out. When he chirps at her, I try to get him off the cage and he gets aggressive, hisses and bites me.
This is really upsetting as he wasn’t like this when it was just me and him. Should I separate them more? I’m considering giving one away at this point if the aggression doesn’t stop. Please help. Thank you.

Hi,

If you want these birds to remain tame, you need to keep them apart. Cockatiels should be at least 2 years old before they are allowed to breed. A female should not be around a male before she is 2, or she will end up trying to lay eggs at too young of an age. A young hen is at a much higher risk of becoming eggbound and dying. If she is older than him, it explains her attitude towards him. He’s too young to breed and she has no use for him. But he is interested I her, and the more bonded he becomes with her, the less he will want people to handle him until he eventually becomes wild. You need to stop this interaction now while there’s still a chance that he will settle back down. If the only option is to find a new home for her, that’s better than having two birds that nobody can handle. Even if you have no interest in breeding them, birds will tend to choose another bird over a person, and even if she keeps rejecting him, he still may lose interest in being a pet because he thinks he has a chance with her.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda