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Hello Everyone,

I am new and I could use some advice with my birds. I have two male cockatiels, one is almost 3 and the other is about two and a half. My husband and I got them when they were young. Misha is almost three and he was the last of his clutch. When we got him he was a bit hand shy, but he is really a love. Tashi we got a few months later, and he was a bit of a rescue. I fell in love with him at the bird store that we used to go to (sadly they have since closed), and he was given to us by the owners of the store. At the time, Tashi was a feather plucker, even though he was just about two months old. Both Misha and Tashi have lived with us ever since. At first they were in separate cages, but we moved them to one larger cage about a year and a half ago.

Just this week I started having some problems with Misha. He found a stroller (we have a eight month old daughter as well) and decided to claim it for himself. Misha wouldn't let anyone walk on the side of the room where it was and he kept trying to sit in it. I think he was nesting? I moved the stroller out of the room and he attacked me. He lunged after me and bit my hand six separate times. Both birds ended up flying around the house (they are not clipped) and when they landed a bit later, I noticed that Tashi had a cut near one nostril and feathers missing from both sides. I decided to set up separate cages for them right next to each other.

Ever since then Misha has not been aggressive, but Tashi has. Especially and night when we let them out of their cages Tashi opens his beak and lunges after Misha. Even so, if they are separated they scream until they are close to each other again. So right now we whenever we take the birds out we don't know if they will be friendly or attack each other. Most of the time they are in cages right next to each other so that they can see each other but not hurt each other. I feel like I am at my wits end. I love my birds and usually enjoy playtime with them every morning and night. They usually are allowed to be in their cage with the door open most of the day but I don't trust them to stay out right now.

Sorry for this extra long post, but really what I am wondering is if anyone has ever gone through something like this with a pair of bonded males. They are dependent on each other, but right now they also can't be trusted together. I would appreciate any advice! Thank you. -Liz

With tiels, I've had it happen only for short spells of a few days and usually fighting over a female. I think you're wise to have them set up in separate cages next to each other. You can tell by where they poop if they're spending all their time as close to each other as possible. That's a good sign!

When sexual hormones surge, behavior gets strange. It can change back to normal very quickly, so don't despair. Try to accept it as normal behavior of the exotics who share your home. Remember being 15?