Expert: Marie Charon - 11/12/2009

Question
Hi there,
We have a male cockatiel who is about 5 years old. He is used to being out in the morning for several hours, flying around - obviously he doesn't have his wings clipped. He has become very dominant and demanding over the years (only exasberated during the breeding season). After trying many approaches, we were wondering if clipping his wings might reduce these types of behaviour - mostly the constant shrieking and desire for attention?

His cage is in the family room - so there are people around for most of the day, if he isn't out, we leave a radio on when we are out, and as stated, let him out for several hours everyday. We are rather reluctant to clip his wings, as we see flying as an important natural behaviour - and one that he seems to really enjoy - but my family is getting to the end of our rope with the constant loud shrieking, this has become even worse as it is spring time here in New Zealand, and it is clear he is going through hormonal changes associated with the breeding season.

Do you think clipping his wings will help in anyway to lower his perceived rank in the family 'flock'?  Or is there any other approaches you are aware of? We have tried singing to him, covering his cage, bringing him food, squirting him with a water gun - but nothing seems to work.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much :)

Answer
I'm going to deal with one issue at a time:

Unwanted Dominant Behavior:
Clipping his wings will make him more dependent on you and less dominant in general. You can try other things first though if you like him having his wings. With overly dominant birds I find placing their cage below my eye level will knock them down a notch. Another thing I do is kinda slap my arms against my side (like wings flapping) while kinda towering above them if they are acting out in an unwanted dominant manner. Sounds funny but these are both things birds use to dominate each other, and it is body language that they understand. It may help him realize who are the dominant ones of his flock, and your family is a part of his flock.



Here are some great articles on screaming that will help you!

http://www.companionparrot.com/screaming.htm

http://www.cockatielcottage.net/questions4.html