Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 1/31/2010

Question
Hello, I have a male cockatiel for 1 year now. He was alone since I bought him, until yesterday, when we bought a female.

We are 3 people at home, and he loved me. Only me, not the other 2 people. I couldn't go out of his sight, or he would scream all over the place. It was annoying, actually. I couldn't leave the living room to talk to anyone, because he screamed all the time, until I got back to the living room. I'm the only one who could put hands on him, he would never leave me. Always following me.
After we bought the female, they got along very well. At the moment they were put together, the male seemed to hate me forever. I can't get close to him or the cage anymore. If I try to get my hands close to him, he tries to beak me.

Is this normal behavior? Is he going to be like that forever because now he has a female, or is he getting back to what he was after some time?

Thanks!

Answer
Hi, Fernando,

Yes, this is normal behavior for a male tiel when placed with a female and they get along so well together from the beginning.  Not in your favor is the fact that this time of year is the beginning of breeding season.  A male tiel of 1 year old has hormones that are running rampant this time of year and placing a compatible female with him causes matters to be worse!  No one can tell you for sure if your male will revert back to his previous behavior because birds prefer other birds to humans.  A single bird in the home makes the best pet bird because without other birds around, the single bird relies on its human(s) for companionship.  It is normal for bird's behavior to change during breeding season, particularly when housed with a compatible bird of the opposite sex.  Some parrots revert back to their normal selves after breeding season, but some don't.  This depends on the individual bird involved, so you'll just have to see what happens once breeding season is over and/or the hormones stop running rampant.  Be aware that this pair of birds might start mating and laying eggs on the cage bottom, in their food dishes, etc., and you could end up with baby tiels  You need to read up and be prepared to handle this situation if it occurs.  If you do not want this to happen, you need to separate these birds.

Chrys Meatyard