Expert: Teresa Weingart - 12/29/2011

Question
A while ago, my Auntie gave my family 5 cockatiels, as they were moving and could no longer care for the birds. We have them in an aviary. We have 2 pairs of girls and boys. We do not allow them to breed. The fifth Cockatiel was found on the outside of the aviay. We dont know where he came from, but he has been living in the aviary for many years.

The cockatiel who was found on the aviary is very agressive. He attacks our faces when we try to feed the birds and he bites too. he pulls the other birds feathers out and bites them too. We dot know what to do. At first he would fly away when we waved our hads around, know he ignores us and bites us anyway! What can I do?

Answer
Hello Jamieson -

Happy New Year!

I'm not an expert on aviaries, but you mentioned that you have two pairs of girls and boys that have not been allowed to breed.  The one that is living in the aviary for some time might be aggressive because of the females (and possibly the males are a threat).  

When you separate birds by sex in different cages, it is a form of torture for them.  They are birds and it is natural for them to want to mate.  The fact that he cannot get to the females is probably driving him crazy.  This might eventually happen with the other caged males.  You might need to make some serious decisions on what you want to do with the birds.  If you don't plan to mate them, you may consider downsizing to a single sex.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Teresa