Expert: Teresa Weingart - 1/6/2012

Question
Hello,

I am a vet student and in October I adopted a male and female pair of cockatiels from a shelter. Things were going great the first few months until they started laying eggs. When the female started laying, the male became extremely aggressive towards me and towards the female so I separated them. She still has a mark on her beak from where he attacked her. Since I have separated them he does nothing but scream all day, even when I put a blanket over his cage. But when I put them back together they start mating again or he is aggressive towards her. I'm at my wits end with this cockatiel. I don't know how to stop the constant screaming with the male. Other than the screaming he has normal behavior (he's always been slightlyterritorial and aggressive). Please help me!

Answer
Hi Emily -

The challenges of having a male and female cockatiel!  
Don't get upset that the male is being aggressive.  This is normal, especially if he has mated with her and she is laying eggs.  They become especially possessive during mating and breeding.

They will mate if they are together and she can lay several clutches if allowed, but this can weaken her.  So be careful.  

I couldn't tell from your question if you were intentionally trying to mate them or not.  If you don't want to mate them, and choose to separate them, they still need to be able to see each other or he will scream (possibly thinking she was taken from him).  You might want to invest in a cage that is big enough for two that has a divider, get two of the same sex, or downsize to one cockatiel.

If you are trying to mate them, they need a nesting box and nesting material.  Check your local pet supply.  Eggs that she lays outside the nesting box won't hatch.

All you have to do is add nesting material, attach it to the cage (you may have to cut a hole) and their instincts will kick in.  They know what to do.  She will go into the box and lay her eggs.  Usually, they will take turns sitting on the eggs.  She may take the morning shift, and he may take the night shift, and so on.

The reason you attach the nesting box in the cage is so that they can come and go from the inside of the cage to the box without being disturbed and without feeling threatened until.  It is important that they be allowed to do this undisturbed until they wean the babies.

I would be interested in knowing how this goes.  If they lay eggs and they hatch, there is much more in store :)

Regards,

Teresa