Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are there books out there that address anger management for cockatiels? My male was acting strange earlier today.. he had several temper tantrum moments. He would pace, bite/fight at his toys and jerk at his leg band while making a screechy noise, his mouth was wide open and he kept shaking his head and yelling in my face through the cage. I wonder if he is mimicing something from his past, or is this the way he protects his cage.. if so, why is he just now doing this? He was really fussy with the female too, while they were out together. I really don't know what to do, is he ok? While I had him out today, he also nipped at my cheek, it didn't hurt or bleed.. just startled me. He didn't seem angry but I put him in his cage. Any suggestions? Which books have you all found that you could recommend to me, so I can get a better understanding of some of their normal behaviour. Thanks so much!

They don't do this sort of thing without reason. You need to find the cause so you deal with the problem.

Also if he's pulling at the leg band take a close look at it & make sure it isn't irritating him.

What do you mean fussy with the female?

He does sound angry at something & you need to find out what it is. It can even be something as small as you moved something & it's upset him. Tiels rarely like change & can often react to the slightest change. My tiel gets angry when I leave my shoes lying around!

An excellent book: A Guide To Cockatiels & Their Mutations you can find it here
http://www.birdkeeper.com.au/v2/aguideto2.asp

The area near and around his band looks fine, no redness, dryness or sores. I started feeding them veggies yesterday and that went well, that is the only change that has been made. I do have a dog that looks at them, no barking or agressiveness. The male even flew off the cage and landed down in front of the dog today, the dog just laid there and the bird hopped back up on my hand and went back onto his cage. I remember my friend saying that the previous owners had a jack russell terrier that use to bark and freak out at the birds.. could he be acting like that dog, cause that is what it looked like now that I think about it, an angry dog barking through a cage, does that make sense or am I crazy? Anyway, I will see what he is like tomorrow. As far as being fussy with the female, he still nips at her sometimes when she is near him. He gets aggitated when she is on a perch in his way, when she tries to eat near him, when she is on my shoulder at the same time as he is and when they are on the top of the cage hanging out.. he gets grumpy with her. Then when I put them in separate cages, she seems like she misses being with him, but he seems fine without her. I just worry that I am doing something wrong and it will ruin what I have accomplished in the last week and a half.

Tnx for the book info, Kim. It is amazing how observant these tiels are. If I change one toy in my tiel's cage, or wash it and move its position, she gets upset & stares at it for a long while. If I move one of her cages, she is also on alert for days afterward. She looks at me long if I even get my hair cut. My tiel is very crabby at certain times of the day and I think it has to do with body rhythms just like people have. I do know that my tiel needs a lot of sleep, covered cage, and/or quiet time every day--at least 12 hrs. Is your tiel getting enough sleep, Sed? Maybe he just needs time to adjust to the new enviroment & get on a regular schedule--a couple wks is not very long. You may need to be more patient.

Thanks.. They get 12 hrs of sleep nightly and I cover the cage. Today, he has been fine, no outbursts so far. He's in a rather mello mood today. So I am really confused as to why he went off, so I am still looking for clues to why he did it. It would be nice if we had a book out there that dealt with rescued birds and the rehab to get them back on course. If you know of anything please don't hesitate to advise. Thanks again!

It is possible it may be just a 'mood' & nothing more. Tiels can go through these, mine does & he's crabby when he goes through it but usually gets over it the next day or so.

Also tiels go through this when going through a bit of a rough moult or hormonal. Again it's something they will get over & you can't do a great deal about this except wait for it to pass. You can bathe them if you think it's moulting causing moods. This will help a little.