Divided the tiels up!

it's about that time again... Tsuka tends to start acting like a little jerkface and tends to pick on Dally. Normally it's just petty squabbling and Dally gets over it. But every now and again Tsuka gets worse and she gets stressed a bit.

well it's that time. for the past 3-4 years I've had to separate them every once in awhile for a month or two for Tsuka to settle down...

Before I encountered problems such as flock calling and not eating.

Tsuka will not eat if he cannot see Dally, and even in a cage near her he still refuses to eat and he wont leave the side of the cage...

Dally has a problem with being alone. if no one is there with her at all times she will scream for hours on end. Which was why we had gotten Tsuka to begin with.


So... separation was always a problem.

HOWEVER, we divided their cage in half with plastic mesh and both can still share a food dish without the worry of fighting or beaking or squabbling.


Tsuka had been going after Dally any chance he got lately and he's been stressing her out. Any time I give her attention of any kind, even looking at her, he comes over and bites at her until she runs off. Then he lunges at me. He's normally a bit moody but he often cuddles and everything all the same. But when he gets really bad, he needs intervention--which is separation for him to calm down.

Dally has been avoiding any contact with me lately because of Tsuka. each time I give her attention, she runs off because Tsuka usually isnt far off coming after her. It don't matter even if I give him attention first--he still doesn't want her having attention and it's not fair to Dally.

I also suspect he's been stressing her from the food bowl too because she's dropped weight. Two separate food bowls never worked in the same cage because Tsuka always insisted on eating from the same bowl as her, which if it wasnt big enough, she'd have a problem with it.

But, this seems to be a working solution for their cage, and if it works out in the long run, it will be a permanent change.


I put up a plastic mesh divider in the middle so they can still share a cage and see eachother but still have their own space and privacy. I also have it so that the seed and pellet dishes are shared. They simply slide under the divider 50/50 where they can eat together but not have any squabbles over it.

Both seem to be adapting well to it, Dally seems happy to have her own space and seems calmer and has been eating more and seems more demanding for attention. She is now coming to me for attention, rather than running away because now she seems to realize that Tsuka cannot come near her.

Tsuka, however, is still being a jerk to me, which is fine, it's his moodiness. in time he will be back to his cuddly old self when he gets it all out of his system. this normally happens once a year with him--just happened later this year than normal. He's eating and isnt screaming and he is acting pretty normal, so it seems he is okay with this arrangement, though he doesn't seem to like the fact that he cant go after Dally. He's been giving me attitude over it.

In general, he's acting up lately. Biting, diving at me, and generally not wanting anything to do with me. He flies away when out of cage time is done, he bites hard when asked to step up (i understand birds use their beak to climb up onto a hand, but this is different--he CHOMPS and then steps up) and he lunges at me more often and doesnt want to cuddle or spend time with us. It'll pass in time, I'm sure. for now, we'll give him his space. My priority is keeping Dally safe and stress free, as well as keeping Tsuka from stressing out from separation.


These two hate eachother but cannot live without eachother lol call it a love-hate relationship!


but, photos of the arrangement! Dally is on the right, Tsuka on the left


















this is Dally's favourite spot to sleep:





and Tsuka's angry moody face:





They're eating just fine together, with the divider. Dally was unsure once he came down to eat, but settled down when she realized he can't get at her

Thanks for posting pics. I think I have to seperate my 2 linnies as the female I believe is plucking feathers from the males head. Did you get the mesh at a hardware store?

You have a great set up!

its just plain 100% plastic 1/2" mesh from the dollarstore. unfortunately they only sell this kind of mesh in a giant roll. its not TOO much money, it was $20 for i think 30 feet of it so we got a LOT of it, it's come in handy and i use it to make foraging toys and such as well lol


plucking of another bird is not something i've ever really dealt with. i've dealt with a bird plucking themselves (munch plucks when she sits on eggs, relatively normal for some hens)

arent they babies? thats so strange to start plucking so young like that!

Hormones can be a royal pain in the you know what. It seems like your action plan is working well and cost effective. Great idea.

They are 3 months old. The breeder said they get hormonal about that age. So that may explain some of it.

They get testy with each other. Buttercup pics on Blueberry a lot.

are they siblings? i found my sibling lovebirds grew apart and started bickering around 6 months old (the hormones set in lol)

Yes, they are siblings! LOL! I am going to look for some mesh this weekend and separate them. I think it would be best. They can still hang out on the cage top play gym together each day. I had no idea what I could use until I saw your post today. So thank you for posting that!!

It's that season for them....mine are laying eggs right now....one of the eggs might be hatching on my birthday this year for once. I separate them into different cages if they need to rest as they get over being separated after awhile.

it must be in the air, Num Num and Pearl are at each others throats lately, and I may have to put a divider up for them too.

Blancaej- female linnies will start to show aggression towards males around that age.
they'll be fine without each other. it may have to be a permanent thing, or it may work out, only time will tell

lol its funny because dally isnt hormonal in the least!

tsuka has a go at her off and on at other times of the year too, but normally not as bad. mine arent a bonded pair. they more tolerate eachother's existence lol


im glad my post has been able to help you, too blancaej! it took me a few years to figure this out. my tiels seem to be very loud for flock calling, and in an apartment unit, that's a no-no lol so separate cages have never done well for us and their old cage wasnt big enough to divide. now each of them are in a unit 18"x24"x24" so basically the minimum for a tiel but they are out of the cage anywhere between 2-6 hours a day, depending on the day. days i work midnights, they get only 2 hours out but they get extra foraging and cuddles before i go to bed in the morning. thats only 2 days out of the week though so they're fine with it.

the first time we've ever had to split them up, my mother in law had to take tsuka for a month for him to calm down for them to not flock call and for tsuka to eat. he literally had to be in a whole separate household for him to eat and act like a normal bird while away from dally. but that wasnt an ideal situation either lol so this is working so far quite well

Thanks Beth! I figure once they separate they can hang out on the play gym together. It will work out.

Yes, Dally Tsuka, your post is very helpful. Glad it is working out well for you!