everdusk
New member
- Oct 27, 2011
- 111
- 0
- Parrots
- Marzipan (Hahns Macaw) & Pip & Monte ('tiels) // In Memory: Countess ('tiel), Primrose (GCC), Pauly, Star, Yoshi & Keitaro (budgies)
Please don't be quick to judge this post! I was VERY careful through this whole process and in the end it just wasn't my choice any more! c:
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I have three cockatiels and a gcc. Two of my cockatiels are a bonded pair so one is usually left out. The cockatiels are in one cage and Prim(GCC) in another. A few months ago I put the two cages very near to each other, but not close enough that a leg or beak could connect. Over time, I noticed Prim going to the wall of the cage closest to the Cockatiels. She would literally hang off the cage next to a cockatiel and fluff up and make cute noises to them for HOURS. The mated pair were terrified of her and would run off, but my gimpy little rescue, Pip, would just sit in the corner close to her and keep her silent company.
A few weeks later I let them spend flight time together. Prim is very timid so the cockatiels mostly chased her away, but Pip slowly began to tolerate her in his space. After a couple weeks of this I let Pip investigate her cage without her, then added her in (all the while keeping vigil), Pip shooed her out of his space and nestled in just like it was home! See, the other cockatiels never give him any rest and will bully him when he's in the way of something, and here, Prim would just give him what he wanted. For the next few days I did supervised visits. Then I separated them and went away for a week.
When I came back, my mated pair were in SPRING MATING mode and the male was being agitated. I'd been through this last season and the most he would do was keep Pip out of a certain space that was HIS. Well. A couple weeks ago the male turned VICIOUS and ripped out nearly ALL of Pip's tail feathers! He lost 1/4 of his blood at least. We don't have any avian vets for 6 hours so I staunched the blood, gave him a small and easy to navigate cage with lots of food and water, and let him recover for the night. He is a tough bird, the poor guy was in horrible condition when I rescued him from a horrible pet store last year, so sure to say he recovered from this set-back. ***Please know that I had already made plans to take him to the vet the next day or during the weekend depending on how he was doing, but he acted as though what happened were no more than a night fright and acted perky as usual.***
Because his cage was so small, I began to do supervised visits once again with Prim. She was very sweet, wanting to snuggle with him, but if he didn't want her around she would move to the other side of the cage and watch him curiously. Finally, they began to groom each other and sit nestled together on their favourite perch.
It's been a week since I began to let them share a cage and they are both so much happier, I have given Pip the option to visit the cockatiels but he quickly goes back to Prim now. When they get time outside the cage they stay together even then.
I just thought it was a cute story to share. c: I understand the risks of having them together, they are the same size but Prim has a much larger beak. I will keep a close eye on them whenever I am around, and since I work from home that is most of the time. As far as I can tell, he's safer with her than with his own species!
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I have three cockatiels and a gcc. Two of my cockatiels are a bonded pair so one is usually left out. The cockatiels are in one cage and Prim(GCC) in another. A few months ago I put the two cages very near to each other, but not close enough that a leg or beak could connect. Over time, I noticed Prim going to the wall of the cage closest to the Cockatiels. She would literally hang off the cage next to a cockatiel and fluff up and make cute noises to them for HOURS. The mated pair were terrified of her and would run off, but my gimpy little rescue, Pip, would just sit in the corner close to her and keep her silent company.
A few weeks later I let them spend flight time together. Prim is very timid so the cockatiels mostly chased her away, but Pip slowly began to tolerate her in his space. After a couple weeks of this I let Pip investigate her cage without her, then added her in (all the while keeping vigil), Pip shooed her out of his space and nestled in just like it was home! See, the other cockatiels never give him any rest and will bully him when he's in the way of something, and here, Prim would just give him what he wanted. For the next few days I did supervised visits. Then I separated them and went away for a week.
When I came back, my mated pair were in SPRING MATING mode and the male was being agitated. I'd been through this last season and the most he would do was keep Pip out of a certain space that was HIS. Well. A couple weeks ago the male turned VICIOUS and ripped out nearly ALL of Pip's tail feathers! He lost 1/4 of his blood at least. We don't have any avian vets for 6 hours so I staunched the blood, gave him a small and easy to navigate cage with lots of food and water, and let him recover for the night. He is a tough bird, the poor guy was in horrible condition when I rescued him from a horrible pet store last year, so sure to say he recovered from this set-back. ***Please know that I had already made plans to take him to the vet the next day or during the weekend depending on how he was doing, but he acted as though what happened were no more than a night fright and acted perky as usual.***
Because his cage was so small, I began to do supervised visits once again with Prim. She was very sweet, wanting to snuggle with him, but if he didn't want her around she would move to the other side of the cage and watch him curiously. Finally, they began to groom each other and sit nestled together on their favourite perch.
It's been a week since I began to let them share a cage and they are both so much happier, I have given Pip the option to visit the cockatiels but he quickly goes back to Prim now. When they get time outside the cage they stay together even then.
I just thought it was a cute story to share. c: I understand the risks of having them together, they are the same size but Prim has a much larger beak. I will keep a close eye on them whenever I am around, and since I work from home that is most of the time. As far as I can tell, he's safer with her than with his own species!
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