I think I need to clip my Cockatiel's wings and I feel horrible

[Spacey'sMom]

It's been a while since my last post so I'll give a recap then explain my reasoning.

Our Cockatiel Sirius (hand raised 2.5 year old) hit puberty like a ton of bricks. He has been trying to court our cats and dogs for over a year now.

We've had him on 12-16 hours of sleep, changed his diet, moved his cage, attempted removing any possible triggers, and even gave him a mirror in his cage out of desperation to get his focus on something else. We have curtains up in every doorway downstairs to still allow him time out of the cage but he continually finds a way around it. I'm just not sure what else we can do. We've even taken to shutting our cats and dogs up in our room(which is definitely not fair to them either) trying to break his obsession.

All of this while I was pregnant and with a newborn (5 months old now).

Yesterday was a breaking point. We rounded up the cats and dogs and put them in our room to make the switch(2 room house one is our master and the other is the baby's room) and as soon as my husband opened his cage he latched on to his hand and broke the skin.

We got him out of the room thinking he'd calm down like normal but he continued attacking my husband downstairs for about an hour. I'm not sure if it was the sound of the dogs upstairs or my 5 months old infant that was setting him off but he was holding her once when he flew at his face.

Once she starts walking there is very little we can do if he's claiming her. This is not/and has not been sustainable. We love our birds but this is leading us towards rehoming. We love our animals and this is breaking our hearts but we're at a loss. We discussed with the Vet and are down to 4 options left.

1) Clip his wings and try heavy behavioral modification training
2) Try the hormone blocking implant
3) Give him a friend/mate in the hopes that he settles down with more direct interaction.(This comes with the risk of two hormonal birds and not really a viable option imo)
4) Rehoming

I would gladly set up a bird only space but we're crammed as it is. The house is 2 beds and trying to separate part of the downstairs has only led him to climbing through/over/walking under the curtains at every opportunity.

The time we spend with him is becoming lower and lower quality and my husband basically flinches and/or braces anytime he comes near him.

He's still out sweet boy when his triggers are removed but the triggers either can't be removed or new ones pop up unexpectedly. Caging him for longer and longer only will make this worse.

The vet has told us that the implant can only be given once and is questionable efficacy. Works for some and not for others or only temporarily in some cases.

TLDR: Our Cockatiel hit puberty with a vengeance (the aggressive kind) and our last options are Clipping his wings so we can try training some of it out of him, getting the hormone blocking implant that may or may not work, or rehome him. We are going to clip his wings and I feel awful about it. Comments, stories, experiences, and advice appreciated.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

This sounds very unpleasant for everyone. I don't think clipping his wings would help much and I'm not completely against wing clipping. Not sure about the Lupron implant either. I had a hand raised male cockatiel for years and he never went through anything like this but maybe we were lucky.

If you can find a really good home for him perhaps that would be best. Do you live in the US? If so, what part of the country?

 

[bug_n_flock]

Clip the wings. 100%.

There's *many* reasons to clip wings even if you usually leave them long to fly. This counts. You're not a monster, your a mother to a human and a bird and a dog and a cat and you're trying your best. Feathers grow back. Take a deep breath. It's okay. This too will pass.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Can he be safe around the other pets if he can't fly well? If so, trimming his wings won't harm him. I'm just not sure it will help his behavior other than make it so he can't chase everyone around the house and attack them.

 

[bug_n_flock]

Right, but the choice didn't stop at just a trim. It's a trim to manage the immediate problem while they work on training. Birds are definitely smart enough also to connect "I act like a brat" with "I get my feathers trimmed".

I've got three cockatiels, one I've had since 2002. I've gone thru many ups n downs over the years with my tiles, and sometimes things get bumpy while yer building a bridge if that makes sense. All good

Yes definitely watch around other pets, and make sure he isn't trimmed too tight, and learns he's trimmed in a safe way that he don't get hurt when trying to fly but can't. It's not a perfect solution, but it's also not a solution. It's a scaffolding as the solution takes shape under it.

 

[LaManuka]

It's been a while since my last post so I'll give a recap then explain my reasoning.

Our Cockatiel Sirius (hand raised 2.5 year old) hit puberty like a ton of bricks. He has been trying to court our cats and dogs for over a year now.

We've had him on 12-16 hours of sleep, changed his diet, moved his cage, attempted removing any possible triggers, and even gave him a mirror in his cage out of desperation to get his focus on something else. We have curtains up in every doorway downstairs to still allow him time out of the cage but he continually finds a way around it. I'm just not sure what else we can do. We've even taken to shutting our cats and dogs up in our room(which is definitely not fair to them either) trying to break his obsession.

All of this while I was pregnant and with a newborn (5 months old now).

Yesterday was a breaking point. We rounded up the cats and dogs and put them in our room to make the switch(2 room house one is our master and the other is the baby's room) and as soon as my husband opened his cage he latched on to his hand and broke the skin.

We got him out of the room thinking he'd calm down like normal but he continued attacking my husband downstairs for about an hour. I'm not sure if it was the sound of the dogs upstairs or my 5 months old infant that was setting him off but he was holding her once when he flew at his face.

Once she starts walking there is very little we can do if he's claiming her. This is not/and has not been sustainable. We love our birds but this is leading us towards rehoming. We love our animals and this is breaking our hearts but we're at a loss. We discussed with the Vet and are down to 4 options left.

1) Clip his wings and try heavy behavioral modification training
2) Try the hormone blocking implant
3) Give him a friend/mate in the hopes that he settles down with more direct interaction.(This comes with the risk of two hormonal birds and not really a viable option imo)
4) Rehoming

I would gladly set up a bird only space but we're crammed as it is. The house is 2 beds and trying to separate part of the downstairs has only led him to climbing through/over/walking under the curtains at every opportunity.

The time we spend with him is becoming lower and lower quality and my husband basically flinches and/or braces anytime he comes near him.

He's still out sweet boy when his triggers are removed but the triggers either can't be removed or new ones pop up unexpectedly. Caging him for longer and longer only will make this worse.

The vet has told us that the implant can only be given once and is questionable efficacy. Works for some and not for others or only temporarily in some cases.

TLDR: Our Cockatiel hit puberty with a vengeance (the aggressive kind) and our last options are Clipping his wings so we can try training some of it out of him, getting the hormone blocking implant that may or may not work, or rehome him. We are going to clip his wings and I feel awful about it. Comments, stories, experiences, and advice appreciated.

@Spacey'sMom, I'm sorry for your predicament. I've only ever had one cockatiel who has been the victim of hormonal overload the way your boy has, and he took it out on our much older cockatiel hen in a similarly violent fashion to what you are seeing with yours. I was at my vet once with one of my other birds and the vet had a very bloody bite on his thumb that he said was inflicted by a rampant cockatiel, so it definitely can happen with what would normally be regarded as one of the more placid species! The only thing I would say is that you will need to be very cautious with your dog and cat if you have him clipped, as it may limit his options in terms of escaping from either one of them. And if you do go down the path of clipped, please try to have it done by an avian vet if at all possible, as sometimes those non-avian-specialised groomers can go a bit too far. And I wish you the very best of luck!!!

 

[Spacey'sMom]

This sounds very unpleasant for everyone. I don't think clipping his wings would help much and I'm not completely against wing clipping. Not sure about the Lupron implant either. I had a hand raised male cockatiel for years and he never went through anything like this but maybe we were lucky.

If you can find a really good home for him perhaps that would be best. Do you live in the US? If so, what part of the country?

We don't expect the wing clipping to be the punishment, we would just be able to enforce the shunning of him while exhibiting the behavior. He's a very good flyer and easily evades us. Using the curtains and a feather cat toy to guide him from room to room/upstairs to the bedroom is the only way we can reliably control where he goes and that does nothing to train the behavior. He was clipped when we brought him home at 12 weeks and couldn't fly for about a month so I'm hoping the transition won't be too difficult for him.

We live in Central Virginia in the US

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Maybe grounding The Terrorist a bit would give you the ability to control him. I know they can be amazing flyers. It's worth a try. I'd do a conservative clip that allows him to fly but not fast or high. I just hope he wouldn't be unsafe with the other pets if he can't fly well.

 

[Spacey'sMom]

Can he be safe around the other pets if he can't fly well? If so, trimming his wings won't harm him. I'm just not sure it will help his behavior other than make it so he can't chase everyone around the house and attack them.

I work from home full time and we've kept our birds(2 budgies plus Sirius) like this for years now. That's part of why we started using the feather wand(cat toy) to shoo them when they were on the floor/ somewhere they aren't supposed to be. We wanted them afraid of the bell sound in case the cats ever went after them(they haven't).

As it stands we had to start locking the dogs(2) and cats(2) in our room because Sirius would sneak out of the area we had set up and we kept finding him singing to the sleeping cat on the couch or one of the dogs would leave his bed(the dogs have been trained not to leave their beds during bird hours) because Sirius walked over to him on the floor.

During the transition we could keep putting the mammals away. We specifically wanted smaller flighted birds as a precaution but again, this behavior is far more dangerous with him trying to court them.

We're hoping to be able to enforce shunning him for the behaviors. Not just desperately covering our hands and faces.

 

[Spacey'sMom]

@Spacey'sMom, I'm sorry for your predicament. I've only ever had one cockatiel who has been the victim of hormonal overload the way your boy has, and he took it out on our much older cockatiel hen in a similarly violent fashion to what you are seeing with yours. I was at my vet once with one of my other birds and the vet had a very bloody bite on his thumb that he said was inflicted by a rampant cockatiel, so it definitely can happen with what would normally be regarded as one of the more placid species! The only thing I would say is that you will need to be very cautious with your dog and cat if you have him clipped, as it may limit his options in terms of escaping from either one of them. And if you do go down the path of clipped, please try to have it done by an avian vet if at all possible, as sometimes those non-avian-specialised groomers can go a bit too far. And I wish you the very best of luck!!!

I will call the vet tomorrow. I was looking at doing it myself but I don't trust my ability to restrain him. I can't even catch him to trim his nails right now and just have scratches on my shoulders all the time.

 

[Spacey'sMom]

Right, but the choice didn't stop at just a trim. It's a trim to manage the immediate problem while they work on training. Birds are definitely smart enough also to connect "I act like a brat" with "I get my feathers trimmed".

I've got three cockatiels, one I've had since 2002. I've gone thru many ups n downs over the years with my tiles, and sometimes things get bumpy while yer building a bridge if that makes sense. All good

Yes definitely watch around other pets, and make sure he isn't trimmed too tight, and learns he's trimmed in a safe way that he don't get hurt when trying to fly but can't. It's not a perfect solution, but it's also not a solution. It's a scaffolding as the solution takes shape under it.

Thank you for the reassurance. For the last year I've been doubting our decision to get a Cockatiel. Not because we don't love him but because we thought this is how Cockatiels are and we just didn't do our research. Some of my original posts were asking about good medium sized birds to go with our budgies.

To say I have felt awful is an understatement. Hearing that this is a specific case and not typical of Cockatiels makes me feel a bit better about the decision.

We don't want to rehome him but will if it's best for him. If it's dangerous for us and him to be out of his cage then rehoming would be best for him. We've already had to decrease bird hours and hearing him calling for us and knowing he's pacing in his cage breaks my heart.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

All cockatiels aren't like this. My hand raised boy was an angel! They are individuals. Same with budgies. I have sweet docile budgies, lazy budgies, terrorist budgies, rapist budgies, shy ones, biters, and friendly, cute ones. The sex isn't determinative of behavior either I've learned.

 

[wrench13]

I keep my amazon Salty clipped but not severely, and we are not that diligent as he is not a flyer much. And feathers grow out. Now, as far as clipping so that shunning, which I am a BIG proponent for, is more impactful to the parrot, that is questionable. It works best when there is a meaningful relationship with the bird and everyone has to do it every time. If the bird is only attacking, shunning might not work.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

One thing I've learned from many years of having many birds, mostly budgies (I have 19) but a cockatiel and a cockatoo too is that, as smart as I know they are, they don't seem to connect scissors people handling them with losing their ability to fly well from wing trimming. I've never had a bird hold a grudge against me for trimming their wings. Birds can learn to hate going to the vet but not because the vet was responsible for their inability to fly well afterward.
Perhaps birds like Amazons and Greys that are known to be very intelligent do but I've never had one so I can only speak for the types of birds I've had.

 

[Spacey'sMom]

I keep my amazon Salty clipped but not severely, and we are not that diligent as he is not a flyer much. And feathers grow out. Now, as far as clipping so that shunning, which I am a BIG proponent for, is more impactful to the parrot, that is questionable. It works best when there is a meaningful relationship with the bird and everyone has to do it every time. If the bird is only attacking, shunning might not work.

I think there is a meaningful bond. He is constantly seeking us out to interact when he's not in guarding a mate mode. He's gotten outside twice and we were able to get him back both times. Both times it was because he was trying to get to us. He calls for us any minute we're out of site during the day.

I thought we were making progress because for a while, when my husband got home from work, the dogs and the bird were going to greet him and he didn't fly into a rage at the sight of the dogs. On weekends when he can actually spend time with Sirius, nothing has changed unfortunately. He's too excited to see him after a long day I guess.

Even in a rage fit, if one of us went upstairs and left him, he would call and try to follow.

 

[Spacey'sMom]

All cockatiels aren't like this. My hand raised boy was an angel! They are individuals. Same with budgies. I have sweet docile budgies, lazy budgies, terrorist budgies, rapist budgies, shy ones, biters, and friendly, cute ones. The sex isn't determinative of behavior either I've learned.

I guess it just feels like maybe this is more of a hormonal anomaly and not really part of his personality. He's the sweetest boy without that factor. Getting into everything and mischievous but he loves to sit and sing to you and preens himself on your wrist while you are typing. He loves one of those hand pump weed sprayers(water only, mimics the sound) and when we clean things because he'll make a sound like squeaky clean glass. The fact that he's still like this without those triggers feels like he's still in there but his hormones are driving him wild.

We kept holding out hope that this was puberty and that there was an end in sight so we'd only have seasons of hormones like most other birds that I've heard about here but at a year and a half I guess that's unlikely. If this wasn't all the time we would manage but it is all the time and if he is getting triggered by the baby now we have no other choice. If we could move right now and get a house with a whole room for the birds I would gladly do so but we can't afford to.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hormones are the bane of my existence with my budgies. They can be sex-obsessed terrorists. I wish I had the answer to how to curtail that natural behavior because it's annoying at best, but birds are programmed to eat, drink, fly and make more birds. Some just are much more driven than others.

 

[bug_n_flock]

One thing I've learned from many years of having many birds, mostly budgies (I have 19) but a cockatiel and a cockatoo too is that, as smart as I know they are, they don't seem to connect scissors people handling them with losing their ability to fly well from wing trimming. I've never had a bird hold a grudge against me for trimming their wings. Birds can learn to hate going to the vet but not because the vet was responsible for their inability to fly well afterward.
Perhaps birds like Amazons and Greys that are known to be very intelligent do but I've never had one so I can only speak for the types of birds I've had.

Shrug. I think different individual birds are capable of different things. My Rinbird uses his foot to hold and manipulate objects. He's a cockatiel. He's so proud of his dexterity, that he will sing to his favorite foot. He's something of a cockatiel Einstein if you ask me. There's other examples of his smarts too.

And my Alex Bird, who I think is a dunce among cockatiels, understands that scissors clip wings and he 100% holds a grudge. Not against me mind you, against the scissors. He squeals in birdy rage and bites the bajeezas outta them. He's a slow learner, but he's had 23 years in which to learn.

I usually keep my birds flighted but recently have had to move the bird room so everybody got a moderate trim for safety. Maybe a month back.

 

[Spacey'sMom]

Shrug. I think different individual birds are capable of different things. My Rinbird uses his foot to hold and manipulate objects. He's a cockatiel. He's so proud of his dexterity, that he will sing to his favorite foot. He's something of a cockatiel Einstein if you ask me. There's other examples of his smarts too.

And my Alex Bird, who I think is a dunce among cockatiels, understands that scissors clip wings and he 100% holds a grudge. Not against me mind you, against the scissors. He squeals in birdy rage and bites the bajeezas outta them. He's a slow learner, but he's had 23 years in which to learn.

I usually keep my birds flighted but recently have had to move the bird room so everybody got a moderate trim for safety. Maybe a month back.

Sirius sings to both of his feet. He also starts singing the tune of his favorite song at the first few notes. Not in time to the music but in recognition that it leads to that part.

Sirius hates the nail trimmers and I have to trap him in the bathroom which is the smallest room in the house to do so assuming I can get a towel on him. Before he could fly we were working on him sitting on a perch and allowing me to trim a nail and get a treat but once he coul fly well he never let me again

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I take my birds to the avian vet for nails. I don't trust myself not to cut too short. Wings I do myself. A simple wing tip shortening is so easy and fast and just slows them down. I take a small soft fleece blanket and drop it on top of the bird (budgie to tiel sized bird). I put my hand over the blanket and bird from the front half of the bird and leave the tail and wingtips hanging out the back and lightly retain them. I take a small scissors and snip off the first one to two inches of length off the tips in one snip for each wing or both at once depending on the size of the bird (budgies one full inch and tiels 1.5 to 2 inches) without stretching the wings out. They never see the scissors and when I'm done I take off the blanket and I'm done. I watch them fly away and judge whether I've trimmed enough off. Repeat if necessary, trimming a tiny bit more.