My tiels are like Tom and Jerry, HELP!

[Ashytiel]

Hi! I need help, my cockatiels are not bonding. The male Paga is 2 years and the female is Lulu which is 14 months. We had Lulu before and decided to get her a friend. When we first got Paga we clipped his wings to make sure they were on the same level. The live together in the same cage and are treated fairly with favouritism. At first Lulu was scared off Paga since she has never been around another bird in her life. When he used to come next to her, she used to hiss at him or run away. She also disliked him for going on her farvourite perch and just being in her cage. She doesnt actually attack him but she used to hiss at him or peck at him. Also when she flies, whereever she goes, he flies after her. Now its completely the opposite. Lulu was only treating him that way because she was scared of him whilst he has lived with other tiels in his previous home. Now when she goes up to him or waits for him to give her a head scratch he just pecks her, or screams at her. He also doesnt let her eat until he is finished, and so I got them a seperate food bowl and they are okay with that. But I really want them to bond, I was hoping maybe to get them to mate and have babies. HELP! (As I mentioned they are not that violent with each other, they just dont like to be around each other)

 

[HalfInsane]

How long have they been together now?

They may never bond much less mate. Forcing them to share the same space probably won't help matters. I'm not an expert on breeding birds or pairing them up, but I feel it'd be best for them to have separate cages and be allowed to spend time together in a neutral space that Lulu does not view as her territory- as far as she is concerned the cage is hers and Paga is intruding on it.

 

[Ashytiel]

They have been together for about a month now, Lulu doesnt have a problem with Paga anymore, shes okay with him, she always goes to him for head scratches, but hes the evil one now, he hits her if she comes near him. But anyway I was considering to buy a new cage since the one they have is really old and is starting to rust, would that help? and thanks!

 

[MonicaMc]

Having a larger cage could help.... but when introducing two birds together, you should never stick the new bird in the old birds cage. They should be in separate cages and allowed to interact on their own terms.

 

[MikeyTN]

Like its been mentioned already, you should never stick two new birds together without letting them adjust first. Also they may never mate or be a pair. You should never expect to buy birds in hopes they would have babies and bond when you have absolutely no idea about birds period. You need to do further research!!!!

 

[Ashytiel]

I know about birds and I have had cockatiels before, these are my second pair, besides I said I was hoping they would mate in the future, Im not trying to make business out of them, I want them to be mine, I want to keep them and their babies, and my problem right now is my mum is saying that if they dont bond or stop fighting she will sell one of them, and I really love both of them, I want to keep my babies, they have a very large cage, and seem to sit next to each other by their own will, but still fight every few minutes. PLEEASE HELP!

 

[Tonkatiel]

You say you're thinking about getting a new cage - would it be possible to do this but have 1 in each cage? Or even try putting them both in the new cage, but keep the old one in case it doesn't work out?
Personally I'd separate them and only allow them to spend time with each other during supervised out of cage time.

 

[crimson]

a month is not long, not at all. I had a male here, Dexter, I decided to get another male for him....so I got Sundance. well it took a year before Sundance wanted anything to do with Dexter. Sundance would hiss, bite, reject, fly away, anything just to get away from Dexter. this went on for a year!!
then one day I walked into the bedroom and Dexter was mating with Sundance....well my jaw hit the floor, you literally could have knocked me over with a feather.
Sundance was a female, and had finally accepted Dexter.
they went on to give me 5 beautiful clutches.
birds need time to develop a bond and a relationship between them.
2 cages would be best, they are resisting because they are in together, let them make the decision on their own...it just might work out the way you want it to

 

[Ashytiel]

Thanks alot I will try that, and thanks Tonkatiel I will try the new cage and hopefully it will go well, THANKS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR REPLIES!

 

[MikeyTN]

I once had a cinnamon pearl whiteface female that no boys liked and I had a lot of cockatiels for pairing. No one liked her as she was desperate to be a momma. It took me several years and many boys later before I found one that liked her. Its usually not that complicated but for that specific girl it was not easy! Same with a couple of my girls now. Same issue! They may or may not ever pair or get along but a different cage would be a wise decision. If you know about birds, this is one of the first thing you learn is not sticking two unfamiliar birds together in same cage especially when one is more established then the new comer.

 

[Birdlover11]

I wouldn't really put them in the same cage if these issues are occurring, try a divider for a bit. That means no fighting or quarreling though they can still get used to eachover

 

[MonicaMc]

Just curious... how big is the cage?