Help with Bonded Cockatiels

[CrazyforCockatiels]

Percy is one (according to the PetCo employee from whom we bought her) and Roosevelt is eight months, according to the pet shop owner from whom we bought him. The pet shop breeds their birds so they know the age of their birds. I am not so sure with PetCo.

We keep Percy and Roo in separate cages but they have supervised time out of the cages together on a perch. They've taken to each other very quickly. Roosevelt fed Percy a couple of times when he first "met" her but hasn't repeated this behavior.

If Roo and Percy are not within sight of each other, Roosevelt begins screaming or tweeting very loudly until he can see Percy and she returns his calls. This happens even if Percy is on my shoulder and Roo is on my hand and he can't see Percy. Thus, we must keep their cages side by side morning and night. Roosevelt also preens Percy and the behavior evident in the photos on here under the Cockatiels section entitled Lovebirds- Percy and Roosevelt- is common and exhibited on a daily basis.

When the two are on their perch, eating and playing, Roosevelt tries to mount Percy repeatedly and we always coax him off of her. It seems if we were to let them continue, they'd mate successfully. This said, we don't want to breed them but is it possible for them to be happy

a) without letting them mate
b) Keeping them in a separate cages
c) without letting them become parents (even if we allow them to mate)

I haven't read really anything on interfering with wild and instinctual avian behaviors and we really need some advice. If it is determined that we need to let them mate, that is fine. If we should be keeping them in one cage, that is fine as well. If we should allow them to become parents, that's not so fine but we'd do it and adapt to the situation. We made a commitment to these birds when we adopted them and we love them and will do everything we can to keep them happy and well.

Please advise. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Laura

[pinkparrot]

hmmmmmm......well just my opinion there doing as nature intended. I would think it would be kinda mean trying to separate them. did you know you had bought a boy and a girl when you had got them?

If you don't want them to breed then don't put a nest box with them but if there as determined as they sound they will start to lay eggs on the bottom of the cage.

I know there are already too many cockatiels in the world but, do have babies make sure u find them good homes.

I'm sorry you find yourself in this situation this is a hard one

[CrazyforCockatiels]

Pinkparrot~ Thank you for your honest opinion. In answer to your question, yes, we did know we were buying a male. Thanks again for your input!

[catschair]

I agree. Would let them be together and just not give a nest box. She is likely to lay eggs even if they don't mate. (and they are SO cute.....)

[CrazyforCockatiels]

Thanks so much, Catschair! I really think we're leaning toward letting them cohabitate.

[raddaughter]

I had a pair of lovies who were a mated pair. I couldn't seperate them as the malewould go into depression and the female would start screaming. I would let the be together and let nature takes it's course.

[CrazyforCockatiels]

Raddaughter~ Thanks for your advice! Appreciate it.

[Tiki]

Hi Laura, firstly, I really admire that you have made a committment to keep your birds happy and healthy! I agree with Catschair, let them stay together and don't give them a nest box. Birds hate to be alone and if they can't see their mate they will squawk to stay in touch.

[tielmama]

My cockatiels are free in a room and I've seen two different pairs mating. There is no nest box or anything resembling a nest box, and there is no privacy. So far, (more than a year together, and at least a year free flying), we have no eggs. I hope they stay that way throughout their lives. I have 6 that have paired up, and two loners. Each loner hangs with a pair or sits alone. My answer being that they can mate and not lay eggs. I hope that is what your two do.

[CrazyforCockatiels]

Tiki~ Thank you so very much for your input. I decided yesterday to go ahead and let Percy and Roosevelt spend perch time together (and they mated close to three times yesterday but it was unsuccessful to my untrained eye as Roo just can't seem to find the place! He's young yet.) Still, this is not our goal; we just want them to be companions and enjoy each other's company, which they do, even when not mating. They "talk" to each other, eat together, bathe together, play together.

Soon, we'll be buying a new large cage for their primary residence so they can stay together in one habitat and not just side by side in separate cages.

It's wonderful, too, as Percy is bonded to my husband and me but she's also becoming bonded with Roosevelt. Roosevelt is still bonding with us even though he's pretty much bonded onto Percy so it's working in every way.

Tielmama~ Thanks so much for your post. It gave me confidence that even though Percy and Roo "go through the motions," there doesn't necessarily have to be laying of eggs. I do feed them well, basically pellets (85%) and 15% seeds +broccoli or kale in the morning and another veggie or mixture of veggies and fruit at night. Also, the two get 12+ hours of uninterrupted sleep nightly so perhaps that will keep the eggs at bay!