Parents fighting over eggs

[ammiyisrael]

I have a proven pair of Cockatiels that have had 3 batches of babies so far. The first two went quite well. The last batch however, mom and dad started having problems with each other. Before I tell you about it, I wish to let you know that the babies are now 7 weeks old and this problem is not current, however, I would like to be prepared if it should happen again. FYI..... The length of time between the first and second batch was about 6 months, the length of time between the second and third was about 8 months. I do not think I am over-breeding them. In the past, all went well. Like text book information... mom sat on the eggs in the evening while dad stood watch or sometimes both would be in the nest box in the evening. Dad took over the sitting of the eggs during the day. typical....however, This is the story of the last batch: After all four eggs were laid, a few days after the last egg was laid. One afternoon, I heard the two fighting and I went to see what was going on. The male was chasing the female all over the cage. I feared for her so I opened the cage door so that she would have somewhere to go. She flew out, and the cock flew out right after her. They landed on the flight cage which is the tallest thing in that room. They were both fine once landed and I put them back in the cage. Immediately, the hen went to go inside the box but the cock started chasing her again and again, I let her out. This was close to the sun setting, so, I thought that I would need to seperate them. After he bit me a few times, I got him out of the cage and I put the hen back in the cage and closed the cage up. I allowed the male to stay on top of the cage, thinking that it would be better for him to still keep watch. The male slept there all night and all was fine. In the morning, I put him back in the cage and when he went to look inside, the female lunged at him and he backed off. later that day, they were at it again. this time, I took the female out because of it being the daylight hours and going on the way they did things in the past. when evening came, I didn't even try to see if they would get along, I just switched them positions. I was hoping that a full day would calm them down and help them realize they needed each other in ths tiring process of sitting on eggs. NO WAY. When I put them both back in the cage in the morning, all seemed well. Late in the day I found my female with deep bites in her legs and blood everywhere. Needless to say, I went back to the seperation of them and me being the one to decide who sits on the eggs. The problem with that is that dad decided not to do his part after a few days. I made mom take breaks and was hoping that a couple of hours off the eggs each day would not hurt them. It didn't. I was careful with how much time, but mom needed a break, she didn't want one, but, I made her take it. Each time I would put her in the flight cage, I would put him back in their cage. Sometimes he would sit on the eggs and other times he was too busy calling out for her. After the eggs hatched, I thought that things would be different. I allowed both parents in the cage again, but only as long as I stayed in the room with them. Things seemed to be o.k. again. However, for some reason, the male didn't help in feeding the chicks as much as he used to. I helped mom with the feeding and when I was feeding a chick the dad would come to me and help me feed them, which is more than he helped when in the cage. Now, I ask anyone here.....WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT? How can I prevent it in the future? Should I avoid allowing them to have chicks again? Has anyone ever dealth with this before? I would really like to be able to nip this in the bud. They make some beautiful babies.