Parent trying to mate with chick!! Help

[Prettywings]

Hello,
I need some advice! I just noticed that the dad of my 5 week old chick appears to be trying to mate with the chick. Has anyone ever heard of this happening? the chick is a pearl cockatiel which looks identical to it's mother. Could the father be getting confused between the mother and the chick?
Do I need to seperate them? Since the chick is only 5 weeks old I dont know if its a boy or a girl yet...is it safe to assume that its a girl....or could it still be a boy?
Also...the chick is being parent fed...and of course he is still cannot eat on his own. I noticed the other day that the dad fed him and right after he tried to get on the chicks back....

PLEASE HELP!

[christie99]

Seperate out dad if mom is still feeding. Once the chick is weaned you can put it in its own cage.

[Prettywings]

Have you heard of this behavior before? Is there a chance that the chick (name is Gizmo) could still be a boy?

[christie99]

I personally haven't seen this behavior, but a friend of mine who used to breed did. Yes, there is still a chance that the chick is male. Either way, the chick can be harmed by an overly amorus male, who could get frustrated and start attacking, hence why I said to seperate them.

[Monica]

Considering that both parents carry the gene, the chick could be either sex.

It's not uncommon for parrots to inbreed without force. I took in a family of bourkes, a mother, father, and their daughter. The father mated with both girls, didn't even care. I've taken in another family, this time cockatiels. This family consisted of the mother, father, son, and daughter. The "kids," both 5+ years old, mated occasionally. Thankfully, no eggs!


The best you can do is to remove the male, so long as the hen is still feeding. Otherwise, you may need to assist in feeding the chick, which he/she may not accept very well, being parent raised.