Need Help With Jealous Brothers ! ! !?

Question

I have two cockatiels I inherited from a relative who kept them in a large aviary their whole lives and have let them go wild. Now I have them in a smaller aviary when I got them they were absolutely savage. I have had them for a few months now and I go and talk to them every afternoon they are both quieter and come to listen to me talk. Although they are still terrified of people’s hands they enjoy the attention and being close to my face. Is there anyway I had cure their fear of peoples hands? Also for the past few weeks I have been faced with a new problem. They have grown jealous of each other. Now I cannot approach the cage without them fighting to get to the front of the cage and they often attack each other. This goes on until I leave, and from a distance I can see that they get along fine when I’m not there, should I separate them or is there another way to stop them being jealous of each other?

Thanks for your advice.

Answer 1

alright, first of all, cut their feathers so they don't fly, unless you like that.

Let them out of the cage, as to build a trust bond.

this lets them know you want them out of their prison.

Now everyday talk to the bird (in my case whistle)

while doing this creep your *ARM* closer and closer with passing time.

Eventually you will be able to touch the birds with your arm.

As soon as they are fond of this and know no harm will come of it, rub your arm on the lower belly to get them mounted on your arm.once they do this you may begin to creep your fingers towards them.

*THEY MUST BE USED TO THE ARM THOUGH!!!*

a little helpful trick is to take their food away for a while and bring it back, BUT the food is on your hand, they will begin to eat off of your hands, while mounted on your fingers of course.

*IT IS CRITICAL YOU KEEP YOUR FINGERS AS STILL AS POSSIBLE IN THIS PROCESS!!!*

Soon, they can go on your fingers without the food. Every once in a while let them on your shoulder, one bird on each so they dont fight.

If the birds continue to fight i recommend letting only one out of the cage at a time.

This method was used by myself on my cockateil, i do not guarantee  it will work, but give them time, they will learn.

Good-luck! : ]

Answer 2

My goodness, the exact same thing happened to me. When I was a child, we were given two cockatiel brothers who rarely had any human interaction. They were shut in a room full of cats. It took a very long time for them to trust us. You really have to work at it slowly. Start out by just having them in the same room as you for a while. Let them get used to your voice and daily motions. Talk to them while you're changing their food and giving them water. Use a very calm and quiet voice. Call them by their names. Before you try to hold them or anything, they need to learn that hands are not bad. Buy some bird treats from the pet store or get some lightly salted potato chips or crackers. Start out by offering them through the cage. Once a day, maybe before you've given them food, give them a little treat and talk to them. Don't worry if they don't take it at first, they'll come eventually. Especially if you tease them a little, pretending that they can't have it (meaning just sit there next to them and eat a couple of chips or whatever). Eventually you should be able to stick your hand in there and give it to them. They'll learn that hands give them food, so hands aren't bad.

As for the jealousy, I also encountered that problem. Two male birds together almost guarantees frequent dominance fights. I've been told that adding a third male almost completely cancels that out, but we couldn't afford one. Cockatiels are fairly expensive birds. They'll either figure out a dominant (my birds did) or you'll have to teach them that they are equal in your eyes. Your best bet would be with the food. If they're in the top of the cage, grab their attention with two treats, and move the treats down to opposite sides of the bottom of the cage. When you're able to pick them up, pick them up at the same time. Talk to them both equally. If one tries to hog the spotlight, ignore them and pay attention to the other. They should figure it out after a while.

I'd advise against seperating them unless you see that there is absolutely no way they'll live peacefully in one cage. A little nipping at the other is normal, but if you ever see blood, immediately seperate them.

Answer 3

first of all in order for you to tame them you my dear have to have no fear of them...

they know if your scared of them when you approach their cage.. they since it.

so what you need to do is just go up to them and pick them up placing your hand over their body and just pick them up then place them on your opposite finger as a perch and let them sit their as you talk to them in a nice quiet sweet voice...

do this often Thur the day until you get use to them biting you and they get tired of biting you.. when they see that you don't care if they bite you they will calm down and just sit on your finger while you chat with them....

they sound like squabbling siblings... one wanting more attention than the other...

separate them by placing one in another cage but keep the cages close to each other so they can still see each other..

then take turns holding them everyday...

cheers

mystic