Frustrated ‘tiel?

Honey has been extremely frustrated lately. One moment, he’ll be fine and the next, he lashes out. At first, this was happening only in the cage. He’d be busy doing his own thing when suddenly he would start lashing out. This was usually towards his toys. He would make angry sounds and get aggressive with them. As of now, this behaviour has become more prominent and regular. He now does it outside the cage as well. He’ll be preening himself on my arm or on my lap and suddenly start making angry sounds again. If anyone approaches him during this time, he COMPLETELY lashes out on them. It’s aggressive biting but because he’s young, it doesn’t hurt as much.

At first, I thought that this may have been because of the last vet visit we had (rough handling), but its been quite sometime since then. Is this hormonal? He’s approximately going to be 5 months old this month, I think. Should I be worried?

He’s also started showing displeasure in everything we don’t let him do. If we put him down for 5 seconds, he goes back to his angry / lash out method. He has also taken to my mom in the last few days. He’s obsessed with her and as soon as she sets him down, he starts whining. However, this lash out thing has been going for quite some time. Anyone have any idea what this might be?

Any advice appreciated.

I don't know how bird puberty works exactly, but in humans, a human female will often become hormonal around 8 or 9, and then this increases over a span of years until they have their first period (I know you know this LOL-just setting up my analogy)....So with that in mind, I wonder if at 5 months, these could be initial hormones. A cockatiel can become sexually mature as early as 1 year in some cases....See a vet to make sure everything is okay (if you can), just to make sure there isn't something internal (as increased aggression can be related to pain or illness).

In the meantime, I would make sure that he has a healthy diet and that he is getting a regular amount of sleep each night (not too much or too little sunlight). You might consider rearranging his cage to throw him off (but this might just make him even more angry lol, so maybe wait to see what others think).

Barring health issues and whether or not this is hormonal, you will need to look at behavior (including routines, interaction, reactions to behaviors etc).

Have you heard of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)?
There is a component called ABC charting that helps figure out reasons for why behaviors are happening and once you know that, you can manipulate the environment and your responses to the behavior in order to decrease or increase it.

A- Antecedent (what happens right before the behavior you are targeting---including who was in the room, where the bird was, what the bird was doing and what you or someone else did to the bird right before the incident.

B-Behavior- The behavior described in specific but non-emotional terms (e.g., ran up arm, raised crest, bit left thumb and flew to cage).

C-Consequence- What happens directly after the behavior---not a punishment (despite the way it sounds). This could be a variety of things : e.g., picked up bird and placed on cage, said ouch and asked Bob to take bird off of Billy's shoulder, Called for help, laughed, looked at the bird, looked away from the bird and continued with activity, presented a toy to the bird, yelled "Ouch!" and began to cry, other people ran over to assist or remove the bird, presented a sunflower seed to lure the bird away etc). Make sure that you keep track of all of the reactions of everyone in the room because proximity and eye-contact of any involved person can/will make a difference when charting behavior (especially when related to escape or attention seeking behaviors).

Setting Events are also important when ABC charting--- These are details like the time of day, whether the bird was hungry or had just eaten, illness, changes within the home or routine etc etc. Hormones could be a setting event in this case (albeit quite broad and unverifiable). Therefore, make sure you track the specific ones that you can observe.

Over time, if a behavior is increasing (whether it is good or bad) that means it is being reinforced. All behavior that repeats in humans or animals is, by definition, reinforcing (and what is reinforcing to one person/animal will not always be reinforcing to others).
For example, chocolate might be a great motivator for many people, but it would not have to same impact on a person who was choosing to diet, a person who didn't like chocolate, a person with food allergies, or even a person who had just eaten a ton of chocolate. I mention this because the whole point of an ABC chart is to figure out what is reinforcing a behavior (by isolating the function)...Once you know that, you hold the power because you can provide that reinforcement or deny it in various situations in order to decrease or increase the likelihood of specific behaviors...

Most behaviors fall under 4 categories/funcions (and although some behaviors can serve more than one function, there is usually a primary function/category. These 4 functions/categories are:
1. Attention (in any form---remember this could be a verbal reaction, eye contact, proximity, the presence or departure of a specific person etc etc)
2. Escape (to get away from or get out of an undesirable situation, task, person or situation). Fearful birds do a lot of this.
3. Tangibles (to obtain a specific treat, toy or object)
4. Sensory/Automatic (this one is tricky and relates more to things like sleeping when tired, scratching your arm when it itches, closing your eyes when light is too bright etc).

Soap-box moment: In classrooms etc, teachers will often say things like, "I just don't know what to do with Billy, I have offered him toys and candy if he completes his homework, and I make sure to praise the kids who do their work in front of him, but it just isn't working!" Well, it "isn't working" because Billy is motivated by escape (getting out of work--hence the failure to complete work), not tangible items (toys/candy) or attention (praise). A better motivator might be something like, extra recess, or a free hour during the day when he could engage in a preferred activity. Sure, Billy may like toys etc, and perhaps he would enjoy access to those toys if he also got to escape, but since escape is what he is after, that will be the key to changing the behavior...not the random presentation of potential "reinforcers" from other categories. Something is only a reinforcer if it increases a behavior when presented or removed.

Once you chart behavior for a period of time, you will be able to look at the C column of your chart (Consequence) and try to determine which of the 4 functions those consequences are most closely linked.

Here is an example of what an ABC chart might look like for an attention seeking bird (note: in my example, all of the consequences will link to attention, but in reality, these charts are never so "tidy" and you may end up with consequences that fall into more than one category....):

A: Bird is preening on Billy's shoulder while Billy types a paper.
B: Bird says, "I love you"
c: Billy Keeps typing
A: Billy is typing with bird on shoulder
B: Bird bites Billy
C: Billy says,"OW!", looks at the bird, picks bird up and says, "no biting".
A: Bird is on perch while Billy is typing
B: Bird flies over and lands on Billy's head.
C: Billy tries to remove the bird from his head with his hands, talking to the bird and chasing it with his fingers.
A. Bird is sitting on cage top. Billy leaves the room.
B. Bird screams
C. Sarah comes into the room to see what the noise is about and the bird stops screaming.
A: The family is watching a movie
B: Bird screams
C: Everyone looks over at the bird and Bob yells, "somebody shut that bird up!"

NOTE: Normally, you would set up your chart horizontally with 3 columns arranged from left to right ( Antecedent__________Behavior_______________Consequence)
I just couldn't format it properly on here.

In many cases, with back-to-back behaviors, the consequence for an initial behavior can become the antecedent for another.....so...that can get a bit tricky, but hopefully, you get the idea.

If you know that a behavior is motivated by attention, you can purposely ignore that behavior if you want to decrease it. Simultaneously, you must provide the attention that the bird seeks during more appropriate times. Basically, you want to find a functional equivalent that is more socially appropriate so that they can still get the reinforcement they crave using acceptable/ more desirable behaviors. For instance, teaching a bird to talk for attention rather than screaming for it etc etc.

You can also pair attention with other positive consequences (as long as you meet the primary function of the behavior you want to increase)...So, if you know behavior is motivated by attention, that is going to be your biggest tool (providing or denying attention) but at the same time, you can pair that attention with a preferred treat etc. The reinforcer must always match the function, but as long as it does, you can pair it with additional positive consequences, such as treats.

I know this is a LONG post, but if you want to take the ABA route, I hope it helps.


This sort of supports the stuff I posted above :
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Roxlo7ztiGQ"]BTT | How to Discipline Your Pet Parrot - YouTube[/ame]

I think for smaller species they do become mature sooner. My quaker male is trying to mate with my GCC daily and it started at five months.

I recently went thru a difficult time with my GCC. It would have been easy to blame hormones, and I almost did. But I spent time thinking about what had changed prior to her acting out and biting me several times a day, and running to my hands to bite them.

There were three things that I had done wrong, or that where upsetting to her. I had changed her cage, moving it and turning sideways. I had stopped our night time cuddles session , after the other birds are asleep. And the most important I think was useing my hands to wave, shoo her away from one of my other birds cages. She had been bulling the other bird, so lots of waving her away. These things turned my sweet baby into a biting machine. She stopped stepping up, I couldn't scritch her.

So I had to earn back her trust with hand feeding treat seeds, lots of calm talk to her, moving slowly. Making sure her body language before adjer her to step up. Stopped useing my hands for waving her away from things. Moved her cage back, and started back our late night cuddles. And bam back to my baby girl.

I Know cockatiels like those safflower seeds too, so you can use those as treats to feed by hand. Also take some time to think of any changes in the house, prior to behavior change in your bird.
I think something has caused him to loose trust, and something in his environment or routine had him upset. You can start over with trust bonding, go slow, be clear to him and talk to him about what you are doing.

Quality sleep is vital!

noodles123 said:

I don't know how bird puberty works exactly, but in humans, a human female will often become hormonal around 8 or 9, and then this increases over a span of years until they have their first period (I know you know this LOL-just setting up my analogy)....So with that in mind, I wonder if at 5 months, these could be initial hormones. A cockatiel can become sexually mature as early as 1 year in some cases....See a vet to make sure everything is okay (if you can), just to make sure there isn't something internal (as increased aggression can be related to pain or illness).

In the meantime, I would make sure that he has a healthy diet and that he is getting a regular amount of sleep each night (not too much or too little sunlight). You might consider rearranging his cage to throw him off (but this might just make him even more angry lol, so maybe wait to see what others think).

Barring health issues and whether or not this is hormonal, you will need to look at behavior (including routines, interaction, reactions to behaviors etc).

Have you heard of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)?
There is a component called ABC charting that helps figure out reasons for why behaviors are happening and once you know that, you can manipulate the environment and your responses to the behavior in order to decrease or increase it.

A- Antecedent (what happens right before the behavior you are targeting---including who was in the room, where the bird was, what the bird was doing and what you or someone else did to the bird right before the incident.

B-Behavior- The behavior described in specific but non-emotional terms (e.g., ran up arm, raised crest, bit left thumb and flew to cage).

C-Consequence- What happens directly after the behavior---not a punishment (despite the way it sounds). This could be a variety of things : e.g., picked up bird and placed on cage, said ouch and asked Bob to take bird off of Billy's shoulder, Called for help, laughed, looked at the bird, looked away from the bird and continued with activity, presented a toy to the bird, yelled "Ouch!" and began to cry, other people ran over to assist or remove the bird, presented a sunflower seed to lure the bird away etc). Make sure that you keep track of all of the reactions of everyone in the room because proximity and eye-contact of any involved person can/will make a difference when charting behavior (especially when related to escape or attention seeking behaviors).

Setting Events are also important when ABC charting--- These are details like the time of day, whether the bird was hungry or had just eaten, illness, changes within the home or routine etc etc. Hormones could be a setting event in this case (albeit quite broad and unverifiable). Therefore, make sure you track the specific ones that you can observe.

Over time, if a behavior is increasing (whether it is good or bad) that means it is being reinforced. All behavior that repeats in humans or animals is, by definition, reinforcing (and what is reinforcing to one person/animal will not always be reinforcing to others).
For example, chocolate might be a great motivator for many people, but it would not have to same impact on a person who was choosing to diet, a person who didn't like chocolate, a person with food allergies, or even a person who had just eaten a ton of chocolate. I mention this because the whole point of an ABC chart is to figure out what is reinforcing a behavior (by isolating the function)...Once you know that, you hold the power because you can provide that reinforcement or deny it in various situations in order to decrease or increase the likelihood of specific behaviors...

Most behaviors fall under 4 categories/funcions (and although some behaviors can serve more than one function, there is usually a primary function/category. These 4 functions/categories are:
1. Attention (in any form---remember this could be a verbal reaction, eye contact, proximity, the presence or departure of a specific person etc etc)
2. Escape (to get away from or get out of an undesirable situation, task, person or situation). Fearful birds do a lot of this.
3. Tangibles (to obtain a specific treat, toy or object)
4. Sensory/Automatic (this one is tricky and relates more to things like sleeping when tired, scratching your arm when it itches, closing your eyes when light is too bright etc).

Soap-box moment: In classrooms etc, teachers will often say things like, "I just don't know what to do with Billy, I have offered him toys and candy if he completes his homework, and I make sure to praise the kids who do their work in front of him, but it just isn't working!" Well, it "isn't working" because Billy is motivated by escape (getting out of work--hence the failure to complete work), not tangible items (toys/candy) or attention (praise). A better motivator might be something like, extra recess, or a free hour during the day when he could engage in a preferred activity. Sure, Billy may like toys etc, and perhaps he would enjoy access to those toys if he also got to escape, but since escape is what he is after, that will be the key to changing the behavior...not the random presentation of potential "reinforcers" from other categories. Something is only a reinforcer if it increases a behavior when presented or removed.

Once you chart behavior for a period of time, you will be able to look at the C column of your chart (Consequence) and try to determine which of the 4 functions those consequences are most closely linked.

Here is an example of what an ABC chart might look like for an attention seeking bird (note: in my example, all of the consequences will link to attention, but in reality, these charts are never so "tidy" and you may end up with consequences that fall into more than one category....):

A: Bird is preening on Billy's shoulder while Billy types a paper.
B: Bird says, "I love you"
c: Billy Keeps typing
A: Billy is typing with bird on shoulder
B: Bird bites Billy
C: Billy says,"OW!", looks at the bird, picks bird up and says, "no biting".
A: Bird is on perch while Billy is typing
B: Bird flies over and lands on Billy's head.
C: Billy tries to remove the bird from his head with his hands, talking to the bird and chasing it with his fingers.
A. Bird is sitting on cage top. Billy leaves the room.
B. Bird screams
C. Sarah comes into the room to see what the noise is about and the bird stops screaming.
A: The family is watching a movie
B: Bird screams
C: Everyone looks over at the bird and Bob yells, "somebody shut that bird up!"

NOTE: Normally, you would set up your chart horizontally with 3 columns arranged from left to right ( Antecedent__________Behavior_______________Consequence)
I just couldn't format it properly on here.

In many cases, with back-to-back behaviors, the consequence for an initial behavior can become the antecedent for another.....so...that can get a bit tricky, but hopefully, you get the idea.

If you know that a behavior is motivated by attention, you can purposely ignore that behavior if you want to decrease it. Simultaneously, you must provide the attention that the bird seeks during more appropriate times. Basically, you want to find a functional equivalent that is more socially appropriate so that they can still get the reinforcement they crave using acceptable/ more desirable behaviors. For instance, teaching a bird to talk for attention rather than screaming for it etc etc.

You can also pair attention with other positive consequences (as long as you meet the primary function of the behavior you want to increase)...So, if you know behavior is motivated by attention, that is going to be your biggest tool (providing or denying attention) but at the same time, you can pair that attention with a preferred treat etc. The reinforcer must always match the function, but as long as it does, you can pair it with additional positive consequences, such as treats.

I know this is a LONG post, but if you want to take the ABA route, I hope it helps.


This sort of supports the stuff I posted above :
BTT | How to Discipline Your Pet Parrot - YouTube

Click to expand...

I really don’t think he’s in pain...the vet visit was only two weeks ago and the vet cleared him of everything. This behaviour started shortly after the vet visit and I don’t know if it jumpstarted his hormones (There was lots of towelling and handling going around).

I’ve introduced Max to Honey and Max does NOT like him. However, Honey started doing this even BEFORE he was introduced to Max. Max is being a little bit of a bully right now, but I know that Honey is not stressed out bc of that, since I’ve limited their interaction a LOT since finding out that Max does not like them. They don’t see each other anymore until I can figure something out. (might make another thread about this).

Laurasea said:

I think for smaller species they do become mature sooner. My quaker male is trying to mate with my GCC daily and it started at five months.

I recently went thru a difficult time with my GCC. It would have been easy to blame hormones, and I almost did. But I spent time thinking about what had changed prior to her acting out and biting me several times a day, and running to my hands to bite them.

There were three things that I had done wrong, or that where upsetting to her. I had changed her cage, moving it and turning sideways. I had stopped our night time cuddles session , after the other birds are asleep. And the most important I think was useing my hands to wave, shoo her away from one of my other birds cages. She had been bulling the other bird, so lots of waving her away. These things turned my sweet baby into a biting machine. She stopped stepping up, I couldn't scritch her.

So I had to earn back her trust with hand feeding treat seeds, lots of calm talk to her, moving slowly. Making sure her body language before adjer her to step up. Stopped useing my hands for waving her away from things. Moved her cage back, and started back our late night cuddles. And bam back to my baby girl.

I Know cockatiels like those safflower seeds too, so you can use those as treats to feed by hand. Also take some time to think of any changes in the house, prior to behavior change in your bird.
I think something has caused him to loose trust, and something in his environment or routine had him upset. You can start over with trust bonding, go slow, be clear to him and talk to him about what you are doing.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply! I do think that the hormones are acting up, since he’s being extra whiny and is constantly all OVER my mom. He’ll be very cuddly and sweet and then lashes out suddenly so I don’t think he’s upset.
I might try the safflowers seeds technique!

Flboy said:

Quality sleep is vital!

Click to expand...

He’s on a strict 12 - 12 schedule, sometimes even more!

reeisconfused said:

Thank you for the reply! I do think that the hormones are acting up, since he’s being extra whiny and is constantly all OVER my mom. He’ll be very cuddly and sweet and then lashes out suddenly so I don’t think he’s upset.
I might try the safflowers seeds technique!

Click to expand...

This is a strange one, as even when hormones are acting up. I never had one that lash out like that. Yes they will get aggressive when hormonal, but Cockatiels are not know to get that aggressive? Does he get enough sleep, or does he have a aggressive cage mate? My Fiesco did this when my other male would pick on him and had to separate them for a while?

I think you mentioned vet visit, with that as a trauma to the birds mind, and a new addition (bird)
I think those two are your answers right there of behavior Change.
Some birds blame and loose trust with the owner, when they let a stranger grab them.
So work on trust
With a new bird in the house, the first bird needs extra attention and reassurance. They kinda feel like you are cheating on them.
I think k if you work on that you will get your sweet bird back