DallyTsuka
New member
- Mar 19, 2011
- 1,331
- 1
- Parrots
- Dallas and Tsukasa (Cockatiels)
Mango and Munchlax (Peach Faced Lovebirds)
it's about that time again... Tsuka tends to start acting like a little jerkface and tends to pick on Dally. Normally it's just petty squabbling and Dally gets over it. But every now and again Tsuka gets worse and she gets stressed a bit.
well it's that time. for the past 3-4 years I've had to separate them every once in awhile for a month or two for Tsuka to settle down...
Before I encountered problems such as flock calling and not eating.
Tsuka will not eat if he cannot see Dally, and even in a cage near her he still refuses to eat and he wont leave the side of the cage...
Dally has a problem with being alone. if no one is there with her at all times she will scream for hours on end. Which was why we had gotten Tsuka to begin with.
So... separation was always a problem.
HOWEVER, we divided their cage in half with plastic mesh and both can still share a food dish without the worry of fighting or beaking or squabbling.
Tsuka had been going after Dally any chance he got lately and he's been stressing her out. Any time I give her attention of any kind, even looking at her, he comes over and bites at her until she runs off. Then he lunges at me. He's normally a bit moody but he often cuddles and everything all the same. But when he gets really bad, he needs intervention--which is separation for him to calm down.
Dally has been avoiding any contact with me lately because of Tsuka. each time I give her attention, she runs off because Tsuka usually isnt far off coming after her. It don't matter even if I give him attention first--he still doesn't want her having attention and it's not fair to Dally.
I also suspect he's been stressing her from the food bowl too because she's dropped weight. Two separate food bowls never worked in the same cage because Tsuka always insisted on eating from the same bowl as her, which if it wasnt big enough, she'd have a problem with it.
But, this seems to be a working solution for their cage, and if it works out in the long run, it will be a permanent change.
I put up a plastic mesh divider in the middle so they can still share a cage and see eachother but still have their own space and privacy. I also have it so that the seed and pellet dishes are shared. They simply slide under the divider 50/50 where they can eat together but not have any squabbles over it.
Both seem to be adapting well to it, Dally seems happy to have her own space and seems calmer and has been eating more and seems more demanding for attention. She is now coming to me for attention, rather than running away because now she seems to realize that Tsuka cannot come near her.
Tsuka, however, is still being a jerk to me, which is fine, it's his moodiness. in time he will be back to his cuddly old self when he gets it all out of his system. this normally happens once a year with him--just happened later this year than normal. He's eating and isnt screaming and he is acting pretty normal, so it seems he is okay with this arrangement, though he doesn't seem to like the fact that he cant go after Dally. He's been giving me attitude over it.
In general, he's acting up lately. Biting, diving at me, and generally not wanting anything to do with me. He flies away when out of cage time is done, he bites hard when asked to step up (i understand birds use their beak to climb up onto a hand, but this is different--he CHOMPS and then steps up) and he lunges at me more often and doesnt want to cuddle or spend time with us. It'll pass in time, I'm sure. for now, we'll give him his space. My priority is keeping Dally safe and stress free, as well as keeping Tsuka from stressing out from separation.
These two hate eachother but cannot live without eachother lol call it a love-hate relationship!
but, photos of the arrangement! Dally is on the right, Tsuka on the left
this is Dally's favourite spot to sleep:
and Tsuka's angry moody face:
They're eating just fine together, with the divider. Dally was unsure once he came down to eat, but settled down when she realized he can't get at her
well it's that time. for the past 3-4 years I've had to separate them every once in awhile for a month or two for Tsuka to settle down...
Before I encountered problems such as flock calling and not eating.
Tsuka will not eat if he cannot see Dally, and even in a cage near her he still refuses to eat and he wont leave the side of the cage...
Dally has a problem with being alone. if no one is there with her at all times she will scream for hours on end. Which was why we had gotten Tsuka to begin with.
So... separation was always a problem.
HOWEVER, we divided their cage in half with plastic mesh and both can still share a food dish without the worry of fighting or beaking or squabbling.
Tsuka had been going after Dally any chance he got lately and he's been stressing her out. Any time I give her attention of any kind, even looking at her, he comes over and bites at her until she runs off. Then he lunges at me. He's normally a bit moody but he often cuddles and everything all the same. But when he gets really bad, he needs intervention--which is separation for him to calm down.
Dally has been avoiding any contact with me lately because of Tsuka. each time I give her attention, she runs off because Tsuka usually isnt far off coming after her. It don't matter even if I give him attention first--he still doesn't want her having attention and it's not fair to Dally.
I also suspect he's been stressing her from the food bowl too because she's dropped weight. Two separate food bowls never worked in the same cage because Tsuka always insisted on eating from the same bowl as her, which if it wasnt big enough, she'd have a problem with it.
But, this seems to be a working solution for their cage, and if it works out in the long run, it will be a permanent change.
I put up a plastic mesh divider in the middle so they can still share a cage and see eachother but still have their own space and privacy. I also have it so that the seed and pellet dishes are shared. They simply slide under the divider 50/50 where they can eat together but not have any squabbles over it.
Both seem to be adapting well to it, Dally seems happy to have her own space and seems calmer and has been eating more and seems more demanding for attention. She is now coming to me for attention, rather than running away because now she seems to realize that Tsuka cannot come near her.
Tsuka, however, is still being a jerk to me, which is fine, it's his moodiness. in time he will be back to his cuddly old self when he gets it all out of his system. this normally happens once a year with him--just happened later this year than normal. He's eating and isnt screaming and he is acting pretty normal, so it seems he is okay with this arrangement, though he doesn't seem to like the fact that he cant go after Dally. He's been giving me attitude over it.
In general, he's acting up lately. Biting, diving at me, and generally not wanting anything to do with me. He flies away when out of cage time is done, he bites hard when asked to step up (i understand birds use their beak to climb up onto a hand, but this is different--he CHOMPS and then steps up) and he lunges at me more often and doesnt want to cuddle or spend time with us. It'll pass in time, I'm sure. for now, we'll give him his space. My priority is keeping Dally safe and stress free, as well as keeping Tsuka from stressing out from separation.
These two hate eachother but cannot live without eachother lol call it a love-hate relationship!
but, photos of the arrangement! Dally is on the right, Tsuka on the left
this is Dally's favourite spot to sleep:
and Tsuka's angry moody face:
They're eating just fine together, with the divider. Dally was unsure once he came down to eat, but settled down when she realized he can't get at her
I had no idea what I could use until I saw your post today. So thank you for posting that!!
