New member with a questions!

[MarcyB411]

Hello everyone! My name is Marcy and I recently added a pair of cockatiels to my crew. They were purchased at an auction, long story! They were in pretty bad shape. They are said to be a breeding pair and neither are handleable. The male seems overprotective of the female. When I try to work with the female, he starts flying around and gets upset. I feel like I can't get anywhere with either of them because of the males demeanor. Any suggestions? Is this how a male and female pair act? The female seems very interested in me (I think she's the female) but the male sees me as a threat and wants nothing to do with me.

 

[MikeyTN]

Yes that's how pairs act. The males can be over protective. It varies from pair to pair. Sometimes males are easier to work with then females. In order to train them you have to clip them. It takes a lot of patience and time to train them. If the female is interested, she might of been tame at one point. I've done it before after being bit countless times...

 

[MarcyB411]

Thank you. Your advice helped. Will he always be that way? Do you think I should seperate them? I know they need to be clipped. That will definitely help. Do you think it is possible to keep them together? Thank you so much.

 

[MikeyTN]

If you separate them, all they're gonna do is scream. They can be trained together! Once you get them used to coming out they will get better! It just takes a lot of patience.

 

[Comatose_Angel]

Like Mikey said, patience is key.
Have you tried letting them both out of the cage?
I know that with Boco, he doesn't hardly come out of his cage yet, but when he does come out, he's a little friendlier than when he's in his cage.
The clipping helps too. Personally, I don't like clipping my birds because I have hardwood floors and I don't want them to drop like stones. Boco is finally getting in his flight feathers. (His previous owner clipped them pretty severely).

Try talking with them while their in their cage, eat around them, sing to them.
And my favorite tip is....
When all else fails. Bribery! Both of my birds LOVE millet and will come out of their cages to get to it.

 

[MikeyTN]

Sometimes it does work better if you separate them! Its really up to you. I have trained them together and separated before. Sometimes it does bring the tamer one out of the shell where they become tame again.