S&SCockatielMom
New member
- Jul 13, 2024
- 1
- 0
- Parrots
- Cockatiels (Sunshine & Sprinkles)
Hello! This post is very long and detailed so feel free to skip to TLDR at the end.
I have 2 beautiful cockatiels, Sunshine and Sprinkles. We're certain Sunshine is a male and suspect Sprinkles is also, although he's too young to know for sure.
We've had Sunshine since May 2022. He was the most loving, fun, trusting, curious little guy. He had definitely bonded with us and we loved every minute of it.
We got a cat in Nov 2022 who was the most chill and cuddly guy. Things were pretty good during this time. The cat didn't bother the bird and was content to hang out in a closed room whenever we had Sunshine out.
In Oct 2023 our neighbor girl begged us to take in a little kitten she had brought home without asking her parents first. (They said she couldn't keep him because they are allergic.) I wasn't home at the time but my husband agreed to take in this kitten.
The kitten was the opposite of our other cat in terms of behavior. High energy, getting into trouble, and bothering Sunshine. We tried all we could to make it work but decided to find a new home for the cats as they loved each other but it wasn't good for Sunshine.
In Feb 2024 we welcomed a new cockatiel in our home, thinking we would have two bff's to play with. For the first several months, we still had the cats when Sprinkles joined us. We just found a home for them in May 2024.
When Sprinkles first came home with us, I thought he was just shy/scared and would take time to adjust to the new environment. He and Sunshine didn't immediately hit it off but after a month or so they were close enough for Sprinkles to ask Sunshine to preen him, but it took another month or so for Sunshine to do the same.
We've all been enjoying time together much more often since we found a good home for the cats, but Sprinkles is still terrified of us and Sunshine no longer lets us get close to him to get his pin feathers and won't stay near us for long--he goes right back to Sprinkles. If he can't see Sprinkles, he freaks out.
My concern is this behavior change in Sunshine and lack of behavior change in Sprinkles. I thought Sprinkles would be comfortable by now and that we'd have two cockatiels that love us, but it seems like they're now only comfortable with each other.
I didn't know this could happen until reading some forums (too late) about introducing a second bird. My question now is: Is there anything I can do to re-establish the bond with Sunshine and to finally create a bond with Sprinkles?
My kids and I are really heartbroken at this situation and will try almost anything to feel like we get our birdies back!
P.S. I don't know if the information regarding the cats is relevant, so I included it just in case. Perhaps it's part of the reason Sprinkles is so scared?
TL;DR: Once we got a second cockatiel (Sprinkles) the first (Sunshine) bonded with him instead of us. The second is terrified of us even though he's been with us for 6 months. What can we do to re-establish the bond with our first and create a bond (including helping him feel safe and secure with us) with the second?
I have 2 beautiful cockatiels, Sunshine and Sprinkles. We're certain Sunshine is a male and suspect Sprinkles is also, although he's too young to know for sure.
We've had Sunshine since May 2022. He was the most loving, fun, trusting, curious little guy. He had definitely bonded with us and we loved every minute of it.
We got a cat in Nov 2022 who was the most chill and cuddly guy. Things were pretty good during this time. The cat didn't bother the bird and was content to hang out in a closed room whenever we had Sunshine out.
In Oct 2023 our neighbor girl begged us to take in a little kitten she had brought home without asking her parents first. (They said she couldn't keep him because they are allergic.) I wasn't home at the time but my husband agreed to take in this kitten.
The kitten was the opposite of our other cat in terms of behavior. High energy, getting into trouble, and bothering Sunshine. We tried all we could to make it work but decided to find a new home for the cats as they loved each other but it wasn't good for Sunshine.
In Feb 2024 we welcomed a new cockatiel in our home, thinking we would have two bff's to play with. For the first several months, we still had the cats when Sprinkles joined us. We just found a home for them in May 2024.
When Sprinkles first came home with us, I thought he was just shy/scared and would take time to adjust to the new environment. He and Sunshine didn't immediately hit it off but after a month or so they were close enough for Sprinkles to ask Sunshine to preen him, but it took another month or so for Sunshine to do the same.
We've all been enjoying time together much more often since we found a good home for the cats, but Sprinkles is still terrified of us and Sunshine no longer lets us get close to him to get his pin feathers and won't stay near us for long--he goes right back to Sprinkles. If he can't see Sprinkles, he freaks out.
My concern is this behavior change in Sunshine and lack of behavior change in Sprinkles. I thought Sprinkles would be comfortable by now and that we'd have two cockatiels that love us, but it seems like they're now only comfortable with each other.
I didn't know this could happen until reading some forums (too late) about introducing a second bird. My question now is: Is there anything I can do to re-establish the bond with Sunshine and to finally create a bond with Sprinkles?
My kids and I are really heartbroken at this situation and will try almost anything to feel like we get our birdies back!
P.S. I don't know if the information regarding the cats is relevant, so I included it just in case. Perhaps it's part of the reason Sprinkles is so scared?
TL;DR: Once we got a second cockatiel (Sprinkles) the first (Sunshine) bonded with him instead of us. The second is terrified of us even though he's been with us for 6 months. What can we do to re-establish the bond with our first and create a bond (including helping him feel safe and secure with us) with the second?
