Moody Tiels

[TikiTalks]

Recently, we introduced a new Cockatiel into our flock after an extended quarantiene due to egg laying. Now, we have her in a new cage, next to our other tiels. She however is flighted (don't worry we're getting her clipped) and since seeing her fly (maybe coincidence) the other three seem to be VERY moody, they look at me when she flys with this expression of "excuse moi? what's with taking me to the birdy store and getting me clipped?!" plus they have not been as cuddly with me as they usually are and definitely more nippy. Could this be why?

[Larry, Baby and Me]

I try to take what I know about human behavior and combine it with what is known about birds. Usually something comes to the surface that way.

With humans, there is such a thing as "group dynamics". It works this way... say there are two friends sitting around the kitchen table and they are chatting, and a third close friend comes through the door and joins them. They continue to chat comfortably - the subject might change slightly, but all is well. And before long a new neighbor comes in and joins them. The other three do not know the neighbor too well and their conversation now becomes a bit guarded. To make matters worse, the new neighbor doesn't make the effort to "buddy-up" to the others. Soon, one of the others makes some excuse and leaves. And before long the people go their separate ways.

What that is all about is group dynamics. When adding or taking away a person from the already established group - the group will change... for the better or for the worse, depending on how ones are added to or taken from the existing group.

For the moment - let's not yet consider that a bird is a bird with its own set of wiring that will add to this equation. Just by adding or taking away from the existing flock will change the flock dynamics.

Now add -- companion birds are prey animals... they are lunch for predators. Companion birds are hard wired to constantly watch out for changes in their environment - including new flock members of the same species.

Adding a new flock member of the same species to the existing flock without proper introduction often times will stress the existing members. And adding a new member that is not of the same species can upset the balance even more.

We often mistakenly put human emotions on our birds - such as they are jealous and the like. But if we remember that they are flock animals and they are also prey animals... this will help us understand our little feathered friends a bit more.

Take it slow with proper introductions will help.

[Dot]

I now have four birds. I can share one thing I did, but openly admit I have no idea if this is the correct thing to do. I always go to my first born first. I let her out of jail first. I feed her first. I cuddle her first. Then I go to the second bird added to the flock. Then the third, then the fourth. Even when I tell them stories, I always insert their names in the same order, the order they came to my home.

After the quarantine is over, I have everyone in jail in the same room. I take out my first born and walk her over to the new bird's cage and introduce her. Then I take the second bird to enter my home, etc.

My newest arrival is an Amazon and I pretty much can't let the zons out at the same time. She is trying to establish her place in the pecking order, and my first born chest-butted her off the cage. I think Miss Tommie pretty much understands the pecking order and has communicated it to Leroy. :haha:

I hope this helps some.

[Uncle]

Dot, does what you do work?

If it does, then you have found the trick to introducing new birds to your flock. If it does not, then try something else.

This is the best we can do. Try something that makes sense. If it works then continue doing it. If it does not, then try something else.

[Dot]

Dot, does what you do work?

If it does, then you have found the trick to introducing new birds to your flock. If it does not, then try something else.



You are exactly right. That worked. Last week everyone was in jail and I took out Leroy, the newest bird, and carried her from cage to cage introducing them. I did not get really near the cages, but she still nailed the poop out of me. That method will not be used again. Not soon anyway. With birds, you live and you learn, or you get bitten a lot. :haha:

[Larry, Baby and Me]

I try to learn and I still get bit. :confused:

[bonnie]

Tiki, did they ever see the new bird before seeing her fly? I don't know if that would matter or not. Also, did you chase her? Did it cause a commotion? If so, they may be reacting to what happend BECAUSE of her flying instead of the actual flying itself. Just my thoughts...

[iti hoa's mom]

It is a new bird in an established flock and you don't know what to expect. Birds are prey animals and thus leary of any new uninvited guests. It will take time for them to understand the new one, their relationship to this new one or all of them, for their perceived protectection, gang up on the new one. IF there are any inperfections in the bird the new ones are not as likely to take to it. Now this new one is flighted, shown them her flight and that can be threatening to them. Fight or flight...the flock is unable to flee so would need to prepare to fight...and toesies get bit this way.

Just a few ramblings of MHOFWIIW (my humble opinion fo whatever it is worth)

Peggy

[TikiTalks]

I now have four birds. I can share one thing I did, but openly admit I have no idea if this is the correct thing to do. I always go to my first born first. I let her out of jail first. I feed her first. I cuddle her first. Then I go to the second bird added to the flock. Then the third, then the fourth. Even when I tell them stories, I always insert their names in the same order, the order they came to my home.

After the quarantine is over, I have everyone in jail in the same room. I take out my first born and walk her over to the new bird's cage and introduce her. Then I take the second bird to enter my home, etc.

My newest arrival is an Amazon and I pretty much can't let the zons out at the same time. She is trying to establish her place in the pecking order, and my first born chest-butted her off the cage. I think Miss Tommie pretty much understands the pecking order and has communicated it to Leroy. :haha:

I hope this helps some.


i know that's the way i do it with doggies

[TikiTalks]

Tiki, did they ever see the new bird before seeing her fly? I don't know if that would matter or not. Also, did you chase her? Did it cause a commotion? If so, they may be reacting to what happend BECAUSE of her flying instead of the actual flying itself. Just my thoughts...

we try not to react with any sort of emotion to naughty behavior. when they scream, we ignore them completely. good behavior, we clap and praise and give lotsa attention so in answer to your question, yes they saw her before she flew. and nope, no commotion. :)

[bonnie]

we try not to react with any sort of emotion to naughty behavior. when they scream, we ignore them completely. good behavior, we clap and praise and give lotsa attention so in answer to your question, yes they saw her before she flew. and nope, no commotion. :)

That's what I do and I get bit WAY less often than the husband who reacts to the bite!LOL

Well hum... Maybe they just think she's weird. LOL I mean... She looks just like them, but his this amazing ability they dont seem to have...?
Hopefully they'll soon realize she's just like them and calm down a bit.

[birdie]

I have 8 fids, and have never given much thought to the introductions to the flock. The new bird is in quarentine for 21-30 days, then their cage is moved to the livingroom with the rest. I go about my routine as normal, and add the newest bird in the last of the line. I have never done introductions, just act as thought they've always been there. All of my birds coexhist well. I don't force or expect any of them to play together. They are all out at the same time in the same room and they all stay on their own play areas. Of course I have a couple that like to fly and try to visit the others, but momma is right behind to retrieve the curious bird back to where they belong. This is what works for my house. I have flighted and non flighted birds.
Another thought I had, if the one was laying eggs, do the others think it's that time too? They can be moody then & also with weather changes.
my 2 cents:))

[TikiTalks]

well, i don't think they ever saw her when she was egg laying, we didn't move her into her new cage til she abandoned, but the others could definitely be a little hormonal i suppose. The trio are all somewhere between 8-10 mos of age.

[Patty, Linus and Co.]

and since seeing her fly (maybe coincidence) the other three seem to be VERY moody,

My two teils, whom I've had for a long time, went through a LONG period of moody behavior this year. It lasted 6 months, maybe more. They were bitey, and didn't want much contact with me, which is a complete contrast to my years of experience with them. In the middle of this period, I introduced a quaker to the room they all now share. Nothing got better or worse. They weren't molting too heavily, the weather which was rainy for a period changed, and they didn't. I never found out what was causing this off behavior. It's over now. They are contentedly sitting in my lap preening. (OOPS, and pooping).
Your teils may or may not seriously object to another teil, but I can't imagine they are resentful of her being fully flighted. They may just be in an adjustment period - they could all wind up being the best of friends.

Patty

[FoxersArtist]

Our household is always changing and therefore our flock dynamic is always changing. In my opinion, cockatiels are one of the more easygoing species in certain areas. I like to think of them as more passive aggressive than direct. If you put two amazons together who do not like each other (as Dot has probably witnessed), they may attack and bite either their caregiver or the other bird. Cockatiels seem to stew over a new addition instead of outright attacking. Aggression may come out in other ways such as squabbling over a favored perch or who gets to eat first at mealtime. Even when a new bird is settled in, these disputes will likely occur, and as long as no one is physically getting hurt, I tend to view it as just part of being a flock. Not everyone can be expected to be best buddies. (keep in mind that you are also part of the flock.) As far as the flighted bird is concerned...I wouldn't place a bet that your other birds are feeling jealous. I think they are just reorganizing their flock dynamic and it likely has nothing to do with the one bird flying. I have seen a flighted bird pick on a non flighted bird, which seemed to be because the flighted one had a very large ego about his special abilities.

One more thing you might want to keep in mind... Cockatiels are very reactive when it comes to mingling with a mixed gender flock. Males want to proect their females from other males. Females want to dominate all of the males (LOL, just like a woman!) and no one wants to be the sore looser that got left out. This gets even more complicated when you throw human companions in the mix, because us humans want to be buddies with everyone, which may send some mixed signals to a bird who wants to pair up with us. If everyone has seperate cages, keeping other birds out of one anothers space for now may be helpful. I don't know how helpful or accurate this is to your situation, but I hope it will help some. Everyone has awesome advice in this thread.
-Anna

[TikiTalks]

for the most part tiki and mick and toby all kind of "house share" Cindy realllly isn't into this :) she's still skittish but we're working on her!


Our household is always changing and therefore our flock dynamic is always changing. In my opinion, cockatiels are one of the more easygoing species in certain areas. I like to think of them as more passive aggressive than direct. If you put two amazons together who do not like each other (as Dot has probably witnessed), they may attack and bite either their caregiver or the other bird. Cockatiels seem to stew over a new addition instead of outright attacking. Aggression may come out in other ways such as squabbling over a favored perch or who gets to eat first at mealtime. Even when a new bird is settled in, these disputes will likely occur, and as long as no one is physically getting hurt, I tend to view it as just part of being a flock. Not everyone can be expected to be best buddies. (keep in mind that you are also part of the flock.) As far as the flighted bird is concerned...I wouldn't place a bet that your other birds are feeling jealous. I think they are just reorganizing their flock dynamic and it likely has nothing to do with the one bird flying. I have seen a flighted bird pick on a non flighted bird, which seemed to be because the flighted one had a very large ego about his special abilities.

One more thing you might want to keep in mind... Cockatiels are very reactive when it comes to mingling with a mixed gender flock. Males want to proect their females from other males. Females want to dominate all of the males (LOL, just like a woman!) and no one wants to be the sore looser that got left out. This gets even more complicated when you throw human companions in the mix, because us humans want to be buddies with everyone, which may send some mixed signals to a bird who wants to pair up with us. If everyone has seperate cages, keeping other birds out of one anothers space for now may be helpful. I don't know how helpful or accurate this is to your situation, but I hope it will help some. Everyone has awesome advice in this thread.
-Anna

[FoxersArtist]

PS: January is when tiel breeding season begins in our area. Everyone may be wound up with hormones...and I wouldn't be surprised to see more eggs. We remove any paper they can get to and shred...
-Anna

[TikiTalks]

PS: January is when tiel breeding season begins in our area. Everyone may be wound up with hormones...and I wouldn't be surprised to see more eggs. We remove any paper they can get to and shred...
-Anna
that's good to know. We BOTH know I'm not even close to being able to be set up for babies. Nor do I want babies even a little bit