Quote:
Originally Posted by nekokami
I don't know if this is a vent or a rant... but my husband noticed some peculiar behavior on the part of Lillis, the Silly Bird (my cockatiel). As the Muffin Man put it, "Either Lillis has an itchy butt, or he's found the love of his life. Or something." After giving the protesting bird a bath in his nether regions and not noticing anything particularly untoward-looking there (but I admit I'd never bothered to inspect that part of his anatomy before), I did a bit of online research. Um. Yeah, he's bored in his cage, and amusing himself. It's spring here, which is the beginning of the mating season for cockatiels, and he's at just the right age for his hormones to be in full swing.
I briefly considered getting a partner for him, but evidently cockatiels can breed all year round in captivity, and it's not healthy for them to do so. I somehow think matters would not be improved by there being a female bird in a nearby cage that he couldn't get to.  Plus I think he'd be even more aggressive to the Muffin Man if there were a female bird nearby. As it is, the guys get along perfectly well if I'm not home, but if I'm in sight, Lillis feels he has to menace any other males in the vicinity, to impress me, presumably. 
Somehow I hadn't realized that by raising a bird I'd be taking on Yet Another Teenager.
Perhaps I should hang a little curtain around the area of perch he favors for this activity. He doesn't seem to care much about the lack of privacy, but I confess I'm more of a prude.... |
Hmmm! You could move the cage when the abnormality happens, just to destabilize the bird but that won't last.
Best bet is that Muffin Man will have to join the competition and win the contest (
asides from wringing the thing's neck of course)
. I suggest further study in to what constitutes a win for this type of bird.