So confused... Help, please?

[Pajarita]

First of all, thank you so very much for getting Lani a mate! It was thoughtful and kind of you to do this for him, kudos to you for it!

Now, as to your problem, for what you have described (I am not there so I don't really know if your observations are accurate or objective so I can only go by what you write), Lani is not a juvenile, he is an adult male and hormonal at that. I don't know where you got Lani from or how old you were told he was in September (does he have a closed band on his leg with the year of his birth?) but, going by your description of his behavior, he has to be, at the very least, a year old, you have free-fed protein and kept him to extraordinarily long days for months so his teenage hormones are raging and, when you brought him a pretty little girl, he fell head over heels in love with her and, as any good boyfriend bird, he is protecting her from anything and anybody (in this case, you). His behavior is normal and it does not mean he doesn't like or love you, he is reacting out of pure instinct. The desire to procreate is what drives all species on earth and he is simply acting on it. He is, in fact, doing exactly what he is supposed to do so, please, don't hold it against him or try to interfere in any way because the only thing that you will achieve is his resenting you.

Cockatiels are extremely mild-mannered and even during breeding season the males behave like little gentlemen toward us, the caregivers, and, although they might prevent us from touching and reaching their females, it is, like I said, what they are programmed by nature to do.

What you need to do is allow them access to each other 24/7/365. I understand that this might not be what you would prefer but nature made it this way... in the monogamous bird world, husbands are ALWAYS with their wives and separating them is terribly stressful to them (they actually suffer) and ultimately unproductive to us because, with undomesticated animals, we can't control or change what nature hard-wired into their brains (that's part of what the domestication process does but, with he exception of English budgies, all parrot species are undomesticated and have EXACTLY the same needs as the wild ones do). We can impose our will but it won't endear us to the one we try to dominate.

In any case, the basic problem here, in my personal opinion, are hormones and, most likely, frustration on Lani's part because he had to wait for a mate and now there are obstacles preventing him from achieving his heart's desire (been with her all the time) so what you need to do is reduce protein intake, keep them at a strict solar schedule with full exposure to both dawn and dusk, a good full spectrum light (CRI 94+ and Ktemp 5000-5500) and allow them to be with each other. The situation is not going to get better immediately because we are now on our way to breeding season (winter solstice was Dec/21) but, if you persevere and are patient, he will calm down A LOT come July and your relationship will be what it once was (right now, he is consumed by his passion for her but once he stops producing sexual hormones, he will be OK).

Tiels are not good eaters of raw produce like fruits or veggies but they do love leafy greens and, at least mine, really enjoy fresh corn, peas, carrots and sweet potatoes as long as they are cooked and the carrots diced. My tiels eat, just like all my other parrots, gloop for breakfast (and a small portion of a good quality budgie seed mix for dinner) and although I do put raw produce out for them, they only eat the leafy greens or cruciferous (they do love raw broccoli), corn on the cob and pomegranate seeds - period! I only have one (and another one in the past -out of a total of maybe 60 tiels I've had under my care) that munched on a slice of apple but no other ever did and, for what I read from other people who have them, it seems that raw fruits and veggies are not usually part of their diet.

[Jedders]

Thank you, all so much. I'll try out all the suggestions I've gotten. It'll be slow work, though. >.< I spend as much time with my birds as I can but Work and school take up a lot of time. I also had my suspicions on Lani's age, he has no leg band but I read somewhere that young birds have softer feet and larger eyes. I think he was still immature when I got him, but has since changed a bit if I compare his features to Snowflake.

Thank you for all the support as well, I had no idea where to look or what exactly my problem was.