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Cockatiel hates budgie?

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Cockatiel hates budgie?

Postby zebugman » Wed Sep 26, 2018 2:44 pm

Hi all! Question time!

I have a budgie named Toodles (1.5 years) and a baby cockatiel named Popcorn (6 months).

tl;dr: Toodles absolutely adores Popcorn, but Popcorn has wants nothing to do with him, and she (I think it's a "she") tries to bite him.

Popcorn by herself is very sweet, loves scritches and walking around the apartment, climbing on shoulders, and seems as pleasant as can I could ever ask for in a very young cockatiel. Toodles is also an incredibly sweet, free-flighted, albeit high energy bird, and loves to talk to the cockatiel while she is in her cage. However, when both are out at the same time, any time Toodles gets close to Popcorn, Popcorn will open her beak and try to lunge/bite Toodles. Of course, the budgie is always quick enough to avoid being bitten and seemingly oblivious of her hatred, because he doesn't stop talking to her and trying to groom her, but I don't like this interaction regardless.

Is this a normal behaviour? Will it go away? I was always under the impression cockatiels and budgies got along well, and if anything, the cockatiel would annoy the budgie, but this seems to be the opposite. What should/can I do to help them bond, or will it just take time?
zebugman
Parakeet
 
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Re: Cockatiel hates budgie?

Postby Pajarita » Thu Sep 27, 2018 9:53 am

Well, birds of different species don't necessarily get along and, actually, budgies do get along with tiels but tiels don't get along with budgies [they tend to be pushy and, sometimes, bullies]. Birds of different species do, sometimes, bond with each other in captivity but it's more out of sheer desperation than real affinity. Both budgies and tiels are flock birds and need the company of others of their same species, it's the way nature made them. Sometimes, when a bird is terribly lonely [as a single budgie or a single tiel would be], it would try to bond or, at least, interact with another even if it belongs to a different species. That is what Toodles is trying to do but the tiel, which is still a sexually immature individual and would still want its mother and father, is rejecting it because tiels know they are tiels -same as budgies know they are budgies [they are both aviary species that are not normally hand-fed so they never actually imprinted to humans but to their own species].

But there is a very easy solution for you and a happy ending for them! Get them both companions of their own species -they will have a HUGELY better life and be not only infinitely happier but also healthier because highly social animals [as parrots are] are very stressed out and anxious when all alone [and stress kills].
Pajarita
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Flight: Yes

Re: Cockatiel hates budgie?

Postby GreenWing » Wed Oct 03, 2018 10:55 am

Sometimes it takes a while to become acquainted. How long have you had Popcorn?

Also they are both young birds. In time they could bond, and for life.
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GreenWing
African Grey
 
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Re: Cockatiel hates budgie?

Postby Pajarita » Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:14 am

Yes, Greenwing, you are correct, in time, they could bond. But it would always be less than and not as good as and only because they have no choice... and I don't like that. I think that one should always strive to do one's best by our wards.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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