Rainbow, Myrtle & Cockatiels

[liz]

I have a piece of untreated wood that I put in the sill for Rambo to stand on when the window is open. It levels the sill so Rambo won't try to perch on the metal rim.
These guys don't eat what they tare up. I have watched close and they spit it out. But I will put the wood back on the sill.

[Wolf]

See if you can get them to eat some cilantro, it helps them to eliminate any metals that they may inadvertently ingest.

[liz]

I have never seen Rambo chew on metal. Myrtle gets in the recycle bin and throws soda cans and plastic bottles out on the floor. She has pulled the metal snaps off my yard jacket but then she spits them on the floor.

[Wolf]

No, the metal is in the paint. In most white based paint the metal is titanium dioxide and it is a very fine powder. If you have ever eaten a powder sugar covered doughnut, you can bite the doughnut and spit it out but you still get some of the powdered sugar that you must swallow. That is how you bird will ingest metals and the cilantro will help bind the metal to the excess fat that the bird will excrete.

[liz]

Okay, makes sence. I will try.

If you notice. Those are old chew marks. I think that was done before Myrtles time which would make it 4 years.

[liz]

I was not starving them. I have a silo seed feeder in each cage but they rarely eat seed now. They like the fresh plates I serve them every morning. Maggie always has food on her beak.
The other day when I was walking by, Flutter called me and came running over the food platform with a piece of corn in his mouth. Of course he collected a lot of food on his feet on the way. It was the first time I gave the newbies corn and he was really excited about it.

There is another egg in the cockatiel cage. Lola is two and this must be her first season. I don't think she really knows what it is but it is hers and I better not touch it. I don't know what I am going to do about her. She still starts calling me at 6:30 am. The room is still dark. The boys start trying to out sing each other by 7 am. Only the mated pairs are following my light schedule. Rambo tells them it is still "nite nite shut up". They don't listen.

Last night a ball of green feather came squacking and rolling into the kitchen. Reflex was to grab the ball and separate them. When I pulled my hand back Rambo was attached to my pinky finger. The look of surprise on his face that he bit me and I still saved him. I put him on the top of his cage. He came to the edge and was excitedly telling me something. I guess it was his way of saying he was grateful. That is twice now that I had to break them up. I don't know which one I grab until I get them separated.

[Wolf]

The 50 cent question is why are they fighting? You may have to consider putting at least one of them in a cage when you can't be there unless you find a way to end the fighting.

[liz]

They eat together and play together. When they are not together they call each other. Myrtle can be a pain in the butt to Rambo. She is like a two year old sister picking on her five year old brother. Most of the time he just deals with it but they are both in season right now and he is standing his grounds. I have allowed him to do this. Just like two kids, the older brother has to draw the line when he has had enough.
One time I heard her screaming and when I went to check he had her by the tip of the tail and she could not fly away. I pretended I did not see this. The most that could happen is her loosing one tail feather. She had to learn.
I did not see any injuries from the two episodes but when I get them apart their adrenaline is very high. He does a lot of talking after wards telling me she is a bad girl. It is like he is explaining why he had to hit his sister. She comes to me to be consoled and wants to be cuddled. I don't think they would actually hurt each other.
I have seen this with my human kids who were only 18 months apart. He was thin and active learning to walk at nine months. She was a little blob the same weight as he and did not walk until 13 months. He loved her and played even though she was a pest. When she was two and he was three he knocked her down. (He was defending his raisins that he knew she could not have. It was one of the few things he would eat at that time.) I consoled her and when she stopped crying I asked her what she did that caused him to knock her down.
He some times has to stand his ground or she will torment him for the rest of their lives.

[Wolf]

I understand that they will have squabbles and that this does include the fact that there may be bites at times along with the posturing and the vocalizations. They do indeed need to reach a space where they can feel that they are not being pushed and ran over by the other. But when it reaches the point of being a ball of green feathers rolling on the floor they have reached the point that it is a fight and not a squabble and there are real possibilities of injury. That is what I am concerned about, they might get into this type of fight with you not being there to break it apart before they can injure each other.
You are there and know them much better than I do and you are the one who must make the decisions concerning them and you and them are the ones who will live with the results. I am just expressing my concerns for your consideration.

[liz]

Both are in season right now, Myrtle for the first time. When they don't see that I am watching they will eat and play together using a "da da" sound for short distance contact call. They have the bond of a two year old sister to a five year old brother. She will pick on him just to have something to do. He takes it most of the time and just tries to ignore her.
One day she was screaming and when I looked he had the tip of her tail and she could not fly. I did not let them see me. Rambo has to sometime defend himself to teach her.
I don't think they will actually hurt each other. There has been no injuries. When I split them up the adrenaline is still pumping. Rambo gets vocal and tells me she is bad. She comes to me for cuddles.
When will the season pass?