[Bea]

Bailee is...in a word...a butthead. What started as a slightly weird obsession with preening Cookie and Snickers is slowly morphing into plucking their heads. Tomorrow i plan to set up a spare cage for him, but i'm a little worried about doing that because he is Snickers main food source still. I also don't want him to miss out on the fun of a new and bigger cage when the cage i have on order finally gets here.

Is there something i can do to discourage his bullying? I feel sad to see my sweet baby Bailee turned into a nasty bully. I know that his hormones have been raging since i first gave him and Cookie the nest box a few months ago, but i was hoping they would settle once the nest and eggs were done with.

 

[Plukie]

Awww, it will be so sad if he has to live separately, I don't know what you can do about it other than to stop him every time you see him, although that's probably not going to be very effective. I hope he gets back to normal soon.

 

[birdieness]

wow, same problem i have with hugs. Once it started it didn't stop. Good thing you caught on to him before he was able to do much damage.

 

[huskymom]

you can always send him to me ... j/k...

maybe as said persuading him and/or distrcting him while he´s doing it he might get back to "normal"...

 

[Kfontan]

Does he pluck himself as well? How does Cookie react? I pictured her being able to stand on her own ground. Is it just the heads?

Please don't mind all of the questions. I'm curious about this behavior and what to look for. Unfortunately I could see Peaches behaving this way. Although I don't believe I have found any evidence of it yet.

Poor Bailee. He was doing so well as the role model Dad. Do they get better?

Hang in there.

 

[Bea]

Does he pluck himself as well? How does Cookie react? I pictured her being able to stand on her own ground. Is it just the heads?

No, he doesn't pluck himself. It's just the heads, he starts off preening them and then rips out some feathers. Both Cookie and Snickers squawk and bite him when he does this. I might separate him until the new bigger cage is ready and then see if the problem settles down with twice as much space for them to spread out.

 

[xxxSpikexxx]

I would put him in a separte cage, can you put the cage really close so he can try and feed Snickers through the bars? Or some time out together when Snickers is hungry? I hope Bailee stops this soon.

 

[Bea]

He plucks when everyone is out of the cage too. There's no way they could feed through the cage bars, because to feed Snickers he has to stand over him and really bob his head, Snickers crouches down low with his head looking right up and bounces like crazy.

 

[xxxSpikexxx]

Thats too bad Hopefully Snickers will just learn to eat by himself quicker.

 

[Laura]

I wonder if its something he will stop or if your going to have to keep them always separated it would be such a shame seeing as up until now he has been such a good daddy, but I agree he should be separated maybe things will change with the new cage, if not he will be a lonely boy

 

[huskymom]

I know this is not the topic... but could you get Baillee feeding lil Snikers on video??... I would love to see that action ... LOL

 

[birdieness]

Honestly bea, i think he's another hugs from what you are describing. It started off with hugs preening them and then ripping feathers out. hasn't stopped since. Not sure if he would do it to another tiel but i'm not about to find out. Hopfully a bigger cage works but look at all the room my guys has and nope, still at it. They also have a good 300 in different toys in there cages from shredders to noisy things. Separation was my only solution.

 

[Bea]

I still haven't had the heart to separate him, but i don't think i can stall for much longer. I noticed while giving Cookie a head scratch that she actually has a bald patch. I would like to hold out until the new cage gets here and see if the extra space/new environment helps at all. Fingers crossed it does!

And Huskymom - just for you i'm about to post a video of Snickers being fed in the Cockatiel Photos section.

 

[Aderyn]

Hi Bea. I don't know much about this sort of thing obviously, but could it be jealousy of either Snickers, Cookie or both? It's his first baby and perhaps now that Snickers is in and out of the nest box, Bailee is losing out on time with Cookie or Snickers or even you. In general I know that animals can become quite jealous when their young become old enough to start managing on their own, either of their own mates or of the babies. It might be the same with birds. Why don't you try taking Bailee out on his own when it's cuddle time, instead of all three of them together? Then take Cookie and Bailee out together. And then Bailee and Snickers. And so on. Then try putting Cookie in a separate cage while you're at home, with just Bailee and Snickers in the other. Then Cookie and Bailee. Then Cookie and Snickers. Try this for maybe a week or until the cage arrives, and see if you can pinpoint who Bailee is plucking the most. Hopefully it is just jealousy which can be dealt with easily by fussing over Bailee as much as you did before Snickers arrived. Good luck.

 

[birdieness]

Slush hasa blad spot aswell. Hoping it grown in.

 

[Bea]

Hi Bea. I don't know much about this sort of thing obviously, but could it be jealousy of either Snickers, Cookie or both? It's his first baby and perhaps now that Snickers is in and out of the nest box, Bailee is losing out on time with Cookie or Snickers or even you. In general I know that animals can become quite jealous when their young become old enough to start managing on their own, either of their own mates or of the babies. It might be the same with birds. Why don't you try taking Bailee out on his own when it's cuddle time, instead of all three of them together? Then take Cookie and Bailee out together. And then Bailee and Snickers. And so on. Then try putting Cookie in a separate cage while you're at home, with just Bailee and Snickers in the other. Then Cookie and Bailee. Then Cookie and Snickers. Try this for maybe a week or until the cage arrives, and see if you can pinpoint who Bailee is plucking the most. Hopefully it is just jealousy which can be dealt with easily by fussing over Bailee as much as you did before Snickers arrived. Good luck.

These are all such good ideas! I've been watching and i don't think he plucks Snickers anymore, Snickers is tough stuff and told Bailee and thing or two about what he thought of the rough preening. :rofl: I wonder if it's worth putting Cookie in a spare cage for a few days and see if Bailee settles down at all. I'm really hesitating to separate Bailee because he has MEGA issues with being away from everyone, he gets so stressed. My theory is that Bailee is craving attention from Cookie in particular and it's frustrating him that she's not scratching his head so he's being rough with her. I try to scratch his head as often as i used to (he used to be my cuddle monster) but he's not as tolerant of me anymore.

 

[xxxSpikexxx]

Hopefully the super large cage will help. Mabey it is just hormones

 

[Aderyn]

Judging from that, I'd say he's a wee bit jealous of Cookie. He sounds a bit insecure since he doesn't like being alone. Try to separate him for a few hours each night, starting off with half an hour and increasing the time spent alone to about two hours each night. By this I mean putting him in a totally separate room, with all his favourite toys, and spending time with him while he's separated. Try to leave the room quite often so he knows you'll be back, but that he can also be alone for a bit. From what I can tell, 'tiels are very social birds, but it's also not healthy for one to be totally dependant on company. Once he's ok with being alone for a few hours each night, try putting him in the same room as the others but not in the same cage (i.e. keep him out of any form of cage while Snickers and Cookie remain in the cage). This means that while he can see and hear them, he can't really reach them. Again, stick around and watch him while you do this. If he gets too stressed with trying to get to them, take him to the 'alone' room. This isn't supposed to be a form of punishment, so stay with him until he calms down. You're trying to get him over his dependancy on company, particularly on his mate, so substituting yourself for Cookie should help a lot as long as he knows that you will also be leaving and he can't come, but that you will be back to visit him. He's probably just feeling a little bit lost now that Cookie isn't in the nest box with him, and Snickers is growing so fast. He liked being a mate and a dad, and now he's going through withdrawal.

 

[birdieness]

Just like to add on it could be another sign he wishes to breed again. When i questioned hugs on this i was told it was cause he wanted to breed and it was hormones. Sure enough days later i caught him trying to mate with his sister. I do let them out together every now and then but as soon as the start preening i take one of them and stick them in a cage.

Slush has a nice bald spot now. I never really look head to it at first cause she was plucked by her parents and i just thought it was whatthey did. But after a while i caught hugs plucking pinnies out i knew it was him and that what the parents plucked out would have grown in by now.