# Whats wrong with my cockatiel?



## stewiemom (Sep 12, 2010)

I have organized a vet visit but wont be able to go there til thursday.. and im worried about his/her behavior. S/he is a LutinoCockatiel so im not sure of his (i just assume hes a boy) sex - i was told that they are hard to tell the sex of lutinos!
he is a perfectly happy cockatiel, eats a lot, plays with his toys, eats his cuttlebone, has time out of his cage etc.. but once a day (or once every 2-3 days) he sits on the bottom of the cage in the corner, lifts up his tail, puffs up his chest area and makes short chirping noises. He doesnt seem like hes in pain (aka not squeeling) the feathers on his head are laid back... but today i noticed that his butt area is opening up? is it likely hes trying to lay an egg? im totally confused cause he doesnt appear to be in any pain... this was 5 minutes ago and hes back on his food bowl eating normally, preening himself.. seeming content.
i wish i can show you a vid clip but i havent got one im sorry.. has anyone elses cockatiel have this odd behavior? any post is well appreciated thank you so much!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

_*but once a day (or once every 2-3 days) he sits on the bottom of the cage in the corner, lifts up his tail, puffs up his chest area and makes short chirping noises. He doesnt seem like hes in pain (aka not squeeling) the feathers on his head are laid back... but today i noticed that his butt area is opening up? is it likely hes trying to lay an egg?*_
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Lol...it sounds like your tiel is a female, and what she is doing is masterbating  They will do this in a cage corner or rub against a dish or anywhwere to stimuulate themselves. Many times this can lead to egg-laying.

No need for a vet visit.


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## stewiemom (Sep 12, 2010)

*oh my...!*

 oh my.. this is too funny!! i didnt know birds masturbate! haha.. i thought her feet were stuck in the wiring of the cage and im like "whats wrong STEWIE whats wrong?!" .... i probably ruined her moment a few times. does it become a habit like for dogs? or is she just doing it cause shes bored?
thanks somuch for the reply.. i didnt realize.. she was the frisky type. let alone a GIRL instead of a boy.


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## dianaxgalvez (May 3, 2010)

stewiemom said:


> this was 5 minutes ago and hes back on his food bowl eating normally, preening himself.. seeming content.
> i wish i can show you a vid clip but i havent got one im sorry.. has anyone elses cockatiel have this odd behavior? any post is well appreciated thank you so much!


Hehe, I think we all had these question at certain point, its normal for them to masturbate. & I believe its a behavior that you can not control, its harmless and as you said " they seem content ! ! ! ! !


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## stewiemom (Sep 12, 2010)

haha well im glad to know im not the only one to have asked a similar question or thought something was seriously wrong!!! i guess SHE feels that shes safe enough to do engage in this activity  wooow...! i cant wait to tell my husband we were wrong about the sex; and how she masterbates as well hes going to have a huge laugh at me about it!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

This is how Mims likes to get it on:









Males go for more of a humping action. There's a video of a male doing his thing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KFEeiYl3UQ I think the hula music is hilarious.


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## stewiemom (Sep 12, 2010)

do they all make that short chirpy sound? lol.. how funny! do i have to make a nesting place for her.. or is she just fine without??? cause she doesnt have a mate or anything shes alone so..?


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## dianaxgalvez (May 3, 2010)

Don't put up a nest, its not necessary;; if you put up a nest it will only lead her to start laying eggs and you don't want that, it can lead to serious health problems if the situation gets chronic .


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## stewiemom (Sep 12, 2010)

oh right yes i dont want that! i told my fiance what was going on with now "her" and he laughed but was concerned if we needed to put in some nesting material. good thing i asked  i love this site so many people are SO helpful!! ... kinda glad i havent taken her to the vet.. lol hed be like - oh uhm.. SHEs just masterbating


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## eXc (Sep 4, 2009)

stewiemom said:


> . kinda glad i havent taken her to the vet.. lol hed be like - oh uhm.. SHEs just masterbating


Yep, that would be pretty embarassing needed to be told about the birds and the bees....

haha.


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## Hemlock (Aug 1, 2010)

Lol... Rio was VERY active when she was younger. I remember going into the vet and talking to him about it. He gave me a handout titled something like "Self Love and Your Bird". It was great. We both had a laugh, and he said that usually people don't know what's going on and are really embarrassed when they find out. He thought it was great that my concern was that she was overly active. He kindly reminded me that going blind was only a myth!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> do they all make that short chirpy sound?


My experience is limited, but from what I've seen all females make cries of passion when they're "in the act" and males are generally silent. Although I did hear about one male tiel who says "good boy" over and over while he's mating. I guess he needs to talk about what a rewarding experience it is.

Henry has learned to imitate the hens' passion cry but he does it without any accompanying action. I'll hear that sound and hurry into the bird room to find out who's doing what to whom, only to find that it's just Henry singing a song.



> do i have to make a nesting place for her


Just the opposite - you want to discourage her from laying eggs because it's an unnecessary strain on her health. A little self-pleasuring won't do any harm, but if she starts acting too "nesty" it'll be best to take action to bring her hormone levels down.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

I did hear about one male tiel who says "good boy" over and over while he's mating.
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LOL...I had one male that liked to say: 'Pop goes the weasel' when he was done


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## stewiemom (Sep 12, 2010)

thank you all so much for your stories and knowledge! haha i guess everyone must have gone through it one stage...  
i just find it funny how they do that.. i have had dogs and cats who have NEVER done this so its just amusing that my bird does!!! when she was doing it today.. i just looked over and laughed.. thinking i was overly concerned i guess its better to be concerned than not! she makes A LOT of noise... lol. like "ah-chachacha! chachaahchaaa!" for about 1-2 minutes ha


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## cinnamon (Jul 16, 2009)

Well Charlie sings "such a pretty bird" while he and Cinnamon do the happy dance. He sings non stop! They are both too young to be serious and not even connecting. Hes just standing on her! And no I am not setting up a nest for them.:blink:


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## Tielzilla (Mar 31, 2009)

ha ha, I logged on for the first time in ages only to come across this thread..Sam just shrieks outloud when doing the dirty...very embarrassing..


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## dianaxgalvez (May 3, 2010)

Hahahaha everytime I open this thread there's something even funnier posted; I love it ! 

I didn't know they'd actually sing and say stuff while they were mating... When one of my pairs were mating all the sounds came from the female, she was making the " passion sounds" like ah chahahaha ! hahahah :blush:


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## stewiemom (Sep 12, 2010)

dianaxgalvez said:


> sounds came from the female, she was making the " passion sounds" like ah chahahaha ! hahahah :blush:


 thats exactly what mine sounds like!!!! aaaaa chachachaa! chacha! 
its so funny.. like shes doing it in all seriousness or something with.. the cage corner lol. its funny how she will only do it in one corner of her cage and not on anything else or another corner! 
we have a cat and she just watches her.. to her it must look like shes just teasing her to come and get her! cause shes shaking her butt


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