# Reducing Male Aggression



## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

Since the little girl (I suspect) has come home, my boy has been aggressive at times to me and her. People put it down to teenage hormones and/or breeding season, which is understandable given it being summer here in Australia and it's very warm and the days are long at the moment.

It's been said here to reduce daylight hours, and I've read on Cockatiel Cottage the same thing (http://www.cockatielcottage.net/egg_laying.html) under the section "Modifying your Bird's Environment: (also for male, seasonal, hormonal aggression)".

My questions are:
1) Should the boy only be getting this treatment?
2) If, after two weeks, he has calmed down, do I then go back to normal daylight hours? Won't his hormones pick back up again as the days are still going to be long and the weather nice and warm?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

1) Giving both of them the treatment will keep both birds' hormones at a low level. This is useful, because a bird that's hormonal will do things that stimulate the hormones of the other bird.

2) We're past the solstice now so days will be getting shorter in the southern hemisphere. This might provide some natural hormone control. But if that doesn't work you'll have to keep up with the artificially long nights.


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## Duckybird (Sep 13, 2010)

I would also give both of them the long nights treatment. I've tried different bedtimes when I had two rowdy males, and the baby got to stay up later. Well, his chirps and whistles just irritated my boy who had gone to bed. He was covered and in another room, but he knew lol.


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

Ok .. the "winter" simulation has started .. although I don't know how effective 12 hour sleeps will be. Weather forecast next week is 35 degrees C for most of the week too, so not very cold hahaha. We'll see in a couple of weeks I guess how this turns out. I can't do anymore during the week as I leave home at 6:30am and get home at around 5:30pm, by then it's nearly time for them to go back to bed...

I am thinking that I'll keep the blinds shut too so it is darker during the day, sort of like a permanent dawn/dusk or cloudy day. Will this help or is this too much darkness?


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

So after this afternoons events, I think I'm going to separate the two into different rooms and give the boy the long nights treatment.

Usually Nibbler wants to be around Colbie (he's normally happy enough to be in the same room), but this afternoon, he was trying to land on her back, and she was screaming when he did. So I thought it'd be best for them to have out of cage time separately. Well, after Colbie had her turn, I tried to get Nibbler out and he was super aggressive. He was lunging for my hands (I was using a perch because of his biting at the moment) and once he was out of the cage, he kept on flying over to Colbie's cage. He eventually got angry enough after I kept taking him off her cage that he started biting and attacking me mid flight.

I got fed up with his behaviour that I grabbed him and put him in his cage. I know it was probably the wrong thing to do but if I just used the perch, he would of continued to keep biting and flying off, and my hands at this stage have enough holes and scabs on them.

I'm hoping the long nights and/or the solitude will calm him down again. I know you guys said to give them both the long nights, but Colbie isn't really responding to Nibbler's courting, after all, she's only a bub.

I wonder if Nibbler would be the same if I had brought back a boy instead. I did ask for one when I bought Colbie, although at such a young age, it's anyones guess as to what sex he/she is.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Have you got any pics  In a different room and long nights should work, don't know how many times i done this with tweety as she a bad girl, it works a while on her then she plays up again


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Colbie should get the long nights too whether or not she's responding to his courting right now...I tried giving it only to my girls because they were the super horny ones and even after having them on it, the boys would still try to mount them even though by then the girls weren't hormonal anymore. Doing both is just a safe precaution for when she hits puberty.


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

So should I separate them into different rooms and treat? or keep them as a bonded pair (well one sided anyway) and treat?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

All mine are kept together and get the treatment together...if he's getting the treatment his hormones will lower and he'll quit trying to mount her. Ideally at least, unless he just likes sex, some of them do.


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

A few days into this experience and things are still mostly the same. I've found that Nibbler is calmer in the mornings after just been uncovered than in the evenings when I take them out before bed time. Colbie and Nibbler both come out together in the mornings for half an hour or so for breakfast before I head off to work and he tends to be a bit nippy towards the end of the period.

I've also found that Nibbler is a lot calmer when he's out by himself and can't fly over to Colbie's cage. Is this a jealousy thing then? I didn't think birds were able to be jealous... If they are both out together then he can be aggressive or nice (to both me and Colbie, depending on his mood I guess), but when he's out by himself then he's generally OK (provided he can't fly over to Colbie's cage).

I hope someday Nibbler can be a nice boy again (to both of us), then atleast they can spend more time out of the cage together instead of waiting for each others turns to be up...


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

To further disprove any jealousy theory, if Colbie is on the table eating seeds and Nibbler is asked to step up (to receive kisses/cuddle/headscratch), he will often fly off my hand, back to the table to be near Colbie.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Long nights are easier to enforce if you start them at sundown and then control the time of "sunrise". Birds don't like to go to bed when it's still light outside but are relaxed about getting up late! I use a sleep cage in a closet when I need to use long nights - I put the bird in the cage as it's starting to get dark, close the closet door when it's fully dark, and open it in the morning at the time I want the birds to have light again. During the night I leave the closet door open a crack so some fresh air can get in.


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

I've found that to be the case too, however it is unpractical for me. I am out of the house between 6:30am - 5:30ish pm on weekdays for work, so they have to be uncovered by 6:30am at the latest. Using Cockatiel Cottage as a guide, they suggest 10 hours of daylight and 14 hours sleep, which I am unable to do, as this means they need to be covered at 4:30pm (and I'm not home yet). Sunset is currently 7:30 - 8 pm here at the moment. 

At this stage, I've been coming home, playing with them for a little bit/giving them fruit/vegies before covering them up at 6 pm. Then I uncover them at 6 am the next morning for breakfast/a little play before I head off to work. 

On weekends, they get uncovered later ... and get a lot more out of cage time. I feel an hour interaction and playtime each weekday isn't enough for my birds but I'm hoping that after a couple of weeks, Nibbler will settle down enough for them to be out for a little while longer.

*fingers crossed*


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

so tonight will make this one week in to 12 hour nights. At this point in time, I've not noticed any change in aggression. I'm now resorting to leaving him in the cage and not handling him at all as my hands have taken enough of a beating.

The only thing I can think of additionally doing is to separate the two into different rooms (they are in separate cages atm but are next to and can see each other), but this defeats the purpose of why I bought Colbie in the first place.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Plus all that'll do is start a screaming match to see who can call to each other the loudest. Keep going with the long nights...it took mine almost two weeks to adjust to it, some are slower than others (i.e. almost half of mine lol.)


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

Ok, some experiments this weekend has revealed some of the old Nibbler... he calms down when he's by himself. If my girlfriend takes Colbie into another room, Nibbler will fly around for a bit looking for her but finally settle down and turn into his cuddly self.

If she's around then he has to be around her, biting her and us.

Is this a hormonal thing or a sign that they aren't getting along? It seems like he is infatuated with her, if he comes out of his cage and Colbie is in hers (next to his), then he'll constantly fly to her cage and it's a battle to get him out of the room before I can shut the door. Sometimes he'll even swoop and attack me like a magpie...


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

so Nibbler has gotten 3 weeks worth of 12 hour nights .. he still is aggressive and can't be out when Colbie is out .. he goes mental. Makes me wonder why I bothered getting him a mate in the first place if he wants to bite me and her.

When he is out by himself, sometimes he will settle, although most times he is alert/on guard (not biting), but wants to fly a lot to try and find her.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

What you're seeing is his love for her. When he's biting her, its because she's not doing something he wants her to do, like moving away from you because he thinks he's protecting her. Same with you, when he's biting at you its because you're not doing something he wants you to do like stay away from his girl. My mom was having this problem, she couldn't bond with her girl because the boy was always pushing the both of them around. Take him into another room to have some alone time with him, obviously he wants to be with you when she's not around. He's just enamored with her right now and pretty hormonal still. Keep up the long nights, it will help.


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

Has your mom overcome this behavioural issue? Or has she just dealt with it by giving the two separate out-of-cage times?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

They both get out of cage time together, but when my mom wants alone time with her baby, she makes my dad hold the boy. He likes my dad a lot and doesn't mind sitting with him while my mom takes her girl into another room. I suggested this because I noticed when I was there visiting that the boy would sit and whistle to my dad (when they were all afraid of him, my dad would sit next to his cage and talk to him, so the the bird likes him.)


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

Nibbler is still the same bitey, aggressive bird when he knows Colbie is around ... one thing that I noticed though was that he's fine in front of a mirror? When he's out by himself, he is generally OK unless Colbie quips up and flock calls. Put him in front of a mirror and he'll heart wing and start singing, with no aggression toward me or his reflection whatsoever. Whats with that?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

He thinks his reflection is another cockatiel and is trying to attract "her." lol


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

Yeah ... just odd that he's not trying to protect "her" from me ... who knows what's going on in their heads hahaha.


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

I thought I'd give everyone an update on how things are going with Nibbler and Colbie. Despite 12 hour nights, Nibbler was still being very aggressive. When trying to get him out of the bird room, he would fly to Colbie's cage and dive bomb me if I got too close. He would bite HARD, drawing blood frequently. And if both were out of their cage at the same time, he would fly over and chase Colbie around, and continually fly over if we tried to separate them.

I got fed up with the divebombing that I took drastic action and clipped him. He was a really good flyer before, but now he makes a lot of noise and doesn't go far. Whilst it saddens me that he is now "mutilated", he has calmed down in certain ways which make handling him a lot easier.

He still bites hard when hes close to Colbie. So getting him out of the cage and bird room involves gloves and a perch if Colbie is in her cage. But once he's out, theres a good chance he'll happily perch on a shoulder by himself, or with Colbie (keeping appropriate distances, otherwise he goes into bitey mode).

If they are "playing" together, he'll still try and chase her around, but if he gets too aggressive, she can now fly and get away.

I know I haven't fixed the root cause of his aggression. I'm hoping that it's just the very hot summer we've had this year and him in breeding mode and that in autumn/winter will calm him down. I've always been an advocate in flighted birds, so hopefully after this cool season, he'll be in a position where he accepts both us and Colbie as his flock/friends and he can hopefully fly as well as before after his winter moult. Here's hoping....


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Probably a good thing that you clipped him, at least he is not able to terrorise her too much. His wings will grow back, and maybe during winter he'll settle down.


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