# Why does my male not like my new female?



## millefleur1653 (May 25, 2012)

Hello, I'm new to this forum so I hope I chose the correct spot to post this.

I have two male cockatiels, a 5 year old Grey named Gilbert and a 9 year old Pied named Tweety Bird. I love my cockatiels so much and have always wanted to breed them! So a few days ago I bought two more cockatiels that were female. A 8 week old Lutino, which we named Jewel and a 10 month old Grey that we ended up naming Ava. 

Both cockatiels are bonding quite well and pretty fast with my fiance and I. The little Lutino has almost got the "Step-Up" technique down.

Now I completely understand that the Lutino is way to young for any breeding but I figured that the Grey would be ready for breeding in a few months. She is already laying eggs. 

So I've introduced the females to my males and both males act like they are afraid and threatened by the females. I don't really know why this is. It is actually kind of sad because Ava (the grey female) likes Gilbert (the male grey). She tries to come sit by him but he is always hissing at her and biting at her. I was really hoping the both of them would pair up. 

Tweety Bird (male pied) isn't as aggressive as Gilbert but he just acts almost uninterested. 

I have only had the female cockatiels since Monday so I guess it could get better with time but I'm just worried and curious. 

So my main question is, what is going on with my male cockatiels? And what should I do?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Give them more time, bonding doesn't happen overnight and the boys see these girls as intruders, not friends. Did you introduce them in the cage or out of it? In the cage, the boys will be territorial because that's THEIR home. Best to completely rearrange the cage so its new to all four birds. And there is always the possibility that they may never bond in that way with each other. You're just going to have to wait and see what happens.


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## millefleur1653 (May 25, 2012)

I introduced them outside of the cage and have kept them in separate cages up until yesterday. As for the cage, I did rearrange a few things here and there to try to make it all "new". The boys aren't really acting territorial in my opinion. Its more like they don't like the new females to be up in their personal space.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Most tiels don't, they have a bubble and they don't like it being invaded. The lutino being so young, she wont understand this yet and it will take her some time to learn. As long as they aren't hurting each other they should be OK.


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## millefleur1653 (May 25, 2012)

The lutino doesn't even act interested in the males. Its the Grey female that acts interested. She's following the male grey around, always wanting to be next to him.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> She's following the male grey around, always wanting to be next to him.


That's how Mims got Vlad to accept her as his mate. Not that it did her much good, since he can't figure out how to copulate. He's still working on it though and has progressed to the point of standing on her back wondering what to do next.

For several years my only birds were two male cockatiels, and when I added two females the males reacted badly. One of the males died a few months later (accident) and it took more than a year for the remaining male (Vlad) to accept a female. When males have been isolated from females for a long time, it can sometimes be a difficult adjustment when females enter the home.


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## millefleur1653 (May 25, 2012)

> When males have been isolated from females for a long time, it can sometimes be a difficult adjustment when females enter the home.


That was what I was kind of wondering. My males haven't seen any females ,except of course when they born, until now. 

I've been watching them today and it looks like my oldest male might be interested in the female grey. He has been sitting by her off and on today, not really close but a few inches away.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Sounds like he's scoping her out...the lutino wont be interested until she gets older, right now she just sees them as playmates and nothing more.


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