# Aggressive male with newborn



## Einstein (Feb 8, 2014)

My male tiel Einstein has been acting aggressively towards the chick that just hatched today. I'm not sure if it's normal behavior since this is my first time, but he chases Mango (the mother) away and then starts pecking at the baby. The baby seems agitated and peeps and tries to move away from him. It's non-stop and I had to separate him from the cage because the chick's skin was turning red and irritated. Why is he doing this? should I keep him separated from the cage?

Thanks a bunch!


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Zero did this the first time. Its inexperience, coupled with the possiblity he may have been bred too young. Your male thinks the chick is an intruder so removing him was a good idea. I would provide supplemental heat and prepare to handfeed. If the mother is inexperienced its pretty likely she won't do a very good job of feeding the chicks.


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## Einstein (Feb 8, 2014)

Darkel777 said:


> Zero did this the first time. Its inexperience, coupled with the possiblity he may have been bred too young. Your male thinks the chick is an intruder so removing him was a good idea. I would provide supplemental heat and prepare to handfeed. If the mother is inexperienced its pretty likely she won't do a very good job of feeding the chicks.


Luckily I believe this is going to be the only chick, and Mango seems to be doing a very good job feeding. I've been regularly checking the baby's crop and it's been full each time I've looked. Should I continue to keep the male separate? I'll prepare to handfeed if necessary. Thanks! They are both around 4 years old.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

The mother can handle up to 3 babies herself. She will be fine by herself. Just kept checking if she is doing her job


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Einstein said:


> Luckily I believe this is going to be the only chick, and Mango seems to be doing a very good job feeding. I've been regularly checking the baby's crop and it's been full each time I've looked. Should I continue to keep the male separate? I'll prepare to handfeed if necessary. Thanks! They are both around 4 years old.


Yes, keep the male separate. If he is four years old he might have a history of doing this, and you should consider that maybe he should not be used for breeding anymore. If this is his first clutch, you can try again, but if this continues I would not breed him a third time.


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## Einstein (Feb 8, 2014)

Darkel777 said:


> Yes, keep the male separate. If he is four years old he might have a history of doing this, and you should consider that maybe he should not be used for breeding anymore. If this is his first clutch, you can try again, but if this continues I would not breed him a third time.


I don't plan on anymore breeding after this clutch, honestly. This wasn't supposed to happen in the first place. And I do not think that breeding is for me. Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it!


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

You need to find the cause of the problem to resolve it.



http://www.internationalcockatielresource.com/help-my-parents-are-plucking-the-babies.html


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Haimovfids said:


> You need to find the cause of the problem to resolve it.
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.internationalcockatielresource.com/help-my-parents-are-plucking-the-babies.html


Since it is a newly hatched chick the only choices are jealousy and parasites. The others only apply after the chicks start to pinfeather. Jealousy is of course most likely especially since only a single parent is plucking.

Of course we paint with a broad brush calling this jealousy. In Zero's case it was just that he is very territorial and never had any chicks before, suddenly he found a naked creature in his nestbox and decided to drive it out not knowing it was his child. Not jealousy necessarily, but it is easier to classify next to a male begging the attention of his mate and attacking the chick to get it. My case may be unusual in that regard.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

One other cause if if the parents are a 'Bondage' pair rather than a 'Bonded' pair. They are more prone to be abusive or killer parents


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## Einstein (Feb 8, 2014)

This pair is extremely bonded, this wasn't a forced breeding. These birds will start self-plucking if separated by more than a few feet. I was told they wouldn't even breed without a nest box, but that wasn't true. But this male also destroyed several eggs when she first started laying. Sorry I'm so uneducated, I've been trying to read and inform myself as much as possible.


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Then you might consider saving yourself some trouble by boiling or freezing the eggs in the future to keep them from hatching.


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## Einstein (Feb 8, 2014)

Absolutely. Luckily this is the only chick that's going to hatch, the others are not viable. I just felt bad about killing a potential life, but I also realize that breeding is involved and very stressful. This is going to be the only clutch I'm going to have. Thanks again!


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