# Will my cockatiel change "mates"?



## Thunderbird (Jun 18, 2012)

My female cockatiel (is now a year old and has never laid eggs) has always considered me to be her mate (she hasn't figured out that I'm a girl too). She has tried to mate with me on several occasions. I know that they conventionally mate for life, but I have recently acquired a new male and female. The two new ones have been kept together for over a year and never mated. All three have been together for about a week now, and they are all bonded and preening each other. My male cockatiel has been banging his beak around like a woodpecker, which I have read can mean he either wants attention or wants to impress a female. I'm not hugely worried about it at this point, but it raises a question. Does anyone know what the chances are that my old female will realize that I'm not a bird and leave me for the male?


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## Thunderbird (Jun 18, 2012)

By the way, the new female is a year and a half old, but the new male is ten years old. Igor is the old female, Tavi is the new one, and Tovi is the new male.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i think its most definitely possible. ive heard of friends birds doing this as well.

didnt work in my situation though. dally is bonded to me, and tsuka is bonded to me and dally but dally tolerates him as a friend rather than a mate.


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## Jessica E (Aug 4, 2010)

It is possible. I have a few love triangles in the avairy. One male is with two females. But my birds are always the exception to the rules.

Sent from my ADR8995 using Tapatalk 2


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If she's bonded to you she isn't likely to abandon you completely, but she might form a pair bond with the male too. I have several tiels that love me passionately and are also mated to a cockatiel.


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