# Males vs. Females



## Streetwise (Feb 6, 2016)

So this isn't so much a problem as just something I'm curious about.

I have one blood-verified male tiel, and a blood-verified female, plus another who I haven't had tested yet, but based on behaviors I'm assuming male.

My girl is the sweetest and most affectionate tiel. She loves head scritches and kisses.

My boys, however, are not at all affectionate. They're not aggressive, either, and all are hand-tamed, so they'll easily step up without a fuss. But the boys just don't like me going anywhere near their heads, and aren't as eager to come to me or stay with me.

Is this a typical gender thing? I did get my boys from one breeder, and the female from a different one, so maybe my girl was just handled more when she was a baby?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Disposition is partly inherited. I've had super cuddly males and females. It could be the way that the male breeder raised them verses the way the hen was raised. Every bird is different.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's just individual differences not related to gender. Both boys and girls can be cuddly or standoffish.


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## Janalee (Jul 25, 2012)

*males vs. females*

That is interesting. I am speaking from the standpoint of someone who has owned only 3 cockatiels: two females and one male, all individually owned. I have never had more than one at a time. But my females were both cuddly, loved scritches. Bennie not so much. He lets me hold him, will happily sit on my shoulder or finger, but won't tolerate head scratches. Still he's a sweetie and I love him!


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## littletiel (May 15, 2011)

My boy is SUPER cuddly and asks for scritches non-stop. He also blows me kisses, nudges me, preens me, gently plays with my ear,...
He is my first tiel, so I can't judge females, but as others have said it partly depends on their personality. Nature and nurture like for humans I guess.


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## Dylan&Gracie (Nov 21, 2014)

My female is cuddly, my male is hand tame but very independent and he doesn't let you pet him.


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## EllenD (Oct 9, 2016)

It has nothing to do with gender at all in my experience, just as males are always supposed to be the vocal birds. There are exceptions to everything and every "rule", but as far as being affectionate, tame, wanting human interaction, in my experience it's usually a matter of how they were raised and what level of interaction with humans they've had. You can have a bird that was hand-raised and hand-fed from 2 weeks old, but if it's ignored and put in a cage for a year it will most likely not be tame anymore, just as you can have a wild bird that is tamed later in life. But honestly I believe this is a personality trait that is formed from the time they are born and how they are raised at this point. Even though you can hand tame a parent raised bird or a wild bird, they typically aren't as affectionate as a hand raised bird is...But again there are exceptions. It's just a matter of each individual bird, their nature, and then how they're nurtured.

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## Lore (Dec 5, 2016)

Puck is a verified male (DNA test from chest feathers) and a huge cuddlebug. You can spend a good 15 minutes at a time, giving him head scritches, and then he'll just go for a short climb or walk before asking for more.  Even complete strangers to him, he loves getting attention and head scritches from!

He is vocal, and will call out when people leave the room, or when there's no one in the room and he hears someone down the hall. Pretty sure that he would just be with me constantly if I'd let him! :lol:


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## ParrotLover2001 (Dec 30, 2016)

Elvis is male, and he loves a cuddle every now and then, but mostly likes sitting on my shoulder and "singing" in my ear.
I love my Tiel, but hate his screaming. 


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

Mindwipe and Redshift are standoffish, though Mindwipe loves to sit on the shoulder and nibble (Read bite) Ears. Redshift, Mindwipe's mate, is more independent, but enjoys snuggling on the rare occasion. 

Then there's StrongArm who's so independent that she prefers hands off time whenever possible. She likes to sit on shoulders, too, but isn't cuddly.


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

My mom has females, I have males. My boys are waaaay more affectionate - her girls are really quite standoffish. I definitely spend a lot more 1:1 time with my boys, though. I really think that has more influence more than anything - that bond only stays if you work to build and preserve it.

I won the lotto with Miles. He's the most affectionate little thing. He lives for scritches and pets. His favorite thing to do is tuck himself under my chin and I pet and kiss him all over. He just loves it, and demands these cuddle sessions throughout the day. I have not yet seen another tiel that likes to be completely smothered like he does. He's also very loving back, and often comes over to me or my partner just to give us a kiss or preen our hair or eyebows. What's most interesting (and a blessing) to me is that the excessive snuggling doesn't elicit a hormonal response from him - he has ZERO interest in humans as mate prospects.










Phoenix likes scritches, and LOVES kisses. He'd sit on my shoulder and kiss me all day. He doesn't reciprocate much, though. He's mostly just a love sponge. I keep it to a minimum because he's extremely hormonal and I try not to give him the wrong message.


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