Rage cage!
Tristan, my one year old pearl cockatiel, has become extremely aggressive since I moved him into the new EFC with his "brother" Morgan about a month ago. He won't step up for me anymore, and has just turned into a cranky little thing in general. I'm not sure if this is due to the cage change or just him becoming hormonal. I spoke with one of the ladies at the local bird shop, and she suggested I move him back into his smaller, separate cage.
I have a couple of concerns about this. While he and Morgan aren't really bonded (Morgan looks at him like he's a pesky shadow), he does start to get anxious if he isn't close to/can't see Morgan. Tristan is okay with scritches once he's out of the cage, but it's obvious he has some issues with actually leaving it (which he didn't have before). He's always been a bit of a spaz, had he has a bad habit of jumping BACKWARDS off my hand (which explains his lack of a tail). I want to do what's best for him psychologically and emotionally, and it seems like a lot of my options will stress him one way or the other.
Any tips on what training/caging techniques might be best for him?
My fiancé and I are getting married in October, and once we're settled in we would like to add one or two more cockatiels to the flock (provided we can work with Tristan on his cage aggression). My question is how many cockatiels can be safely/comfortably housed in an EFC. Right now I have my two males, and they seem to be very content in it, except for the occasional squabble over a prime perching spot. I'd love to have 3-4 b irds in one EFC so they have their own small flock, but I don't want it to be overcrowded. What's a good number for this kind of cage set up?
Also, I don't know what your birds gave you for Mother's Day, but I got my second trip in 24 hours to the groomer at the local exotic bird shop. Yesterday was the standard grooming, but Morgan broke a blood feather today and decided he wanted to get a toy for his bravery in dealing with such a traumatic trip to the store (the usual reward for being good while being clipped). What a special feathered son I have!