Moon's Graden

> > I've got a 3 1/2 year old male***atiel and just got a 7 month old
> > female to keep him company. ?They seem to ignore each other. ?The male
> > keeps charging the female with his beak poised to bite. ?She doesn't
> > seem concerned but it scares me to death. ?Has never hurt her that I
> > can tell. ?Should I be concerned? ?Will they every get along?

> Did you keep them in seperate cages for the first week or so, to allow them
> to get used to each other, or did you just bring her home and add her to his
> cage? This can make a difference.

> Also, he's just old enough to look for a mate, but she's too young to be
> interested. He might be trying to initiate mating and he's being ignored. If
> that's the case, seperate cages for a while will solve this, too.

> Temporarily, they each need their own space. The two cages should be set
> right next to each other. If you bring him out of his cage during the day,
> you should bring her out, too. First, one at a time, but eventually, both
> together, until they have had enough time to become friends.

> Once they get to know each other, they'll probably start preening each
> other, then you'll know they're ready to live together. Right now, I think
> he feels like she's intruding on his home. He'll get over it faster with a
> second cage.

> > > I've got a 3 1/2 year old male***atiel and just got a 7 month old
> > > female to keep him company. They seem to ignore each other. The male
> > > keeps charging the female with his beak poised to bite. She doesn't
> > > seem concerned but it scares me to death. Has never hurt her that I
> > > can tell. Should I be concerned? Will they every get along?

> > Did you keep them in separate cages for the first week or so, to allow
> > them
> > to get used to each other, or did you just bring her home and add her to
> > his
> > cage? This can make a difference.

> > Also, he's just old enough to look for a mate, but she's too young to be
> > interested. He might be trying to initiate mating and he's being
> > ignored. If
> > that's the case, seperate cages for a while will solve this, too.

> > Temporarily, they each need their own space. The two cages should be set
> > right next to each other. If you bring him out of his cage during the
> > day,
> > you should bring her out, too. First, one at a time, but eventually,
> > both
> > together, until they have had enough time to become friends.

> > Once they get to know each other, they'll probably start preening each
> > other, then you'll know they're ready to live together. Right now, I
> > think
> > he feels like she's intruding on his home. He'll get over it faster with
> > a
> > second cage.

> Thanks so much for your advice.  The pet store owner at first told us
> we should keep them in separate cages, but then said this might not be
> necessary.  I know I've only had them for 1 1/2 weeks, but it's sad
> that they seem to have absolutely no interest in one another.  He
> keeps charging her with his beak ready to bite -- she just scampers
> away and doesn't seem too stressed by it, and there's no sign of any
> damage, but it concerns me that it could get worse and she could get
> injured.  How likely is it that my 3 1/2 year old male will warm up to
> her?  He hasn't seen another***atiel since he was 6 months old --
> will he be able to figure out what to do?

> > > > I've got a 3 1/2 year old male***atiel and just got a 7 month old
> > > > female to keep him company. They seem to ignore each other. The male
> > > > keeps charging the female with his beak poised to bite. She doesn't
> > > > seem concerned but it scares me to death. Has never hurt her that I
> > > > can tell. Should I be concerned? Will they every get along?

> > > Did you keep them in separate cages for the first week or so, to allow
> > > them
> > > to get used to each other, or did you just bring her home and add her to
> > > his
> > > cage? This can make a difference.

> > > Also, he's just old enough to look for a mate, but she's too young to be
> > > interested. He might be trying to initiate mating and he's being
> > > ignored. If
> > > that's the case, seperate cages for a while will solve this, too.

> > > Temporarily, they each need their own space. The two cages should be set
> > > right next to each other. If you bring him out of his cage during the
> > > day,
> > > you should bring her out, too. First, one at a time, but eventually,
> > > both
> > > together, until they have had enough time to become friends.

> > > Once they get to know each other, they'll probably start preening each
> > > other, then you'll know they're ready to live together. Right now, I
> > > think
> > > he feels like she's intruding on his home. He'll get over it faster with
> > > a
> > > second cage.

> > Thanks so much for your advice. ?The pet store owner at first told us
> > we should keep them in separate cages, but then said this might not be
> > necessary. ?I know I've only had them for 1 1/2 weeks, but it's sad
> > that they seem to have absolutely no interest in one another. ?He
> > keeps charging her with his beak ready to bite -- she just scampers
> > away and doesn't seem too stressed by it, and there's no sign of any
> > damage, but it concerns me that it could get worse and she could get
> > injured. ?How likely is it that my 3 1/2 year old male will warm up to
> > her? ?He hasn't seen another***atiel since he was 6 months old --
> > will he be able to figure out what to do?

> Nature will take over, when she's old enough, and they'll probably become a
> couple, but right now, it's as if two strangers have been thrown together.
> For your peace of mind, and their comfort, separate cages is the best idea.
> Considering the age of the female, it might take a few months before they
> actually get affectionate, but until then, he'll be calmer.- Hide quoted text -

> - Show quoted text -