Cockaitels

Question
Hello, I own a year old female cockaitel, she was perant raised and will sit on my finger, I am wondering if I got a handfed cockatiel would it stay tame and loving or will it perfer her over me?

Answer
Hello,

It all depends really. If you keep them in the same cage, the new handfed bird will be more likely to bond with her. Now, if you spend plenty of one-on-one time with each of them, then he/she can stay just as tame without any problem. There's no reason why the new bird won't be equally happy with both of you. Just as an example, a friend of mine got a hand-tame male to pair with his "wild" hen, and his male bonded very well to the hen, they had a couple of clutches, but the male is still very very tame, loves to come out when not on eggs, and goes everywhere with my friend. He spends plenty of time with the bird though.

Most birds prefer other birds to people, with some exceptions. If you want to completely rule out the possibility of the handfed 'tiel bonding with your hen, I would house them in seperate cages!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!

Sarah