attacking parakeets

Question
ok so here's my problem, and i can't for the life of me understand. i have 2 parakeets, one male and one female. when i first got the male, my female would pick on him a bit, and then they were fine. no bullying or even mock fighting has happened in months. now all of a sudden, the male is attacking the female. the female is at elast 2 years old (i got her from a friend who couldn't care for her anymore) but the male is only 9 months old. i don't understand why he is attacking her. all i can find on the internet is information about females attacking males.but my male is biting my female any time she attempts to eat. i have tried putting in more food dishes in multiple places in their cage, but he still attacks her any time she goes near any of them. she's losing wait, and i don't know what to do. please help!

Answer
Hi,

Sorry to hear you are having trouble. I have come across this before, and I have had a similar problem myself. It sounds to me like your male is becoming rather territorial. He is young and probably doesn't really know how to behave. He is experimenting his male status. If you have another cage, remove him for some time and let the female rebuild herself. Have them out together of an evening or whenever, and in a few months when his hormones have calmed down, slowly reintroduce him to the cage. One evening at a time at first, then build it up slowly.

It's very easy to feel sorry for the female and concentrate all your energy on her, but this could make the male worse. Have him out on his own for some of the time and give him lots of cuddles. If he becomes grumpy when you have them both out, put him in his cage until he calms down. Once he is calm again, get him out. Don't shout or clap your hands or punish him for becoming a gruff as birds don't associate tellings off with bad behavior, it will only make them nervous and more aggressive.

It should pass if you give the tips i gave you a go, but please contact me again should problems persist or get worse.

Charlotte