Male Parakeet Keeps going into the nesting box

Question
My female just had her first set of eggs hatch, there was 3 but only 2 hatched. The most recent of the babies was killed by the father going into the nesting box and harassing the female. He's been getting aggressive towards her, and I know he hasn't stopped to feed her at all the entire time shes been in there. He's getting moved to his own cage now, but I was just wondering what happened to cause him to behave like this.

Answer
Hello Melanie,

Several factors could cause this behavior.

First and of most concern is illness. They father, babies, and/or mother could be sick and this would be normal flock behavior on the part of the father. An immediate visit to you avian veterinarian is a must.

Secondly is if the father did not learn to be a father then he would not know how to be a father. This is a learned skill from watching parents and other flock members. Current practices of hand raising from a young age without exposure to normal adult behaviors has created a population of birds that do not have the skills to be parents.

Jennifer
www.feathersandscales.com