Intorducing a knew cockatiel

Question
I ahve had my cockatiel for just under 4 years and he has always been extrememly tame; being very affectionate towards me , cuddling up to my face and letting me preen his face. However, i recently got a new cockatiel to keep him company whilst i am at school. he has now bcome e
xtrem7ely visciouse towards me when around it. H eis fine when he is not with it, but when they are out together he will follow it around and attack me whne i go to stroke it. The knew cockatiel is just over 2months old, we are not sure whether it is male or female. Could be trying to protect it beacuse its so young?
Will this be an on-going problem, should i consider re-homing the knew cockatiel?  

Answer
Hello Francesca and thank you for your question.

Your older cockatiel is not trying to protect the baby, however, he is trying to tell you that he is not happy with his new friend.
I would like toask, have you quarantined your new bird?  This shoud be done for at least 2 weeks prior to introducing the new one to your already exhisting bird.  This is a two-fold purpose.  The first is to make sure that the new bird has no disease that the older one can catch, and the second is for the older one to be able to hear that there is a new bird in the house.
You will still get some objection from your older bird, as you have been the main contact in his life, so he is going to be jealous, but he will eventually come around to wanting you to preen his face again, and cuddling with you.
Just be pateint, and they will eventually get to accept each other.  My birds still "quarrel" for my attention, and it is not uncommon.
I do not see a need to place your new bird into a new home, it's just going to take some time for the older one to adjust.

I hope this answered your question.

Good luck and God Bless.

Dianna