So if anyone has read my latest update on Georgie, you'll know that he and Alex were having a little bit of cuddle time. Alex appears to be doing more of the preening than Georgie, which is unexpected, because Alex has never shown interest in preening anybody, even me (although she loves to be preened). I was starting to wonder if she didn't know how to preen another bird.

Actually I think she's still learning, because sometimes she tries to preen Georgie's wing feathers. Either she suggesting something dirty or just doesn't understand which parts she should or shouldn't preen.
Weird to think about really, because this is the same Alex I got before she was weaned, who took longer than usual to wean, and still acts like a baby sometimes. The Alex who may have been stunted as a chick from the neglect she got from her bird parents.

At the same time though she is over a year old, so perhaps she is grown up.

Sometimes it looks like Georgie's trying to feed her, although since that's not a breeding behavior in cockatiels, Alex doesn't seem to understand what he's trying to do. Also it apparently startles Alex when Georgie does the full on courtship dance with the head-bobbing and all, but likes it when he chatters quietly.

At the same time, I noticed that he was performing that same courtship dance to Lucy, as well as chattering to her. Unlike Alex who seems he seems to have already won the heart of, Lucy is far less interested. I guess Georgie likes the girls that are hard-to-get.

What a change in dynamic, going from trying to bully them around, to trying to woo them both. And it's only been little over a month since I moved him in with the tiels.

Any time you've got more than two birds in the house, you've got a soap opera going on. Why go for a bird that actually likes you when you can chase after one that isn't interested?

Interspecies romance adds some spice too - Dweezil is totally into sexually harassing the tiel hens. Gets in their face, pins his eyes, and says "Rowrr!". They're not impressed.

Whelp, Georgie seemed to finally settle down with Alex. They preen each other a lot, and it's actually kinda cute.

Although now it's escalated to where Alex is sticking her tail in the air, making those "naughty chirps" as I call them. Georgie doesn't seem to quite understand what she wants him to do; either that or he's not that interested.

It's weird to see Alex of all birds doing that. Probably because this is the same Alex that took longer than the average cockatiel to wean, and is still extremely clingy. But I guess she's all grown up at this point.

Also, it's January! Why is she wanting to make babies in the middle of January??

The middle of January actually seems to be prime time for cockatiels to want to mate in southern Arizona. Sometimes I have to start using hormone control in January, although my flock follows the natural daylight schedule and don't usually start getting horny until the middle of February. Our climate is remarkably similar to that of Alice Springs (which is right smack in the center of the Australian Outback). My hypothesis is that the midsummer temperatures are way too hot for breeding, so the birds like to get to work as soon as the days start getting longer if other conditions permit. Most of our native birds here wait until March or April to breed, but there are some who will go for January. Like the Costa's hummingbirds.

Very interesting read ladies....ty

Budgies can be very flirtatious! Mine will try and get on anything and everything. Myself included. Nothing is more funny than watching a quail be chased around by a budgie for half an hour until they finally give up and let them get on with it

A quail? I can't imagine how the poor quail feels.

I don't thing Georgie has figured it quite out yet. Instead, he's learned how to make the noises Alex has been making when she wants to mate, and has included it in his repertoire.

I'm pretty sure he knows how to mate though, because I've seen him hump a seed cup before. Maybe he just doesn't understand a cockatiel's cue, or she doesn't understand his cue. So help me if they eventually figure it out.

Wow it's been quite a while since I've been here, huh? Well I thought I'd update you guys on my destructive babies. Specifically, the flirtatious Georgie McSmoothbutt.

Ever since Alex's eye has gotten better and we've put her back in the cage, Georgie re-bonded with her in no time. However, he hasn't completely ignored Lucy.

He preens them both regularly, but has gotten to the point where he feeds Alex, which I find kinda weird because as far as I know, that isn't a behavior for cockatiel pairs, so I didn't expect Alex to eventually catch on when Georgie tried to feed her.

Then again, this is the same Alex who still acts younger than she is.

Both Lucy and Alex display mating behaviors where they stick their tails in the air and make the mating noises that females make. Georgie is still oblivious, and instead has learned to mimic their unique sounds, which he includes in his chattery repertoire.

Funny enough though, I have caught Georgie humping one of the toys in their cage. So he knows how to mate I guess... He just doesn't seem to understand when the cockatiels are ready.

So help me if it ever gets to the point where he eventually starts to mate with one of them. I have no clue where either of them would lay the eggs since now there's bars separating them from the tray on the bottom. I have a feeling they'd likely use the food bowls.

I've heard that there are some cockatiel pairs that will feed each other, but most of them don't. None of my guys do it, but when I have fledglings in the house you should see the adults pushing the babies out of the way to get the warm baby food on a spoon that I'm offering to the chicks. They still want what the chicks are having.

Back in the days when I had single male budgies, they would regurgitate to their reflection in the mirror. It's possible that Mr. McSmoothbutt started regurgitating to Alex whether she knew what he was trying to do or not, and she discovered that she liked it.

The first year that I fostered babies with Vlad, Mims, and Snowy, Vlad basically wanted the hens to feed him. He didn't beg like a baby, but when the hens were feeding the chicks he'd stand by and grab the spills. The next year he started feeding the babies himself and didn't interfere with the hens any more. It's possible that Alex will eventually outgrow this behavior, and then again maybe she'll be willing to keep on doing it as long as he's willing to provide the service!

Funny you should mention the adults wanting baby food. Back when we were still handfeeding Alex, Lucy actually wanted some of the baby food herself when I started offering it on a spoon. I guess it's just the typical bird behavior: "You have something and I want it". Same reason why they insist on eating out of the same bowl rather than two separate bowls having the same exact thing in them.

Alex appears to be more bonded to Georgie more than Lucy overall. She prefers to be near him these days, whereas Lucy still bothers to fly over to see what I'm doing.

Still doesn't stop Alex from landing on someone's head when she wants to though, nor does it stop her from being jealous when I'm petting Lucy. Some things just never change.

Funny enough though, Georgie most commonly uses their courtship noises when he wants to feed Alex. That and when he's just chattering to himself. So he understands that they're linked to courtship, but doesn't seem to understand that it means they want to mate.

Either that or he just chooses not to, given he humps one of the toys in the cage all the time.

Who knows what goes on in that little mind of his.