I have a 16 month old female cockatiel and an 8 year old male cockatiel. The are in the same cage. He has become very protective of her lately. Could she be ready to breed? On a separate issue with my birds... my male I rescued form an abusive home and he won't allow me to handle him. My 8 year old daughter holds him all the time and he doesn't bite her. I take him out even if he bites me to show him I'm not scared but... dang it he likes my daughter why not me? (he was hurt by a guy)
One more problem.... I also have the sister of my female and she has seizures. I took her from the same abusive home... could this be the root of her problem? I have had the 2 rescued ones for about a year and my original female since she was weaned. Any suggestions?
Yes! Your female is most like ready to breed, and probably has been for sometime. Generally, most bitches first come into season between 6 and 12 months. The male's sudden protectiveness could very well be due to the fact that your female is getting ready to come into season. There is also a good chance that your bitch is already pregnant; you should take her to the vet for a pregnancy test as soon as possible. If she is not pregnant, you should consider having her spayed as soon as possible. In addition to preventing pregnancy and helping to control over-population, spayed and neutered dogs in general have less health issues than their intact peers.
Regarding the seizures, I am not a vet and not qualified to offer any advice. However, seizures are not a minor issue. You should take your dog to the vet immediately.
As far as the aggressiveness goes, there is a good chance neutering him will help him to be more relaxed. Also, make sure he is getting plenty of exercise. Many behavior-related problems originate from an under exercised dog who is finding unacceptable ways to release pent up energy.
Behavioral problems always generate many different and sometimes contradictory solutions from different people. It is difficult to know exactly what could be the source of your dogs aggression problems without knowing more about the dog and the situation. From what you have said, it sounds like your dogs agression is either fear-based, or it stems from dominance issues.
Dominance Issues:
For many dogs who show aggression to people, they are ust spoiled little animals who are used to being in complete control of their humans. We often see this as cute, and often don't even realize our behavior may be triggoring their behavior. In this situations, it is very important that the dog learns very quickly that you are in charge and it is necessary to submit to you. There are many litle tricks that help. For example, don't ever allow your dog to jump up on people; this seems cute and loving, but they are actually trying to exert their dominance over you. You are on the right track by not showing fear to the dog; dogs will automatically sense this as weakness in you and percieve themselves to be dominant because of it. Continue along this line; if you go to touch your dog and he barks, he need a firm (but not cruel, or aggressive) verbal correction. You might consider getting a show lead to put on him, right behind his ears while he gets accustomed to you handling him. When he snarles, give a brief correction on the lead with a verbal repremand and continue.
Fear:
The fear based problem will require a different approached, if this is his situation, Do not speak comfortingly to him when he backs away or snarls. You do not want ot encourage this behavior or have him think that he is being verbally rewarded for his unstableness. You may try feeding him treats (although not when he is showing aggression or instability). If he is truly terrified, try sitting with your back to him, and not making eye contact. Allow him to approach you, in fact, if he shows interest or does start to approach, move away from him. Dogs are both curious and naturally need to follow a pack leader; moving away from him will help exstablish that you are not their to hurt him, you are not threatening him, and also that you are his leader and he needs to follow you, not the other way around.
There are many other ways to deal with aggression, dominance and fear in dogs that perhaps other readers can suggest. It is so difficult to relay briefly on line the exact course of action to be taken, especially without meeting your dogs in person to assess their unique situation. If it's feasible, I would strongly suggest seeking professional help. There are many wonderful, qualified dog trainers, some of which specialize in 'difficult' dogs who would probably be an enormous help and support to you.