I have a male cockatiel that I received 7 years ago when he was 3. He came with a mate, and they had been together all their lives. She even had eggs, but they didn't hatch . I can't remember now as to how long I had them before the male killed the female, but I know it was over a year (probably closer to two years). Therefore I don't believe it was do to stress that he killed her. About a year after the female had passed, I decided to get him another mate. He killed her within a week. I will not be getting him another mate. Then maybe a year after he killed that female, my grandmother asked me to watch her male cockatiel for about two weeks. Well my male didn't have one problem with him (they were in the same cage). Actually he seemed quite fascinated with him, sitting on his perch, looking at the other male, and making loving cooing noises LOL. I would like to know if maybe my cockatiel is "gay"? I've heard of seagulls that are homosexual. Is it the same for all birds or only some?

Another question completely off the subject LOL. How long are cockatiels suppose to live? Mines 10, but I read their life span is only 6-9 years. He's in perfect health and still just as feisty as the day I got him .

Their life span is 15 years on up to 20, in a few cases there have been reported a few living to be 25. As far as gay, That I can't help you with. He maybe. Does the new male look just like the "killer" tiel? Also the reason he may have killed the females is, 1#, they could have been sick in some way, or something wrong with them that may have prevented them from surviving in the wild. 2#, they may have been the wrong color. Some do have color preferences. I hope this helps.

The male (he went back to my grandmother, I watched him a few years ago) was the same exact color of my tiel. Both the females where grey in color with red cheeks I believe, I have a terrible memory LOL. They looked almost exactly the same. But the first female was with him for 5 years, and there was nothing wrong with her the vet said. Maybe he just likes the color yellow LOL. He's in love with my yellow female parakeet. Thats strange that they have a color prefrence. Learn something new everyday . Thanks Dals

Oh I would like to ad, the female often picked on the male. She would peck him on the head and make him clean her feathers, or bully him away from the food and water. Could this have something to do with it? He seems very happy to have his cage all to himself now.

Her bulling him might have had something to do with it. Birds are intellegent critters. And as with humans we either run (which they can't do) or we stand and fight. But as it happened with 2 females, and he likes your yellow keet and your moms male. I would tend to believe that he likes the color yellow.
I have a lutino (yellow) hen that doesn't like the darker colors,I have tried, grey, cinnamon, pied in both colors, and lutino(yellow) so far. And the only one she liked was the lutino. Here in the fall I'm going to be trying her with a fallow(got my fingers crossed on that one). I also have a grey pair(that are identical in just about every way except the hen doesn't have the yellow head) that are just inseperable. Right now I have him in with a SLyc cinnamon, and hes not wanting anything to do with her.

I have two female normal grey cockatiels that are gay. Every year they lay eggs together, not fertile of course and they are deeply bonded. I also have a lutino male cockatiel that won't have anything to do with my grey tiels and is aggressive to them.

calle jean is that you??? from FnF? howd you find your way over here?

first off- are we very sure about the bird's sex?
tiels are not generally mate killers but once a killer- I'd never trust them again. If the male was hen pecked then yes if he got sick of it- he could kill her and kill the next bird too thinking it was her- any bird that will stand down to him-he very likely will kill.(generally they kill by ripping off the beak or biting the toes and rump). your gm's bird was very lucky and probably was a very sure of himself, dominate bird. if you bird got too comfortable with this new bird- the same could happen. This bird should never be placed in a cage with another bird- for that bird's safety.

I see we have quite a few from maine on here- welcome.

The average lifespan for a cockatiel is fifteen to twenty years -- the oldest on record is either 32 or 38. One of mine is completely healthy and in his mid-twenties.

We had a pair of lovebirds that had paired off and bonded at the breeders before we got them and turned out to both be males, and deeply bonded to each other. I don't know if that made them gay or not but they did have access to females in her aviary before they chose each other!

A bird gay? No. That is something left to the human kingdom, not animal. When people suspect this out of a pet it is usually due to the animal cannot successfully reproduce for whatever reason (there are so many genetic defects in animals, why would one rule out that it has a reproductive defect) or like in your case ... the male is having some bad experiences with over zealous females.

It sounds like this bird wants to be left alone and free of bullying. That is more than likely what got to him. And the male bird obviously is not pecking him in the head or whatever else that female bird was doing.

BUT - knowing this bird has killed two already, do you really think it wise to continue to introduce cage mates? He may be cooing with this male now, but he is obviously an aggressive bird and you never know what might happen next.

I actually have two male cockatiels that have been exhibiting some strange, mating-like behavior lately. One on top of the other one, you get the idea. I wonder if it is just because they have been together so long. This started just after their first separation in years, because one was getting picked on and had to heal. He has been back in the cage for a few weeks now and does not appear to be getting picked on, so maybe they just missed each other? Just thought I would add my experience.

I have bred birds for a very long time now, and have cockatiels and budgies in the same large outdoor aviary, and I have several other species of birds. I have frequently seen various male birds bond as couples, to the point that even when females were introduced, they were rejected in lieu of their male partners. "Gay", well, yes you could call them that. It is definitely not restricted to humans. the urge to breed is very strong. Many male animals in many species of animals will try to breed other male animals of their species or sometimes others. I have a male budgie I caught just the other day trying to breed first my male cockatiel, and then an adult ringneck dove. So for some birds it may be a case of "any port in a storm," but bird pair bonds can be quite strong. I am having to move one of the male birds of these pairs to a separate aviary to allow his mate to bond with the female, as I can't make a cent off their current love tryst, no matter how sweet they are on each other.

If the other bird was Ill that the well bird will naturally kill/injury the ill bird this is quite common. Also my sister still has one of my original tiels I bred and one of the first I banded still alive he was hatched in 1986 and I was breeding 2 years before this. so that makes him going on near 20 now I told her the record and she keeps saying she hopes he doesnt live that lol