Linus and Lucille

"Linus" has been such a pain lately. It's spring, which means mating season, but for randy Linus everyday is mating season.
He is my sole male cockatiel. He was found in the Federal Building in Boston late 2003 by a dive buddy of mine. He had a leg band on him with the letters AAA4546. We both tried to search for this bird's owner including tracing his leg band with the American Federation of Aviculture. Sadly for Linus's previous owner, nothing turned up. We could not find Linus's previous owner. All we could find was that Linus was a "Petco" tiel shipped from California to anyone of their stores in the Boston area.
He was young bird. He was maybe 6 months old at the time. Since we could not find his owner he ended up with me. He made his introduction to the flock by checking out all the females. Button had her eye on him but he had other ideas. I guess he didn't fancy blonds. (Button is a yellow lutino cockatiel) He made a beeline to Lucille who is a normal grey. She was just recently adopted from a rescue situation.
I got a call earlier that week from my vet's assistant (she did bird rescues) if I was interested in a little grey 6 year old female cockatiel. I said,"OK" and drove down to her house in Marlboro.
Lucille's previous owner, obviously, no longer wanted to care for her. She was in a disgracefully dirty rusty cage. The "food dishes" were raunchy wet cardboard boxes. She was crying in her cage. I just could not refuse to take her home with me.
I took her out and she immediately bonded with me. Her name was "Beverly" but I re-named her "Lucille". She bit me in the nose but at least she sat on my finger cuddling up to my neck. I figured this was a good sign that she trusted me enough not to cry and that she approached me.
However, she was absolutely terrified of males.
The owner had a teenage boy who delighted in teasing her. My husband kept his distance from her and just sat with her quietly not to upset her. It took about a year for her to feel comfortable enough to climb on his finger.
When Linus arrived at my house later that week he was singing and squawking to her. She screamed at him as if to say ,"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!". He was persistent.
He would bend his neck in this coyish way as if to say, "aren't I handsome?" while singing his little repertoire. His persistence paid off. In 1995, they were a mated pair. They had two successful clutches of babies.
Yet, I really don't know what she sees in him.
He's kind of a cheap date. One of the mating rituals is for the male to grab the females beak and "feed her" (regurgitate food in her mouth). I've never actually seen any food enter her mouth from him(unlike Twillinger and Smitty). Matter of fact, when she is eating out of the food dish he will come over to her, nip her ankles and demand she pay attention to him.
Sometimes she gets back at him for all his pestering when they groom each other. He will demand that she does all the grooming while he will do a lackluster preening job for her. All of a sudden, I will hear a scream and Lucille with have a mouth full of head feathers in her mouth.
Once Linus "discovered" the pleasure of mating he made it his number one priority of activities.
He's kind of sneaky about it and will climb up on her back usually when she is eating and "do his thing". I've seen her turn around, peck him in the head and knock him off. He will shake off his embarrassment and try again later that day.
Lucille is older than Linus by about 6 years. (Does that make her a "cougar"?) Lucille will get tired a little more easily. When Linus becomes a really annoying pest I separate them in side by side cages. I can't separate them in cages that he can't see her or he goes absolutely nutty by yelling and crying. Lucille seems to appreciate the reprieve from him once in awhile but then again, don't all us of ladies need a breather from our significant others once in awhile? (wink wink)
I'll have to say, when they had babies he was pretty decent father taking turns feeding the babies and sitting on the nest. When he gets in "nest mode"(with no eggs or babies present) I will put in his cage two fake resin eggs for him to sit on and to protect, to keep him busy.
Right now, this is what I have to do to keep him busy rather than him pestering Lucille.
You got to keep those males busy busy busy or they will drive you crazy! HA!