showing aggression

[rosie]

I think I kniw the answer to my question, but I may be wrong, so here goes. I have to female lovies in the same cage Rose and Blossom, they were together when we rescued them, if you remember they were over plucked. The cage that I have them in is small (going today to get larger cage) but this morning when they were making alot of noise I went in and seen some aggressive play going on. Blossom has a small spot by her beak that looked raw. Is this a problem cause of the cage size, or is it cause they just don't get along. I am still getting larger cage today, but if they need to be separated then I will get 2 cages. Thank you Vickie :whistle:

[BarbieH]

I think two cages is the answer you are anticipating, and it's the answer I would have for you. Better to be safe than sorry! :)

[rosie]

Barb you are right, That was what i was thinking, but since they have been together for the better part of their live, should i keep the cages next to each other. They are about 6 months old or there about. Vickie

[BarbieH]

They could probably stay next to each other in separate cages, but you may wind up needing to move them around a bit to see what suits them best. If they get real worked up, for instance, and start pacing and threatening each other in their cages, it might be best if they can't see each other. You'll need to play it by ear.

Six months eh? That's about the right age for hormones and aggression to start kicking in. They could mellow out after a while, but it gets pretty intense from the start. Think of how teenage girls can be. :omg:

[Sparkette65]

I would keep them near each other,,,but not so close they could bite each others toes....
I have 4 hens that each have their own cage., (and 6 others lovies that are paired up, male/female to a cage) All of my birds are either sex linked, or have been DNA'd as I didn't want to wake up in the am and find anyone on the bottom of the cage not moving. :eek:
I do have two females in a cage, with a divider between them , and I am going to have to go and buy another cage, as I can see them at times trying to bite each other through the divider....not a good thing!
Good luck with your lovies!
Lori

[shylevon]

When I got my first four birdies, they were all together, of course. They were unrelated clutchmates, so they had always been in each others presence.

Some really aggessive behavior began at the one year mark, maybe a little before, and I realized four birds, all hens if you can believe it, just couldn't live all together. Their cage was large, 36x36x18, but I bought another one and I stacked them. Later I ended up getting another cage, as my flock had expanded to eight birds. Now I had three large cages and no room, so I cut the ceilings off two of them with a hack saw and joined them all into one. Now I have a big aviary like contraption that I hang from the ceiling and everyone lives together. The dang birds don't even go into the lowest cage, but it is there if they decide to, and the whole thing doesn't take up any more floor space that one cage does.

You might want to consider something like that if you think your flock will be expanding. That is, getting cages that are the same size and shape now, and modifying them later.

[rosie]

Shy, that is some good information and a great idea. I dont know if they are from the same clutch or not, The store we got them from didn't know either. But DNA test results are that both are hens. And boy do they love to chew wood. I did pick up 2 cages. Vickie

[LoveBugs]

Per this board's advise, I seperated my birdies too due to dominance issues. They can see each other at all times and I now limit their play time together.

Works out GREAT! Though it is obvious one of my birdie is still dominate over the other, the aggression is much less! No more injured wings, crying, and pecking footsies!

Just occasional beak joustling!

[Sparkette65]

I have a pair,,,Mysti and pistachio,,,and even with eggs in their nest I still see them doing that beak fighting thing,,,,I just walk up and tell them,,,,
"hey, You guys be nice" and they stop for a few days,,,,but they always go back to it again later, I think she wants to be fed and he isn't in the feeding mood when thats going on....if I tell them "give her kisses" they kiss immediatly! so funny! and he usually decides to feed her soon after the kissing....they are such entertaining little lovies! I enjoy them sooooo much.
(mind you, they never injure each other visually)
good luck with your "hens" they can be so aggresive to each other, understandable, but not fun to watch.
Lori

[LauraO]

I agree that a separation is needed. At one point I had two hens that met and loved each other for awhile but I was always on pins and needles because they were both just sooooo henlike. I have 18 lovies with 7 hens and each has a male mate. When they are out they tolerate each other but they can still get nasty.

I'd have to say overall that lovie relationships are often contentious. I don't like the fighting and posturing in between pairs but I let the arguments and sparring between couples go unless one becomes dangerous. The worse is our Creamino CuddleBunny who is very dominant and almost abusive to her mate Birdy Boots (a male). I don't separate them because he loves her and doesn't mind a hard female hand :cool:.

[shylevon]

Perhaps 'CuddleBunny' is a misnomer.

I'm thinking 'CuddleSnake' might be better. :evil: