Ducky has been very aggressive this past week

[cp.lovebird]

Ducky and Squeaky have been living in the same cage for several months now with no problems. This past week I noticed they were having a few squabbles but it didn't look too serious. I also noticed that Squeaky seemed to be more tired than usual. In the past few days, I saw Ducky chasing Squeaky from the food dishes and even try to bite his foot!

My husband called me yesterday when I was out running errands to say that Ducky was going after Squeaky. When I got home shortly after, they were sitting together grooming! But then Ducky went after Squeaky again. Squeaky sat cowering at the bottom of the cage and wouldn't move. I put him back in his old cage again. He seemed quite content and started eating and drinking and spent most of the day sleeping. I've had a feeling this week that perhaps Squeaky is getting weaker and his time may be coming to leave us. :very_sad: I don't want his last weeks, days or months to be spent in fear if Ducky keeps going after him!

We just got back from a 2 week vacation last Sunday. I wonder if Ducky is just being grumpy settling in to being back home. Can male lovies get hormonal? Or could he be sensing Squeaky's weakness and attacking him for it? Ducky was even scared of me yesterday which is very unusual. I want to figure out what is going on with him so I can help him adjust if possible.

Ducky was calling for Squeaky yesterday and Squeaky was ignoring him. Squeaky has turned into quite an independent spirit in his old age! BTW - Squeaky is 17 years old and Ducky is approaching 4 years old.

Thanks for reading all of this! I appreciate your help and suggestions! :)

[Glam]

Oh dear, that's terrible news that they are fighting. Sorry that I cannot offer any advice though. Hopefully seperating them will make them happier, and a lot more stress free for both.

[michael]

Ducky and Squeaky have been living in the same cage for several months now with no problems. This past week I noticed they were having a few squabbles but it didn't look too serious. I also noticed that Squeaky seemed to be more tired than usual. In the past few days, I saw Ducky chasing Squeaky from the food dishes and even try to bite his foot!........ .........Squeaky sat cowering at the bottom of the cage and wouldn't move. I put him back in his old cage again. He seemed quite content and started eating and drinking and spent most of the day sleeping.

........Can male lovies get hormonal? Or could he be sensing Squeaky's weakness and attacking him for it?

BTW - Squeaky is 17 years old and Ducky is approaching 4 years old.

Sounds like their separation was the right decision. .. Although males can indeed get hormonal, its difficult to say whether thats what prompted the squabbles. .. It is also possible Ducky does sense Squeaky's weakness. .. If thats the case, kept together, matters could only get worse. .. In a similar event, one of my lovebirds began attacking another that had suffered a stroke. .. While they were never caged together, for over a year they got along fairly well. .. Goofy, the one who had a stroke, for the most part was the aggressor. While B.B., who always remained relatively passive, evidently decided it was time for a change of authority. .. Despite numerous attempts at trying to find a happy medium, eventually Beeb's decided it was seriously time for Goof to check out. .. Lets just say the final straw resulted in a beak full of "back of the neck" feathers via a well executed dive bomb maneuver. ..... Of course, this is not to say Ducky would ever go as far as B.B. did. Then again, stress alone from lack of nutrition can have quite an affect on an elderly bird. .............:2cents: