mk24
03-19-2015, 06:15 PM
Hello, I am a new owner to two lovebirds: a 4 month old peach-faced and a 2 month old violet black-masked. I don't have names for either of them yet so I will refer to them as Peachy and Violet. Peachy was bought as a baby by a young girl who returned the bird a few months later because it could not be tamed by her. Violet has never had an owner other than the breeder. I don't know the genders of the birds and I will get them tested eventually. I have been housing these two birds together in the same cage since I bought them (around a week or so) and watching them closely to see how they behave around one another and to make sure they don't get into fights with one another. I realise that I will have to separate them once they near puberty. So far, they have gotten along with each other for the most part. They snuggle together, preen one another, eat together, talk with and sit next to each other. In the mornings, they wake up at about 7-8 am, I find that Peachy nips Violet occasionally when Violet is a little pushy or gets in the way of something (e.g. food) but nothing to suggest they need to be separated. I have given them two areas to eat since I noticed that happening. The real issue begins when it is a few hours before bedtime (around 7-8 pm) and they both get really active and are moving all over the cage, Peachy gets into these moods where the bird repetitively picks on Violet by nipping and jumping on top of the bird. I understand that Peachy is establishing the hierarchy of the cage through dominant behaviour and I tell Peachy off whenever I see it happen. No blood has been drawn and no feathers have been pulled out. Violet doesn't seem to be showing signs of stress around Peachy. When I cover their cage up, they have no problems and sleep through the night and the next day is about the same in terms of behaviour. Peachy hasn't gotten more aggressive in any way. They seem very attached to one another. There is no toys in their cage other than a swing as of yet. I will be slowly introducing toys because they are quite frightened of them and it took a while for them understand that the swing isn't something that will harm them and that they can jump on it and whatnot. I realise they might not get along once they have gone through puberty and become adults because they aren't the same age, are different species and their genders might conflict with one another. Is there anything I can do other than separating them right now? I realise that may be the only way to resolve this by preventing it from happening altogether. But is this a matter of the bird being just aggressive or could it be that Peachy has too much energy in the evenings and is bored? I have noticed they are quite energetic in the morning and evening, and they then take naps throughout the middle of the day. I would really appreciate any advice regarding this situation, and if I am doing something wrong, please let me know. Thanks :)