Lover's quarrel

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Well, Melody is being hateful again. It's 11:30 at night and she's chasing Milo around their sleeping cage. I couldn't catch her so I had to pull him out and put him in their day cage. He's now screaming from the living room and she's on my shoulder in my office, screaming right back.

Again, the concept of needing 10-12 hours of sleep appears to be lost on my birds.

Ugh.

She won't let him rest but she screams bloody murder if they're separated. *sigh. It's going to be a long night.

I'm going to try rolling their big day cage (with Milo in it) cage into the room where the night cage is (with Mel in it), and hope that if they can SEE each other they'll stop screaming.

But right now I don't feel like it's safe to keep them in the same cage. She's just being horrible.

*sigh
Any suggestions?

[Janie]

Hens! :rofl:


I can't imagine why I never got one! :whistle: (I'm not smart enough to handle one, that's why! :D)

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Hens! :rofl:


I can't imagine why I never got one! :whistle: (I'm not smart enough to handle one, that's why! :D)

I'm not, either, Janie! I think she is seeing the smaller, covered cage that they sleep in as one big nest box; she is trying to kick Milo out of "her" nest box.

When I tried to pull her out of the cage to separate them, she went absolutely ballistic on me, as a hen would if you were going in their nest box. I mean - Melody is a textbook "psycho hen" but she was going nuts in ways I've never seen.

So - Milo will not be returning to the night cage this evening or any time soon, until Mel can prove that she can be (somewhat) nice.

They've stopped screaming now, but I can hear Melody climbing all over the cage in the dark. Which means she's not going to get enough sleep tonight, and will be even crankier tomorrow. :x

[zlatushka]

Maybe you need another pair of birds, Jennifer ;)

You know, a new birdie for Milo and a new one for Melody? :rofl: I think MJ has one or two she could spare...

[mjm8321]

Maybe you need another pair of birds, Jennifer ;)

You know, a new birdie for Milo and a new one for Melody? :rofl: I think MJ has one or two she could spare...

Absolutely. I have more than one or two....how about 10? :rofl:

[butterfly1061]

Jen,

Wasn't it Linda who went with you & helped you pick out sweet little Miss Melly? :whistle:

Tip: Don't take Linda shopping with you at the birdfairs :lol

[Buy A Paper Doll]

:lol Yes, Linda did help me pick out Melody and life has never been the same since. But in her defense, Melody IS an absolutely gorgeous lovebird. She's just a bit, shall we say, feisty. :whistle:

You know, I've wondered if perhaps M&M are just not a good fit for each other. But I have a strict rule about birds not outnumbering people in this house, so an additional pair (or 10) will not be an option. They're going to be stuck with each other even if it means we go back to side by side cages again.

(Just don't show me any pictures of those violet opalines, MJ. I'm serious.)

Twenty four hours of separation seems to have done the trick. They're snuggled up quietly in their sleeping cage, together, beaks crunching. Tomorrow during the day, I may separate them just to be on the safe side, and then I'll be home to watch them together on the weekend.

[butterfly1061]

Sounds like you have the typical "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em" syndrome. Like you've done - a little time away seems to work. :)

[Janie]

Absolutely. I have more than one or two....how about 10? :rofl:

Ten!!!! How 'bout 110! :rofl:

[BarbieH]

Separation works for George and Gracie too. Sometimes I think Georgie gets on her last nerve -- but she wouldn't dream of getting rid of him for good. It could happen by accident, though, so like you we watch out for the fella's safety.

[graushill]

Like Heather I've also noticed that Pontus and Nemo seem to have mellowed down considerably this past year, although I didn't really associate their new loveydoveyness with their age. I thought actually that it had to do with Pontus gaining a whole new respect and trust for Nemo after seeing what a good job he did with her chicks. When Piccolo hatched, Nemo was not even allowed inside the nest box and whenever he managed to sneak in he would get a royal beating. When Pontus started weaning both Piccolo and a much younger Elmo on Piccolo's schedule, I decided to give Nemo a chance to feed the babies himself since he was not allowed anywhere near them when Pontus was around. So I would take Pontus out of the cage and cuddle with her while sitting in a chair just beside the cage, and Nemo would come in and feed and preen his baby birds. He was a fantastic feeder, I had never seen crops so full in my life and the babies were always dutifully and lovingly preened. I'm sure Pontus could hear that Nemo was coming in to her nest box and she always ran back in the moment I put her back in the cage and kicked him right out, but after about a week worth of those sessions, she had mellowed down enough to let him stay over at night. After that clutch Nemo has been allowed inside the nest box pretty much whenever he wants. It could be of course that Pontus associated me taking her out of the cage with Nemo not being allowed inside the nest box and decided that letting Nemo in was the lesser of two evils, or like Heather suggested, that she's just getting older (she's about 4 years old now), but being the sentimental wuzz that I am I prefer my anthropomorphic reasoning :).

Anyway, where there's a hen there's a hope I say, so take heart Jennifer, Melody is still after all very young.

[LauraO]

You know, I've wondered if perhaps M&M are just not a good fit for each other. But I have a strict rule about birds not outnumbering people in this house, so an additional pair (or 10) will not be an option. They're going to be stuck with each other even if it means we go back to side by side cages again.


You know Melody sounds a lot like Cuddlebunny. She treats Birdy Boots like cr*p sometimes and I just feel so sorry for him. I can't separate them because Birdy Boot can't live without her and will cling to the side of the cage and scream for her until their together. I've come to believe some males just like their hens beautiful and feisty. I know Birdy Boots had quite a few choices for mates. For a time he was our only unattached lovie and we were constantly trying to pair him up, but he wanted none of it. He decided one day he loved his CuddleBunny and no amount of nestiness or nastiness can drive him away from her :roll: .

[Kathryn]

What is it with hens?!:omg:
Mollie is chasing Snuggles around the cage tonight and leaving her two babies in the nestbox alone.
She was loving and preening him earlier this evening and now she is a shrew!
I hope she settles down.
At three years old, I was hoping she was getting mellow too.

[zlatushka]

But I have a strict rule about birds not outnumbering people in this house, so an additional pair (or 10) will not be an option.

So you need a couple more peoples and then you can get some more birdies :)