Not sure if my caiques are aggresive towards each othe

[thesource]

I have two caiques, male and female. The female one is about 1.5 years, while the male is 8 months. Ive had the female one for about a year and the male has been with me for 3 months.

I think they never really got along with each other but I might be a bit paranoid. They tolerate being around each other and don't actively try to go after one another. They are always out of the cages together but if they get really close to each other I usually put my hand in between to keep them separated. However, when I am not paying attention they would occasionally start stepping on their toes and kind of clash/joust their beaks. When this happens I immediately intervene and separate them(move them a few feet from each other). This has never lasted more than a few seconds before I jump in so I am not sure if this will escalate into serious fighting if I let it go on. However, there was a couple of times where I put my hand in between them before they clashed beaks and the male bites my hand hard.

I am not sure if this is normal behavior and they are playing to which I should let them joust it out (unless it gets serious). Or if this is indeed them fighting and I should continue to intervene. My big worry is that there is a bit of a size difference between the two. The female is fairly small(138g), while the male is large(180g), so I am afraid of the female getting seriously hurt (usually she is the one that goes up to the male)

 

[Irishj9]

Caiques communicate with sign language.

All fights are preceded by strong signals to 'back off', which you need to look out for

These are:
Angry pants - leg feathers puffed out
Red eyes - you will notice big wide eyes with red rings
Lunging - There is no such thing as an instant attack. There are warning lunges

Caiques are wrestlers. Lots of what looks like fighting is just bickering, normal for this species

Watch for the signs of escalation above

And WHY are they arguing. Over what?. usually restricted food supplies or personal space

 

[rockybird]

Agree with Irish9. Watch to see if the pupil (black part) constricts. The eyes will appear redder. This is a warning signing to look out. Also, fluffy legs, huffing noises, walking/marching with head down and outstretched, neck feathers fluffed up. I’m glad you are keeping a good eye on them!

I tried a second caique temporarily and it did not work out. My boy ignored her at first and then later went after her. It was clear he thought she was competing for my attn. She was so sweet and just wanted to be buddies. It broke my heart to give her back to her owner. Your birds are young enough that it might still work out. But I am not sure that I would ever cage them together. If one bird turned on the other, it would have no where to escape to.