questions on aggresive body behavior

[lamagdalena]

So as most of you know I have two wonderful alexandrines, Hulk and Big Bird.

they have been seeing each other for about 4 months now. They sometimes talk to each other through the room, and their cages are about 6 feet apart.

the other day Big Bird flew to Hulk's cage, not aggresively or anything (he wanted to play with me) both guys reacted nonchanlantly about the whole thing and they show interest to get to know the other one.

I was thinking of placing both on the floor this weekend with toys scattered about and seeing how they got along.

my fear is that they touch each other and one gets angry then the other then I have a fight.
What signs should I look out for so if they begin to fight I can stop it before anything really starts.

also if they do fights how do I separate them quickly and safely for them and for me?

do you think it's too soon? should I wait more months? I don't want either of them to get hurt, and so far they have shown zero signs of being aggresive so I am hopefull they can have out of cage time together.

also let's say they get along in their meeting on the floor. could I then in the following days place both of them outside a single cage? or is that a no no? my fid's play gyms are over their cage since the gym tree i got no one uses.

 

[Bokkapooh]

I think putting them on the floor tigether may be too soon. They may be fore fearful, or not wanting to do anything on the floor, fi thats no where they typically play and goof around on.

I personalyl recommend first off, to move their cages closer together. So when they DO interact its between bars/safe distance. I woul say over a period of a month, to scoot their cages one 1ft at a time, until they are a good 1ft apart. And I'd keep it that distance. Birds need their own territory to feel safe, and i they feel they are too close, they wont be able to escape. Sure they'll be caged right next to eachother, but they'll be within eachother's territory (their territories will be clashing).

So if you are fearful of them interacting, during this transitional phase, you may have to do one birdie out of the cage, at a time. Especially when over time, they are now within 1ft from eachother's cage. During that time you'll especially need to watch them, and how they act. ANY lunging or aggressive biting at toys while eyeing the other birds, needs to be taken note of.

 

[lamagdalena]

I think putting them on the floor tigether may be too soon. They may be fore fearful, or not wanting to do anything on the floor, fi thats no where they typically play and goof around on.

I personalyl recommend first off, to move their cages closer together. So when they DO interact its between bars/safe distance. I woul say over a period of a month, to scoot their cages one 1ft at a time, until they are a good 1ft apart. And I'd keep it that distance. Birds need their own territory to feel safe, and i they feel they are too close, they wont be able to escape. Sure they'll be caged right next to eachother, but they'll be within eachother's territory (their territories will be clashing).

So if you are fearful of them interacting, during this transitional phase, you may have to do one birdie out of the cage, at a time. Especially when over time, they are now within 1ft from each other's cage. During that time you'll especially need to watch them, and how they act. ANY lunging or aggressive biting at toys while eying the other birds, needs to be taken note of.

scooting their cages closer sounds like a great idea but I don't have room in my room for that. I have two rooms which are joined by a walkway I had made where my closet used to be. So in one room I have Tequila and Hulk and in the other room I have the budgies and Big Bird.

Big Bird and Hulk see each other everyday because their cages are placed on the walkway between the two rooms, but if I scoot either of their cages closer they would block the door. would it work for me to scoot the cages closer at night? also another fear I have is that having one out but the other cage so close, the birdy inside the cage might bite the toes of the other one who is outside, because I am SURE that the cages being so close together they are gonna wanna to investigate everything.

 

[birdman78]

scooting their cages closer sounds like a great idea but I don't have room in my room for that. I have two rooms which are joined by a walkway I had made where my closet used to be. So in one room I have Tequila and Hulk and in the other room I have the budgies and Big Bird.

Big Bird and Hulk see each other everyday because their cages are placed on the walkway between the two rooms, but if I scoot either of their cages closer they would block the door. would it work for me to scoot the cages closer at night? also another fear I have is that having one out but the other cage so close, the birdy inside the cage might bite the toes of the other one who is outside, because I am SURE that the cages being so close together they are gonna wanna to investigate everything.

Guess you have to go buy a bigger house so you can have them closer.

 

[JLcribber]

Watch their body language very carefully. If they acknowledge each other but turn away and take their eyes off each other they are telling the other they are not a threat. If they focus intensely on each other and dare not turn away that says they are on guard and on alert.

If you see any kind of behavior that doesn't look right you intervene immediately and do not even let them get started. At any kind of aggressive looking movement towards the other you reach out and touch the aggressor to distract him and change his focus to you. They need to see that you are in charge of this interaction. If they play nice you just observe but you step in and take charge if they don't. It helps to do it with 2 people so each bird has an observer. JME

The neutral area is must. The less familiar they are with the area the better. That way not all their focus will be on each other but some of it will need to be put on the new area because it's not familiar.

 

[lamagdalena]

Watch their body language very carefully. If they acknowledge each other but turn away and take their eyes off each other they are telling the other they are not a threat. If they focus intensely on each other and dare not turn away that says they are on guard and on alert.

If you see any kind of behavior that doesn't look right you intervene immediately and do not even let them get started. At any kind of aggressive looking movement towards the other you reach out and touch the aggressor to distract him and change his focus to you. They need to see that you are in charge of this interaction. If they play nice you just observe but you step in and take charge if they don't. It helps to do it with 2 people so each bird has an observer. JME

The neutral area is must. The less familiar they are with the area the better. That way not all their focus will be on each other but some of it will need to be put on the new area because it's not familiar.

thanks for the tips, I will definitely have someone else with me so each one can have a human body guard