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Aggressive male lovebird

Niya

Checking out the neighborhood
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8/3/22
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4
Hi everyone!

I am new to forums so forgive me if I am doing anything incorrectly. I'm seeking out the help of fellow bird lovers because of an issue I have. So I have a sweet old man lovebird (he is about 12 y.o) and a very energetic 2 year old lovebird (also male). We adopted him after the previous female lovebird we had passed away (she was in a couple with the older one).

Now the youngin has always been energetic and would often bug the older one that prefers to rest a lot and not play as much.

The issue is the younger one has been more territorial and aggressive. Wherever the older one perches, the younger one will go to his spot and.. Not bite him but sort of charge with his beak and the older one will fly to a different spot. It's really frustrating. Eventually they will perch near each other and rest together. It's not always like this but often enough that it's very hard to deal with. I'm not sure what to do. For more context, they both spend all day outside the cage. They're only caged at sleep time.

Any and all advice is appreciated
 

Niya

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Another thing is that if the younger one nips the older one and i remove then younger one from the room.. After a few minutes they start calling for each other?? And if i let the young one back, as soon as he sees the older one he's be a bit angry at him and charge at him again. Then they sort of go back to normal ish. They're boggling my mind truly
 

Fuzzy

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It's a difficult one as you are not in charge of the reinforcers here. I don't know what your set up is like, but I would look into increasing enrichment... ie. providing even more novel and fun things to do and places to go. Like hanging more boings or swings or cargo nets from the ceiling and having areas full of foraging opportunities etc. If the younger one is busier, he may not seek out the older bird so much. Also you could try training them together before any unwanted behaviour happens. Target training is a great exercise! It is getting a bird to touch a target (the end of a chopstick or toothpick works well) with a body part (usually the beak) for a reinforcer (a favourite treat). Work for a few seconds with one, then with the other. The idea is to pair training/fun/treats with being in the vicinity of the older bird. Therefore being near the older bird becomes more reinforcing.

Target Training Your Parrot | ThinkParrot
 

flyzipper

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Welcome to the forums!
We adopted him after the previous female lovebird we had passed away
I'm sorry for your loss -- how long ago was that?

If it's a relatively short while, it's possible they are still working out the dynamics of their relationship.
they both spend all day outside the cage
Since cage is singular, is it accurate to say they sleep together without issue since problems there weren't mentioned?
 

Niya

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It's a difficult one as you are not in charge of the reinforcers here. I don't know what your set up is like, but I would look into increasing enrichment... ie. providing even more novel and fun things to do and places to go. Like hanging more boings or swings or cargo nets from the ceiling and having areas full of foraging opportunities etc. If the younger one is busier, he may not seek out the older bird so much. Also you could try training them together before any unwanted behaviour happens. Target training is a great exercise! It is getting a bird to touch a target (the end of a chopstick or toothpick works well) with a body part (usually the beak) for a reinforcer (a favourite treat). Work for a few seconds with one, then with the other. The idea is to pair training/fun/treats with being in the vicinity of the older bird. Therefore being near the older bird becomes more reinforcing.

Target Training Your Parrot | ThinkParrot
These are great ideas! Thank you!!
 

Niya

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Welcome to the forums!

I'm sorry for your loss -- how long ago was that?

If it's a relatively short while, it's possible they are still working out the dynamics of their relationship.

Since cage is singular, is it accurate to say they sleep together without issue since problems there weren't mentioned?
Thank you :') we lost her a few months before getting the younger one so the older one wouldn't be lonely. So they've been together i think a little over a year!

They do sleep in one cage but they're very civil with each other when its sleep time they stay side by side all night.
 
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