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eculiny

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Hi all, I was hoping for some help in dealing with aggression in one of my birds. I have two Alexandrine Parakeets; Cookies and Pickles, they are brothers a bit over 2 and a half years old and have been with me for about 2 years. They've been caged together their entire lives in a reasonably big cage and I always have them both out when spending time with them. We have never had any issues with aggression between them before, honestly they always followed each other around and do things together.

This past weekend Cookies has become incredibly aggressive towards Pickles for no apparent reason, enough that at the worst times I'm actually a bit afraid for Pickles safety (though they've never really harmed each other), and when it's more mild I just feel bad for Pickles, it's not fair on him. Cookies will hog the food bowl in their cage, attacking whenever his brother comes near. He'll block Pickles from coming up onto the perches in the cage, forcing him to stay on the floor. Before they would sleep on the same perch cuddled up together but Pickles is no longer allowed on it at bed time. Outside the cage Cookies will chase Pickles around, attacking any opportunity he gets, sometimes even dive bombing him. However there is no fighting with the food bowl I give them outside of the cage, they'll happily eat together there. They always love to nap in bed with me during the day too and mostly there's no fighting here either. Also this behavior is not constant, yesterday there was much less aggression and this morning too, however it has started again this afternoon. I'll also point out that Cookies shows no aggression towards myself or my partner, just towards Pickles, and that Pickles never initiates it and will usually just try to get away.

I'm a bit lost as to what to do here. Some things I have done, to a small amount of success, is start using 2 bowls in the cage for food. This does help partially as Pickles gets to eat a bit easier but it's also made Cookies just try to control both bowls. I've also bought an extra sleeping perch at night so Pickles has a comfy spot to sleep, however he will still try to sleep on the same perch as his brother and/or Cookies will try to kick him off the other perch anyway. They will eventually settle and sleep on their separate perches though. I do have another cage in a spare room, though I am reluctant to keep one of the birds in there as they'll be alone (we don't spend any time in the room, it's basically used for storage, and there's not enough space in the room with the main cage) and the cage is old and has rust in some parts. I'm also not sure if having one bird out of the cage at a time will help either as anytime I've tried this the bird left in the cage gets visibly upset/frustrated and I feel it does more harm than good.

From my research aggression is often a hormonal thing, the 'bluffing' phase, or being jealous or territorial. If this is some kind of phase that I need to wait out and not do anything then that's fine, just some help on how I can help keep Pickles safe and limit the damage to the relationship between them and between Cookies and us humans would be great. I also do not think it's a jealousy thing. If its hormonal or territorial behavior though, that would mean I need to make some changes right? If anyone has any suggestions please go ahead, any help would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want this behavior to become reinforced and the new normal because it's not fair on Pickles.
 

expressmailtome

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Hermesbird

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flyzipper

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I don't have experience with the evolving dynamic between young maturing siblings, but while this thread is waiting for visibility...

... we might be able to cross "bluffing phase" off the list...

... and read about hormones to see if anything sounds familiar in what you're observing...

@Zara @Destiny @Monica do you have experience with what the OP is describing, or advice in general?
 

redindiaink

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I know you're reluctant to do it, but I'd put them in separate cages for their own safety to reduce the risk of injury, or worse. Perhaps the cage in the spare room can be used just as a sleeping cage, or when you can't be there to monitor them? It'll at least give you a chance to see if Cookies behaviour improves if he has more space.
 

iamwhoiam

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Consider keeping them in the same room but separate cages. Have red-bellied parrots who were together for many years since they were babies (clutchmates) and then they started fighting and injured one another.
Bonded pair (babies' parents) also started fighting and male tore female's skin away from her beak and she needed stitches. All of my red-bellies are now in their own individual cages. They can visit with each other under supervision when they are out of their cages and on stands.
Could be a phase with your birds but why take a chance. Separate them. JMHO
 

Monica

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In the dog world, it sounds like resource guarding. Cookies has claimed the cage as "his" and no longer wants to share with Pickles.

At minimum, you could make sure that there are *AT LEAST* two food bowls in the cage at all times, at separate ends of the cage. (are bowls close together or far apart?)

Add more perches.


At minimum, it might just be safer to cage them separately for now, as others have recommended. Can you put the cages next to each other in the same room? With food dishes near each other in separate cages?




Although both would greatly benefit with training, it sounds like Cookies would benefit from some target training, station training, engaging-disengaging/calm training behaviors. Basically, teaching Cookies to stay put and ignore Pickles.


You mention napping in bed... I must mention, this can be quite dangerous as many people have lost their beloved companions while taking a nap and the birds were loose. The bird wanted to snuggle with their owner and ended up suffocating to death. :(


It could be hormones, it could be something else.

There is no "bluffing" - this is just a very poorly misunderstood behavior. People say it's a bird's way to scare you off and that they don't mean business... however, if you ignore this behavior, it can in fact lead to biting! The behavior described as "bluffing" is just a *VERY* clear response. A "no!" or "I don't like this" or "This makes me feel uncomfortable". They are warning you that they will bite if you don't back off. They don't WANT to bite, but they will! And the more uncomfortable they end up feeling, the more likely they are TO bite. In which case, they'll stop warning you and just go straight for the bite!

Yes, it could be jealousy, but this can be hard to prove.

Could be territorial... or, resource guarding. An animal can guard anything they value. Food, prime sleeping perches, a mate, etc.




You're right though! If you don't do something, it's possible the behavior may never change and it may even get worse! I think it would be great to start with separate cages for now and start training! You can even begin training while they are in the cage! Or train them outside of the cage! Check out the following thread for some great resources to training!

 
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