Hello!
We have a 7 month old Kakariki, Lily, and got a 2nd Kakariki, Leia, about two months ago. Leia is about four months old now.
We followed all the “textbook” advise on bonding the two and it seemed to go very well…until recently. Lily only shared her caged with a very young kakariki for four weeks. And thats also why we decided to get her a friend as it seemed she was seeking him around the house when he/she left. Leia is used to other birds as she grew up with her brothers and sisters until we got her.
Initial Lily seemed very interested in Leia and have started chatting to one another, they even started eating out of the same ‘bowl’ (on the coffee table in a communal area). We would even put them together in the same cage for short periods as that is where they sleep at night.
Out of the blue Lily’s behaviour changed completely. She makes A LOT of noise! You would think we have a lovebird in our home. Especially in the mornings to a point where I go check if theres another bird in the house. She walks around making funny small movements with her tail while making a softer, new sound I’ve never heard before. But the most worrying change is how aggressive she suddenly is towards Leia.
She would attack Leia in flight and charge after her with her beak wide open. We can’t leave them alone for a second anymore. I was able to prepare their meals in the kitchen with them fooling around and stealing some of the fruit & veg, but not with Lily’s new attitude. She tends to get a bit aggressive if I dont open the fridge quick enough or would attack the bag of spinach before I can take anything out. Its worse with strawberries so we dont feed that anymore.
Is she going through a phase of some sort, could it be that she wants to breed but doesnt have a male partner? Do female kakarikis eventually bond or is it a same-sex thing?
I really do hope thats its a phase and that we can all live in peace together.
We have a 7 month old Kakariki, Lily, and got a 2nd Kakariki, Leia, about two months ago. Leia is about four months old now.
We followed all the “textbook” advise on bonding the two and it seemed to go very well…until recently. Lily only shared her caged with a very young kakariki for four weeks. And thats also why we decided to get her a friend as it seemed she was seeking him around the house when he/she left. Leia is used to other birds as she grew up with her brothers and sisters until we got her.
Initial Lily seemed very interested in Leia and have started chatting to one another, they even started eating out of the same ‘bowl’ (on the coffee table in a communal area). We would even put them together in the same cage for short periods as that is where they sleep at night.
Out of the blue Lily’s behaviour changed completely. She makes A LOT of noise! You would think we have a lovebird in our home. Especially in the mornings to a point where I go check if theres another bird in the house. She walks around making funny small movements with her tail while making a softer, new sound I’ve never heard before. But the most worrying change is how aggressive she suddenly is towards Leia.
She would attack Leia in flight and charge after her with her beak wide open. We can’t leave them alone for a second anymore. I was able to prepare their meals in the kitchen with them fooling around and stealing some of the fruit & veg, but not with Lily’s new attitude. She tends to get a bit aggressive if I dont open the fridge quick enough or would attack the bag of spinach before I can take anything out. Its worse with strawberries so we dont feed that anymore.
Is she going through a phase of some sort, could it be that she wants to breed but doesnt have a male partner? Do female kakarikis eventually bond or is it a same-sex thing?
I really do hope thats its a phase and that we can all live in peace together.
later .STEVE