HELP! Linnie is suddenly attacking his partner

[cshove]

I need urgent advice. About a week ago I moved my two linnies into a new cage (the old one has already been thrown away - it was rusty) and tonight my male bird has suddenly started chasing and attacking his mate. I am assuming this must be a territorial issue, or perhaps an adverse reaction to change in general. The new cage is on wheels so I have been moving it around the house a bit and there are new toys and I suspect maybe all the changes might be too much for him. He has been very sweet and gentle up till now - they squabble regularly over food, but never seriously and they're usually best friends.

Right now I have the aggressive bird separated in a travel cage with a sheet over it, and I'm going to let him sleep there tonight. I would like some advice for how best to introduce him in again, and how to handle the aggression in the long term if it continues. How long should I keep them separated? If anyone has had similar issues, please feel free to chime in.

Thanks in advance!

 

[BeeBop]

Bump. (Just in case you don't know, "bump" is posted to bring the thread to the top of the list) I'm sure someone with experience in these types of issues will answer soon.

 

[sunnysmom]

@Lady Jane ?

 

[zoo mom]

We need a little more information.
1. How big is the new cage. How does its size and dementions compare to the old cage.
2. Do you have 2 food and water dishes on opposite sides of the cage.
3. Do you know what their sexes are. 1 male and 1 female or 2 males or 2 females.
@jmfleish

 

[Lady Jane]

How old is this pair, both male and female. Are they mating at all? This is totally unusual behavior for a Linnie of either sex. Are they calling to eachother while apart?
If they are not calling to eachother I would not put them back together. A sudden change in a birds behavior is a reason to schedule an avian vet visit. That is what I would do first. Of course hormones can be out of whack too. Please keep us posted.

@jmfleish

 

[iamwhoiam]

No predictability what caused this but you may want to have them checked by a vet to make sure there are no health issues as suggested by @Lady Jane Sometimes when birds are "off" their other birdie friends will go after them. If you are sure there are no health issues then maybe they just don't want to be together any more and it would be best to separate them instead of taking a chance that they might injure one another. You could let them spend time together during supervised visits but other than that keep them in separate cages.

 

[cshove]

The attacking linnie is supposedly male (not 100% certain) and the other one is definitely female. The new cage is significantly bigger than the old one, and yes, there are food dishes on both sides.

 

[cshove]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Poor Grover (the aggressive male) was frantic this morning trying to get out of the travel cage, so I let him go back into the big cage and actually they have so far been fine. I've been keeping close watch. For the first 40 minutes or so they were very nervous of each other and hyperactive, darting all around the cage. Then they calmed down, and they have since shared a seed dish and sat and groomed each other for a bit. Now they are sitting and resting, I think they tired themselves out!

I am still planning to purchase another cage in case things get bad again (the travel cage is way too small), but I think for now things are looking good. For me separating them permanently would be a worst-case scenario and I think I would rather re-home one of them as it just makes me too sad for them to be on their own. But hopefully it's not going to come to that!

@Lady Jane - they are about a year old and have not shown any signs of mating behavior (at least that I have recognized). They are actually siblings so I will not be letting them breed.

 

[Lady Jane]

There is no way you can stop them from breeding. They are the right age now. Linnies breed side by side so it can be difficult to tell sometimes. The male puts a leg over the female and she turns towards him so they will look like they are sitting side by side.

 

[JLcribber]

For me separating them permanently would be a worst-case scenario and I think I would rather re-home one of them as it just makes me too sad for them to be on their own. But hopefully it's not going to come to that!

You're not understanding. When we say separate them it means don't live in the same cage because neither bird has "personal secure" space (which everyone needs). They can be out and together every second you are home. Even birds that hate each other and never interact benefit from living in the same environment. Every situation is manageable through environment and how you set that up.

 

[iamwhoiam]

I've been in your shoes more than once and I hope that your linnie will not attack the other one anymore BUT do keep a very close eye on them. What I've found is that sooner or later the aggressiveness will start up again and someone may get injured. Hopefully this won't happen with your pair. I've wound up separating all of the birds who have shared cages for many years, several groups of siblings and a breeding pair. Now everyone has their own cage but they can see one another and can visit under supervision.

 

[Lady Jane]

At one year of age they are mature birds and possible know and understand why siblings should not be a bonded pair. Even humans have a hard time living with siblings. Its is not a difficult thing to put two cages side by side for them to stay in. Re homing is really not needed in this case.