Hello, I have 3 birds; Daisy an 8 year old GCC, Melon a 1-2 year old peach faced lovebird, and a 3 month old GCC that I've had for about a month.
Daisy used to be a problem child, but in recent years she has calmed down a lot and went from only trusting me to being able to be held and pet by other people. My new GCC is such a sweetheart and barely nibbles. She's the most well behaved bird I've had so far.
My lovebird on the other hand is kind of a nightmare. I've always adored lovebirds (my childhood pet that got me into birds was a peach faced lovebird). I got her at about 4 months old from a local bird store. She was skittish but didn't seem aggressive. Over time she has gotten more agressive, maybe because of puberty or hormones. I generally can read her body language to avoid bites. She will step up and hang out on my arm but refuses to be pet. She seems terrified of hands, (other than when she steps up onto/ flies to my finger). When she does bite, it's really hard. She will draw blood. Recently, for the past months she has steadily gotten more unsociable and bite prone. Overall, I don't think she really likes me or other people very much. We're working on it and I try and have of 1 on 1 time with her daily.
As for her relationship with my other birds; Daisy is not a fan of her but Melon wants to hang out with her so badly. I would let them have a lot of out of cage time since I work from home. Melon follows/hangs around Daisy at a safe distance and stays out of her way mostly. Daisy will not let Melon get close to her but has never actually hurt/bitten her. Melon once bit one of Daisy's toes through the bars of the cage, nothing serious, but a bit concerning. For a while now they have been coexisting peacfully and safely with very little incident. I (wrongly) thought that for the most part Daisy was the more agressive of the two in their relationship and that Melon would be okay with other birds since she seemed to like Daisy so much despite her constant rejections.
I got another GCC about a month ago and to my suprise even when introducing them slowly and in a neutral area Melon was very much not a fan. She didn't go out of her way to attack her, but obviously was angry. Daisy wasn't overjoyed either (probably because most of her life she wasn't around other birds) but suprisingy likes her more than Melon. Daisy will actually preen her under close supervision and they've been getting along better slowly. My new bird is such a sweetheart and is so patient with Daisy. She had the same attitude toward Melon at first but their relationship became worse as Melon became more agressive toward her. She started to match Melon's energy and would chase her off if Melon got too close. I thought this would settle into a similar relationship as the one between Melon and Daisy, where Melon respects her space. For the past few weeks that seemed to be the case. I had gotten into a routine of letting the 3 of them out to roam with supervision. If a minor squabble broke out I'd separate them and check to make sure everyone was alright. They seemed to be improving and coexisting, but just 2 days ago they had a scary incident. I had to take my new baby to the emergency vet (maybe an overreaction.. she's acting fine and the vet said she'll heal well). The incident prompted me to separate them by moving Melon's cage into a separate room.
At this point I don't know what to do. I feel like a terrible owner. It seems Melon doesn't get along with birds or people and that makes me feel like she's not having a great life. Since I can't have Melon out with the other birds she's been having to stay in her cage more. I hate having to insolate her. Will she ever be able to be reintroduced with the bird she attacked? I don't need them to be buddies but it would improve both their lives if they could at least be out at the same time. Is there hope she'll come around to being pet or liking people? Is she just hormonal? Is she just going to be miserable and lonely for the rest of her life? Is rehoming the best option for her? It's possible I'm being overly pessimistic since the incident. I'd appreciate any advice/reassurance that things can get better.
Ps. Sorry if its a lot to read, this kind of became me venting about my bird problems.
Daisy used to be a problem child, but in recent years she has calmed down a lot and went from only trusting me to being able to be held and pet by other people. My new GCC is such a sweetheart and barely nibbles. She's the most well behaved bird I've had so far.
My lovebird on the other hand is kind of a nightmare. I've always adored lovebirds (my childhood pet that got me into birds was a peach faced lovebird). I got her at about 4 months old from a local bird store. She was skittish but didn't seem aggressive. Over time she has gotten more agressive, maybe because of puberty or hormones. I generally can read her body language to avoid bites. She will step up and hang out on my arm but refuses to be pet. She seems terrified of hands, (other than when she steps up onto/ flies to my finger). When she does bite, it's really hard. She will draw blood. Recently, for the past months she has steadily gotten more unsociable and bite prone. Overall, I don't think she really likes me or other people very much. We're working on it and I try and have of 1 on 1 time with her daily.
As for her relationship with my other birds; Daisy is not a fan of her but Melon wants to hang out with her so badly. I would let them have a lot of out of cage time since I work from home. Melon follows/hangs around Daisy at a safe distance and stays out of her way mostly. Daisy will not let Melon get close to her but has never actually hurt/bitten her. Melon once bit one of Daisy's toes through the bars of the cage, nothing serious, but a bit concerning. For a while now they have been coexisting peacfully and safely with very little incident. I (wrongly) thought that for the most part Daisy was the more agressive of the two in their relationship and that Melon would be okay with other birds since she seemed to like Daisy so much despite her constant rejections.
I got another GCC about a month ago and to my suprise even when introducing them slowly and in a neutral area Melon was very much not a fan. She didn't go out of her way to attack her, but obviously was angry. Daisy wasn't overjoyed either (probably because most of her life she wasn't around other birds) but suprisingy likes her more than Melon. Daisy will actually preen her under close supervision and they've been getting along better slowly. My new bird is such a sweetheart and is so patient with Daisy. She had the same attitude toward Melon at first but their relationship became worse as Melon became more agressive toward her. She started to match Melon's energy and would chase her off if Melon got too close. I thought this would settle into a similar relationship as the one between Melon and Daisy, where Melon respects her space. For the past few weeks that seemed to be the case. I had gotten into a routine of letting the 3 of them out to roam with supervision. If a minor squabble broke out I'd separate them and check to make sure everyone was alright. They seemed to be improving and coexisting, but just 2 days ago they had a scary incident. I had to take my new baby to the emergency vet (maybe an overreaction.. she's acting fine and the vet said she'll heal well). The incident prompted me to separate them by moving Melon's cage into a separate room.
At this point I don't know what to do. I feel like a terrible owner. It seems Melon doesn't get along with birds or people and that makes me feel like she's not having a great life. Since I can't have Melon out with the other birds she's been having to stay in her cage more. I hate having to insolate her. Will she ever be able to be reintroduced with the bird she attacked? I don't need them to be buddies but it would improve both their lives if they could at least be out at the same time. Is there hope she'll come around to being pet or liking people? Is she just hormonal? Is she just going to be miserable and lonely for the rest of her life? Is rehoming the best option for her? It's possible I'm being overly pessimistic since the incident. I'd appreciate any advice/reassurance that things can get better.
Ps. Sorry if its a lot to read, this kind of became me venting about my bird problems.
