Sudden aggressive hormonal behaviour

[Lucario223]

Hi, Kiwi and Luna are my two lovebirds. Kiwi is the oldest of the two and has lived most of his life in solitude not having interacted much with other birds. That is why he bonded strongly with me and when I decided to give him a new companion things started rough. They were kept in separate cages, in the same cage with a divider and finally when they warmed up to eachother I let them coexist. Luna by character is very friendly and affectionate having being raised with other birds and thus socially competent, even when she was confronted with plenty of animosity from Kiwi. Because of their different experiences their relationship spiraled into a cat and mouse game, Luna wanted affection (trying to feed, clinginess, mating behaviour) and Kiwi was taking it as a threat and at times seemed fearful. This "chase" seemed to have been gettIng better, till the past few days where Luna started to aggressively reinforce it. She is constantly trying to feed, regurgitating even if he shows disinterest and it's gotten to the point where Kiwi is starting to really fear her, singling himself out in the highest part of the cage so she cannot reach him. I'm scared that all of that trust that he built with her is going down the drain. I already let them sleep from 10-11 hours hoping it will calm down Luna but it doesn't seem to be working, I've seen her attempt this behaviour even at night. I'm considering separating them again, but even at their free fly time it's the same thing. I don't know what to do.

 

[Wardy]

@Zara will be best to offer advice

 

[Zara]

Separate them immediately.

It takes time for a bond to form sometimes. If we force them together it doesn´t always end well.

Split them, house separately but cages side by side, and allow shared out of cage time.

I spent years introducing birds to my first bird because I wanted a friend for him, he never bonded with anyone. Eventually, along came my youngest hen, and she was infatuated with him. She would be displaying and trying to get his attention but he was not interested, he was a people bird, wanted to be with us humans, wasn´t interested in her. Over time they would spend the days playing in her cage, at first he didn´t want to go in, and would run out if she went near him in there. Eventually he warmed up to her and now they are inseparable. It took them over 6 months to get to the point where I felt it was ok to house them together at night. they spent a lot of time sharing her cage during the day, and in their own cages for bed.

 

[Lucario223]

Separate them immediately.

It takes time for a bond to form sometimes. If we force them together it doesn´t always end well.

Split them, house separately but cages side by side, and allow shared out of cage time.

I spent years introducing birds to my first bird because I wanted a friend for him, he never bonded with anyone. Eventually, along came my youngest hen, and she was infatuated with him. She would be displaying and trying to get his attention but he was not interested, he was a people bird, wanted to be with us humans, wasn´t interested in her. Over time they would spend the days playing in her cage, at first he didn´t want to go in, and would run out if she went near him in there. Eventually he warmed up to her and now they are inseparable. It took them over 6 months to get to the point where I felt it was ok to house them together at night. they spent a lot of time sharing her cage during the day, and in their own cages for bed.

Thank you for sharing your experience , I will do just that