Will my lovebirds be ok separated?

[yellowlovi]

My lovebirds are almost a year old and live in the same cage. They are siblings so they are very bonded. Recently one of them has gotten a bloody leg, and this morning I noticed blood on her neck. I didn’t see the fight, so it must have happened when they were alone in the cage. I think I need to separate their cage into two halves. Since my cage is taller rather than wider, I would split the top from the bottom. They wouldn’t be able to see each other, only hear each other since one is on top of the other. I don’t want them to get stressed. I will still let them hang out together outside of the cage for 3-5 hours per day. Do you think they will be ok with only hearing each others chirps and not being able to see each other for most of the day? I know that lovebirds don’t do well alone. These are my first birds by the way and I’ve had them since they were a couple months old.

 

[BirbBrain]

I think that you should separate them. And since they get to bond more outside the cage, you can watch them to make sure that they don't get into another fight and get injured. I hope that the lovebird that got hurt will be okay! Once they feel okay with each other, you can let them live together again.

 

[Gigibirds]

If they are fighting and injuring each other, then you definitely need to separate them. They should be fine, and they will still be able to hear each other which will be nice. Just try to spend some extra time with them! I'll tag @Zara just in case.

 

[Zara]

they are very bonded

Do they preen each other? Hang out together? Mate?
What sex was the injured bird? And the sex of the other?

I´m wondering a few things...

Are they really bonded? And are they actually fighting?

If the birds are bonded, it´s unlikely they are fighting, but not impossible. That happens when hormones are involved usually.
Have you checked the cage to be sure they didn´t injure themself on something in there?

Spend as much time near the cage to observe and figure out what is going on.
If you see an attack (not to be confused with bickering), then separate the birds.

 

[yellowlovi]

Do they preen each other? Hang out together? Mate?
What sex was the injured bird? And the sex of the other?

I´m wondering a few things...

Are they really bonded? And are they actually fighting?

If the birds are bonded, it´s unlikely they are fighting, but not impossible. That happens when hormones are involved usually.
Have you checked the cage to be sure they didn´t injure themself on something in there?

Spend as much time near the cage to observe and figure out what is going on.
If you see an attack (not to be confused with bickering), then separate the birds.

Jeff - dna tested (female)
Nate - not dna tested (sex unknown)

Jeff is super sweet and innocent. Nate can get moody and territorial sometimes. While they are in the cage they can get into little fights. Nate will lunge at Jeff and chase her around the cage. It doesn't usually last more than a minute or two. They usually fight when Jeff is trying to eat, even though they have multiple bowls and shouldn't have to eat at the same one. sometimes they fight for no reason. However when they are taking naps or getting sleepy, they will cuddle on the same perch and preen each other.

Outside of the cage they don't fight at all. They follow each other around, eat from the same bowl, and get along well. They clearly love each other very much

A few weeks ago was when their behavior changed a bit. They were trying to mate pretty regularly for a few days. Then a week later Jeff gained a few grams, so I assumed she was going to lay eggs. I put some extra calcium in their food, I was better about weighing her every morning. I put a box in the cage to give her a spot to make a nest if she was going to lay eggs. Nate started to get territorial over the box. A week later a decided to take the box out because I came to the conclusion that she wasn't really going to lay eggs. A few days ago I notice that Jeff has blood on her leg when I uncover the cage. Since then, I haven't noticed fresh blood. I had been checking on her whenever I got the chance to see if it got worse, which it hadn't. This morning I wake up to some blood on her neck. All I could see was a tiny bit on the feathers on her neck. I haven't inspected it because they aren't comfortable with me petting or holding them. I have since put her in a travel cage while Nate is still in their normal cage. Even through all of this, they are perfect angels outside of the cage.

I have no proof that the injury was from a fight, other than the fact that Nate can be territorial at times.

I attached a picture of her leg. I took this pic yesterday.

 

[Sunni Tiel]

Don't put in a box. It will only make things worse, you don't want eggs anyway.

If there's blood, seperate them. I recommend getting a second cage to put beside the first, they can still talk but can't injure each other. putting one on top of the other is probably not the best idea, the one on the bottom could target toes. You also don't want one pooping on the other.

 

[Zara]

Nate sounds female.

It could be they are finding they are not compatible if they are struggling to mate.

Yea, I think housing the birds separate is a good idea for now. But in cages side by side with some perches set up level so they can sit eye to eye. The hope is that they can be reunited in the future. Be sure to offer lots of out of the cage time as they seem to get on well then.