Aggressive Female?

[babyRingnecks]

So I have two Ringnecks, a male and female who had been in the same cage when i got them, one that was much smaller than the one they have now. And after 2 days or so i've noticed that the female has become much more territorial. They are still being tamed so I was thinking she might just be a little stressed from moving to a new home? She isn't stressed to the point of pulling out feathers or not eating (thank goodness) but they sometimes fight throughout the day. Sometimes they get nice and close and then sometimes she starts chasing him off and not letting him perch on their perch stick! Should i just separate them since i'm a little worried she could hurt him.

 

[LaManuka]

Hi babyRingnecks, welcome to the Forums!

While I am personally not intimately familiar with IRNs, one of our other members here is, and i will link up her username for you so that you can hopefully find and read up on some of her experiences in respect of male/female IRN interactions...

https://www.parrotforums.com/members/silversage.17929/

Female IRN rejecting mate [PLEASE HELP] Catch22 Problem :-(

Hi Fellow IRN Parents Have tried to google this, but cannot find a conclusive solution. Am stressed out to the max, if i was a feathered creature, i would not have a single one left. :-( We have two babies - an older (by a year) male IRN (Joy, hatched 2015), and female IRN (Hope, hatched...

www.parrotforums.com

It would appear that female IRNs can become very aggressive towards males, with injurious and sometimes with fatal results. It would be interesting to know how old your ringnecks are, because behaviour like this is even more pronounced upon reaching sexual maturity which occurs around the one to one-and-a-half years age range. On top of that, there is never a guarantee that any two birds, regardless of species, will always like each other, particularly in the close confines of a cage. I once had a pair of cockatiels in which the male was SO hyper-aggressive towards the female that he very likely might have injured her or even worse, so there is no way they could ever have been caged together. Personally I always recommend that parrots have their own cages that they can retreat to anyway, for safety's sake.

I hope this helps you

 

[babyRingnecks]

It would be interesting to know how old your ringnecks are,

they are both less than a year old, around 7 months both. And yea, I've read about females being aggressive and I think the best bet is to get another cage ASAP for the female or male. The male seems to be more tamed than the female, and would rather get closer to me than her even though he has little trust towards me. I've taken care of a variety of animals, but this is the first bird experience for me. But I fell in love with them very quick and am determined to make them happy healthy little birds.

 

[LaManuka]

But I fell in love with them very quick and am determined to make them happy healthy little birds.

Yes many's the time we've fallen in love with that sweet little fuzzy face at the shop and got a bit more than we've bargained for - my lorikeets have certainly been testament to that!!

Having male and female separate will also much reduce the likelihood of the thorny issues of unwanted babies too. There are some behaviours that they can can be shaped or trained out of but things like territoriality and breeding are hard wired and it's very difficult to convince them otherwise! To that end you should ensure that they are never scratched or petted anywhere other than the head and neck as they see this as sexual, unfortunately, and it will very much increase a hormonal response which is often very aggressive too. My lorikeet hen is HUGELY driven to reproduce and gets extremely aggressive when those needs cannot be met so it's vitally important not to lead them on or encourage it in any way. It's also important to not give them access to anything that might even be remotely perceived as a nesting site, so no cuddle/snuggle huts, hidey holes, nest boxes, tents, etc etc. Some hens (like my lorikeet!) will lay eggs even if they are not fertilized and this can cause all sorts of reproductive issues which are occasionally fatal too.

Hopefully some of our other members more familiar with IRNs and things like training will weigh in with some advice for you - mine literally walk all over me so I am pretty useless on that front I'm afraid!

Oh and don't forget we love pictures around here too...

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Best of luck with your babies, and I look forward to seeing some pics!