Bedtime Issue

oli_and_basil

New member
Nov 3, 2019
1
0
Hi all, I'm looking for some advice as so far my internet searches have failed to turn up anything relevant.

I have 2 alexandrine parrots, one is about 4 years old and the other is about a year old (maybe slightly younger). They have lived together in one cage for a while now, maybe about half a year, and have been getting on well for that time (preening, feeding, playing together etc.)

In the last couple of weeks we have noticed that when it is time for them to go to bed and be covered, the younger alex seeks out the older one to attack him? They aren't aggressive with each other in any instance, and it seems so strange that the younger alex is getting so aggressive only when its time for them to sleep...

Before we cover the cage we say "night night" and wait for them to get onto their separate swings. It is my thinking that if we stop saying the trigger word phrase, and simply turn off the light (letting them know to get ready to sleep) it may help, but I am interested in any theories or suggestions from people who likely know more than I do!

(P.S They are both male alexandrines)
 

Betrisher

Well-known member
Jun 3, 2013
4,253
177
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Parrots
Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
I've never seen this kind of behaviour in my Beaks, but then they're a male/female pair. They're always happy to go to bed (we cover them at sundown each day) and happier to get up in the mornings. Maybe the younger male is a little older than you'd thought and might be approaching puberty (at three years old)? Is he showing any sign of his ring growing out?

Sorry I can't help. :(

PS. Our pet-shop lady has a cage of mature male Alexandrines and they get along quite well, considering. I only mention this because it shows that males can be housed together happily. I'll mention your case next time I'm chatting with her.
 

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
I am not a fan of keeping parrots in the same cage unless your goal is to breed them....There are too many risks in terms of hormones, aggression etc (even in same-sex pairs). I would separate them (into 2 cages). I am not very familiar with Alexandrines, but there is a high probability that your 4 year old is at mating age and is dealing with raging hormones. Birds can be hormonally triggered even by members of the same sex. If he feels like his needs aren't being met he could also become quite aggressive. Dark/shadowy spaces are nesting environments, which could explain why at night when you are covering them/it is getting dark that the behaviors are showing up. The one-year-old is young to be mating, but the 4 year old likely has his mind on nesting etc. 3-4 is generally when Alexandrines attempt to breed.
 
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Betrisher

Well-known member
Jun 3, 2013
4,253
177
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Parrots
Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
Noodles, I'm not arguing with you, although it might appear so. I have a different point of view is all, and so I'd just like to state it, leaving everyone else to make up their own minds about what to do, OK?

Many years ago, bird fanciers (that would include me) practiced what we called 'the frustration method' of breeding. That is, we would house males and females in separate cages within sight, sound and smell of each other but not allow them to mix. With my pigeons, I simply separated males from females with a chicken wire divider. The idea was that this would promote sexual anxiety through deprivation and cause all birds to rush to immediately pair off, mate, lay and hatch within a day or two of each other once the barrier was removed. It worked *extremely* well!

I remember watching the male pigeons displaying their little hearts out at the hens through the chicken wire, eventually dropping from exhaustion when it came to nothing (ie. no act of mating at the end). I used the same technique with my parrots and it worked perfectly there as well. All my pairs mated as soon as the barrier was removed, nested at once and laid within a day or two of each other, so all my young birds were roughly the same age. However, the birds were not well, having been exhausted by the period of 'frustration' I'd forced upon them.

I was only a teenager then, but even at that age, my understanding eventually dawned that this system was not kind to the creatures I loved. I stopped doing it and allowed my birds to select mates at their leisure and to breed in the same way. Amazingly, they became much more robust and healthy. I think that was because the frustration thing had been doing their minds (and their hormones) in!

I've kept my Beaks together in the same cage for seven years. I have not provided them with nesting material, but they mate and enjoy each other's company, preening and roosting closely together at night. They derive so much comfort and companionship from one another that I would never dream of separating them. Of course, if they responded badly to one another, fighting or showing aggression, then I would consider a different arrangement.

I've been actively searching for a mate for Rosetta and when I find one, he will be introduced at first in a divided cage, but with the opportunity to make contact through the wire. Assuming that goes well, I'll put the two birds together and leave them that way unless something untoward happens. I'd expect a certain amount of thrust and parry at first, but that should eventually calm down. If not, then I'll adjust my plans accordingly.

If this pair of males has been getting along happily and suddenly hit a snag because of puberty or some other reason, I wouldn't deprive them of the comfort and company they've enjoyed up till now. Since there are no hens in the mix, I wouldn't assume the problem stems from sexual matters, but then no one can be sure of that. I'd watch and wait to see if I could figure out what the problem was and then try to fix it

Others will probably disagree with this point of view and that's fine! I just wanted to point out that there's more than one way of looking at things. :)
 

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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472
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
I wouldn't have thought of it that way, but now I see what you are saying.

My thought is that separating them might at least be safer until they are both on the same page hormonally. It is starting to get a bit aggressive, so maybe by separating them, that will decrease.

I have known more than a few same-sex birds that tried to mate though, and lots of people are unaware of what types of things can be misconstrued by a bird as "nesting" materials. Noodles is obsessed with cabinets, boxes, the dishwasher, and the coffee machine because they all have dark spaces and she will shred paper for the same instinctual drive. It looks like play, but it's more than that and people have to recognize--it just isn't common knowledge though- so I guess I am saying, you know what nesting materials could be, but many people don't (not that they can't learn) :)

In terms of Rosetta, I'm sure you've read everything about the hormonal nightmare "toos" can become and about all of the risks with reproduction in mating situations etc...so I don't get it, but I won't fight you on it if it is what you are determined to do. I mean, in some cases it might make a bird happier to have a mate, but that is not always the case and it could definitely take a toll on human sanity (in some cases).I guess some of it depends on the species and personality, but it certainly is something I would not be comfortable trying with my Umbrella...Then again, Scott has a group of Goffins, so I guess he could say a few things about that species in particular.
 
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Jottlebot

Member
Aug 29, 2012
507
14
Shropshire, UK
Parrots
Orange-winged Amazon - RIP Charlie,
Spock - Common Mynah,
McCoy - Alexandrine
Perhaps you could separate them at night only for the time being to see if the behaviour passes. You would only need one small sleep cage and alternate them so one doesn't think it owns the cage. As you know they can get on you could try it for a while and then try them together again?

I guess they might just not like each other and as the youngster is maturing he is letting the other one know.
 

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
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Full house
I don't have these type of parrots
But my parrots have separate cages because fighting does happen at evening.

It probably all comes down to space. In an avairy you can house mixed birds with more success. Our home cages usually aren't sized large enough for more than one. Yes you can fit more in and to us humans it may look good, but to the parrots they feel cramped up.....
 

Pampa

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May 24, 2018
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Northern Ca
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Jazzy Pizazzy, Jenday Conure ~
Corbin, Nanday Conure (little Crow) ~
Lucky & Mojo, the Budgies ~
Pampa Blue Crown Conure lost 6/18/2019 ā˜¹ļø
This is interesting to me because I have always read ā€œdonā€™t let them breedā€ and wondered, why not. I had two cockatiels that went at it like newlyweds. Before getting the male the female spent a bit of time masturbating. She never laid an egg or got egg bound. I got her as an adult from a breeder so wondered if maybe she was infertile or something. Regardless they were happy together and remained friendly to humans. I had to rehome them due to being allergic to powdery birds.
 

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