Bonded Caique and GCC fighting?

[kcarly11]

So my caique Diego is fighting and picking on my gcc Rio. I know for a fact that they're bonded, as they call for eachother when separated, but I'm not sure if it's normal for them to fight as much as they do. It's mostly just my caique picking on Rio, and for the most part it's unprovoked. and I'm new here so I'm sorry if this thread is in the wrong place.

 

[Irishj9]

Its not normal. The caique will eventually kill or badly maim the GCC. Caiques can be very boisterous when play fighting with each other, but the GCC will always lose out and be injured

 

[kcarly11]

yeah, he's already been injured. he got his toe bit pretty bad. should i separate them?

 

[kcarly11]

Caique and GCC fighting

I've posted this in the caique section about a week ago but it only got one reply so I'm posting it here as well, I hope nobody minds. so my caique Diego is picking on my gcc Rio. He's already gotten his toe injured and I'm scared it's going to get worse. I know for a fact they're bonded as they call for eachother when separated so I don't know if separating them would be beneficial or whatnot. I was told this wasn't normal and I need help lol I don't know what to do. And if I need to separate them how should I separate them?

 

[Terry57]

Re: Caique and GCC fighting

If they are in the same cage, I would put them into separate cages. They can still call to each other, but it would be much safer. If the attacks are happening outside of the cage, you may have to let them out at different times. A Caique is so much bigger and could do serious damage to your GCC.
I'll merge your threads so all your answers will be together

 

[SirEdwin89]

Re: Caique and GCC fighting

If there is aggression between the two, especially enough to cause injury, personally I would separate them immediately, at least while they aren't being directly supervised. That way, when they are together, you should be able to see exactly what is triggering the aggression, so you can address the issue directly. But if you aren't *directly* watching them, I wouldn't leave 2 birds with *any* aggressive tendencies towards each other alone, especially not alone and confined.

You can always leave their cages close to each other so that they can still see each other, and talk with each other, but without being able to directly reach each other. That should help reduce any kind of separation anxiety one or the other might have.

If you can get a better feel for what might be causing the aggression, it would be a big help in determining what steps to recommend to help rectify the situation. It would also help to get a bit more info on the birds, how old are they? How long have you had them together? Are they sharing a cage, or just spend a lot of time together?
The more variables you can fill in, the better.

 

[kcarly11]

They are about 1-1 1/2 years old. They are housed together. Diego (caique) and Rio have been together for almost their entire lives. My worry is that if we separate them, Rio will be devastated as he absolutely loves Diego. Would it be safe to put them together at night?

 

[Flboy]

Rio is going to suffer! Your choice!

 

[Terry57]

I would honestly keep them separated. They are maturing, and there is such a size difference that I just wouldn't take the risk.

 

[Scott]

Birds play by very different rules than humans. Your very reasonable desire for Diego and Rio to bond may differ from their instincts, particularly as they mature. Better to separate them for now, allow them time together only when continuously supervised. They may eventually become closer, but in the interim one or both could be severely injured.