Hello there Lauren, welcome to the forums to you and your little flock!
I think you are correct in your assessment that this behavioural shift in Chiquis is related to hormonal changes and impending sexual maturity. Green cheeked conures (or GCCs) are a species known for a little something called “cage aggression” – in your situation I think Chiquis is becoming both rather possessive of Coco and of their cage, both of which he sees as his territory. I believe that the attacking of Coco that you are observing is a phenomenon called “displacement biting”, where Chiquis is telling Coco that she is his property and warning her that she should stay well away from you. I’m not sure that you would necessarily need to put Chiquis up for adoption, but I do believe that you will need to look into providing Coco with a separate cage for her safety. I observed quite similar behaviour between my cockatiels Fang (male) and Twinkle (female) quite a few years ago before we very sadly lost Twinkle to illness. Fang was much younger than Twinkle at the time, but the moment he reached sexual maturity he would chase her quite relentlessly around the house whenever she gave even the subtlest, “come hither” glance. Her cues were quite imperceptible to me, but would send Fang into a hormonally charged rage and he would pursue her to the point of exhaustion and attack me most aggressively indeed when I intervened. They always had separate cages though, and I would have to cage Twinkle for her own protection until Fang’s rampage had subsided.
I do believe that we too often keep parrots in too-close proximity in the domestic setting. If Coco and Chiquis were flying free in the wild, Coco would have the ability to fly off and escape Chiquis's aggression, and possibly even to find herself a happier bond with a different bird altogether. There is never any guarantee that two birds, whether they are the same species or totally different, will get along when they are caged together. I once had a budgie and a purple crowned lorikeet who shared a cage their entire lives, with hours and hours of free-range time every day of course. They were absolutely the very best of little buddies and did everything together, whereas my current budgie and lorikeet combo would be a total disaster if they were to share the same living space. I do think that when they live with us in the very artificial environments of our homes, that they need to have their own safe space to be able to retreat to.
Perhaps some other members might weigh in with their observations and I hope they do - parrot behaviour is a very complex and multi-layered subject and others may have different opinions. Even though there are many behaviours that are hard-wired into their brains, parrots are all still individuals and other owners may have differing viewpoints to mine. In the meantime I do think it’s best that you look into purchasing a separate cage for Coco. Your pair may be able to enjoy each other’s company outside the confines of a single cage, but I do think that Coco having her own safe space is essential to her safety.
Thank you again for joining, and I wish you the very best of luck with Coco and Chiquis!
