Conure bickering

[Greylady]

Hoping for some advice! I have adopted a 3 year old male GCC Pineapple & a three year old female Half Moon Conure. They have been DNA sexed, and have been together since they were babies. The prior owners really did not have the time to spend with them so the male, although friendly is very bitey. I am not too concerned with that so much as I can (once they settle in ) begin clicker training him. I am concerned about the half moon. Enzo is very quiet, for the first two days she did not move from her secure perch at the back of the cage, now I see her slowly move around the back of the cage, but that is it. She has no interest in coming out of the cage at all. Although they are loud, she does not vocalize as much as the male. I have noticed that the male is bullying the female. If I attempt to hand feed her any fruit, treat he will push his way past her and take the treat, even if doesn't eat it. He is always the first to eat, the first to bathe etc. When I first saw her, the red half moon on her forehead is featherless. She has been checked by a vet that thinks it is hormonal. When the male and her bicker it is a direct result of him antagonizing her, or trying to regurgitate his food to her, and she fights it. I realize that it's hormone season which may be driving this behavior. They are quite bonded, but should I consider putting them in separate cages? I am concerned that she is a little skinny because he bullies the food bowl. Any insight will be greatly appreciated!

 

[T00tsyd]

I have not experienced more than one bird at a time but your poor girl sounds really bullied. I think if it were me I would try and separate them for a little while although leave them in sight of one another or even side by side in separate cages to assess the situation and let your little girl have some peace while she settles.

 

[kme3388]

My female conure is a lot more hesitant, shy, and cautious than my male. She comes out of her cage for myself, and my husband only. She will dive bomb strangers. My male conure is vivacious, and will pop of his cage for anyone. He likes anyone who will give him attention. They do bicker at times. It’s spring, and both are a little snippy as they are hormonal. My female conure got ahold of me today because she was trying to chase my male off my shoulder. I put my hand between the 2, and she bit down on me. I myself expect this when they are hormonal, or if I see pin feathers coming in. If I separate the 2 they just contact call all day because they can hear each other from anywhere in my house. I feel like I’m dealing with bickering 2 year olds at times 🤦‍♀️. When I first introduced these 2 I did it by offering 2 food bowls with a seed mix in it. I mainly feed them pellets. So seeds are a treat to them. They are so happy, and excited for the seed that they were focused on that instead of bickering. Their attitudes toward each other got better with time. It wasn’t an instant connection. I feel like everything with my parrots takes patience & time. Hang in there!