Hormonal Behaviour- protective of mate

GdeWet

New member
Jul 23, 2022
1
2
Parrots
Lovebirds x2
Hi everyone!

I have 2 lovebirds the female Zazu isbalmost 3 years old and Mango almost 2(suspected male). When Mango was about 6 months old, Zazu qccepted him as her mate and made it her lifetime mission to protect him at all cost. Since then, I have been playing second fiddle with a lot of drawing of blood happening the last 1.5 years....
A few points to give context:

1) they each have their own cage, even though they love one another a lot, Mango gets irritated with Zazu when they are in an enclosed space.
2)no nests to motivate breeding behaviour, sleep 10 hours, change up cages etc happens.
3) Mango is a hybrid and they therefore cant lay fertile eggs.
4) the only time that I have found her to be less aggressive is when she is alone in a new unkown area (like when I take her to the vet alone for example)

Mango is a sweet bird despite loving Zazu and still spends time with us and rarely draws blood.
Zazu on the other hand bites A LOT. I have gotten her to a point where she will step up when she wants to and will then sit on my finger or arm and won't bite unless I try to touch her (her boundary). She is not allowed on my shoulder/chest/head because she would literally attack my face at any moment when she feels like it.

My question is---

Is there any way that I can build a sense of trust with her just a little bit to minimize the biting. Just enough so I can feel like she also gets the love and attention she deserves? It is already improved, 1 year ago I couldn't have my hand near and she would gun for me, but we used to have a great cuddling relationship and I do miss it...
 

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ravvlet

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
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Seattle WA
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Kirby - OWA, 33yrs old (2019-)
Broccoli - Dusky Conure - 3?mo old (July 2023 -)
~~~
(Rehomed) Sammy - YNA, 45 yrs old (2022-2023)
(RIP) Cricket - Cockatiel (2019-2022)
Awww. I’m sorry Zazu is giving you such a hard time; they’re beautiful birds.

It sounds like if the behavior is improving, albeit slowly, you’re doing something right. Some birds prefer the company of other birds to humans, and there isn’t always anything we can do about it. How’s their diet? An excess of fats or sugars can cause hormonal behaviors to worsen; generally it’s recommended to feed your birds a base of a pelleted diet with fresh vegetables and limited fruit/seed.

Thank you for the thorough information about their cage set up and sleep habits! That’s great information to have when trying to get to the bottom of this kind of thing.

I hope a lovebird owner will see this and be able to give you more specific advice!
 

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