Lovebirds are very loving. Once they have interaction with their partners. This lasts for years. They are monogamous, which means they mate for life. Only death can separate them. There are occasions when they bite another partner. In rare cases, this fight is so severe that one may kill the other bird. What are the possible reasons that force the lovebird to kill the other fellow?
There are 7 reasons that lovebirds fight each other
- They may be jealousy if you give more priority to the other one
- Other lovebird may enter to its territory
- The same gender is the common problem
- Hormones changes
- Inequality of the birds
- Aggressive nature
- Lack of sleep
After knowing the reasons, you need to stop their fight. If you keep them in the same conditions, the fight may get worse. IF you failed to stop, it might keep your pair injured. To avoid any complications, you should follow the steps that I will mention in this blog.
Reasons can vary from bird to bird. Just like humans parrots also have different temperaments and behavior statistics. They can be cool as well as aggressive. The anger can be harmful to the fellow bird. Here is the explanation of why lovebirds bite each other?
Jealousy can lead to attack the other bird
When you keep a lovebird as a pet. YOu love him as he is your kid. A young hand-raised baby bird has developed strong bonding with the owner. He loves to spend time with you. Your bond of love keeps stronger over time.
The jealousy starts when you introduce a new bird in his cage. You start giving more attention to the new lovebird. Although this is necessary to comfort a new pet. When you love the new buddy more than him. He feels jealous of him. This can leads to aggression. He may peck him and try to attack him.
Just like the kids, If you give one more priority the other will certainly not like it. Same case with the birds. They can become severe enemies which can lead to the death of one bird (rare case, injury is more common).
To prevent jealousy, you should keep both inequalities or love the previous one more. The new bird didn’t have any concern as he was not your pet before. If you don’t want to do this and you wanted to love the new parrot the same as the previous one. You should do it secretly. Change the location of the cage so both can’t see each other. This will saves you from any complications and prevent them from the fight.
Another lovebird may enter its territory
Lovebirds are very territorial birds. They are very sensitive if another bird enters its territory, they will oppose it. Usually, they don’t allow anyone to enter their cage. That is their limit. Most times they even prevent you from entering your hand in his cage. They bite when you do so. Once a great parrot said
"Your territory is our's territory BUT my territory is my territory"
Owners get problems when they have to clean the cage or feed the food. If you introduce a bird he knows that it is his territory and he will guard it. He may peck at the new fellow. Force him to move out of the cage. If he plays with his toys he may get aggressive as they were under his custody.
To prevent the love birds’ territory behavior, changing the look of the cage proves worth time. You can bring new toys, give them for one day and then change them with the previous toys for the next day. Intermixing is a good idea.
Female lovebirds can become more aggressive when they are breeding. When they lay eggs, their main focus is to built nests and protecting them. AT this stage both parents don’t care if you are his best friend. They even stop you from fulfilling their necessities like cleaning the cage.
AT this stage, when another bird enters his place. They will attack him fearlessly. Try to defend their territory as soldiers do at the borders.
The same type of gender can urge lovebirds to fight
In many cases people got issues. They bought one male and other female from the pet store. Unfortunately, the only way to know the gender is the DNA test, which will cost you more. The other way is when the female reaches its maturity age, she lays an egg (at about 9-12 months).
When there are two males or two females both in the same cage, they can easily get offense. There are chances that they will fight each other. You have to ensure that two opposite genders should be in one cage,
If you are thinking of bonding with your bird then a single lovebird can serve the function. When he will get a bond, he will not interact with humans. As two will bond so tightly that there are chances they may ignore you.
Females can also lay eggs without mates. If there are eggs in your cage don’t be happy early. Just keep a close eye on your birds.YOu can place two females and two males in one cage. Don’t put 2 males with 1 female. If you do so, get ready for the war.
Lack of sleep can lead to aggressive behavior
Sleep is essential for a proper day’s workout. If your bird is not taking enough sleep, he may get depressed. This will make him sick. Depressed birds can lead to aggression.
Lack of sleep can be the prominent reason why your lovebirds are fighting. Lovebirds need 10 to 12 hours of sleep. It should be undisturbed. There are many cases that these pets are placed in the living room. Even after the sun sets, having artificial light can disturb their sleeping timetable.
They get less time to sleep which also makes them unhappy. To get rid of frustration they may peck at each other. You should keep the cage in a quiet room. If you cannot turn off the light, you can cover the cage with the cloth. Try to keep the children and your pets like cats and dogs away during their sleep time. So they get comfort without any harm and ease.
Hormones changes in females can urge to fight with other birds for protection
Hormones changes occur during puberty or when the female is about to lay eggs. She becomes more territorial and tries to save her territory. AS she wanted to make a nest, she don’t want any trouble around it. This is done to ensure the security of the eggs and babies.
Signs include aggressive body language, sharp flashy eyes, strong bite, and raised neck. Tail fanning is also the main symptom. You can handle this behavior by removing any kind of nest boxes and toys. This will reduce his aggression and may be the focus of obsession. You can limit the amount of food that is involved in boosting their hormones production.
Inequality of gender in the cage can lead to fight
Lovebirds should be in pairs. You can also keep a single bird. For this, you need to give him proper time and management. There must be food available all the time. Giving him toys can reduce your presence. But if you are an office boy, you just need to provide him a partner.
For one male, one female serves the best function. IF there are 2 males and one female it can cause a fight between them. One may form a bond with one female and the other may leave alone which can lead to aggressive behavior in him. He will attack the other male as he is jealous. You should keep one pair in one cage. There should not be inequality of genders in the cage.
Two pairs of lovebirds in one cage can get along. But three males and one female may not survive.
Aggressive nature
Just like humans birds also have different levels of temperament. Some got anger easily. I have read a story in which a male lovebird was jealous of the female as she was new and owners were giving him more attention. This thing made the male fight the female. He was aggressive but even after the strong attack from him, females remain cool. It is because of his nature.
This can leads to fighting in them. But as time will pass they will get along if they are ready to form a bond with each other.
HOW DO I make my lovebirds get along?
If these tactics do not work. You can introduce the new bird in a new cage. Keep both cages along with each other. So, they can look at each other. If they want to fight so they won’t be able to. When they start kissing and feeding each other, you should place them in the same cage. This is good for their safety.
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