advice needed please.

[meam35]

hi there
last july i was given a male canary.he had been kept in a cage along with 2 females and another male.they lived together like this for a good while and then one night, everything went haywire and the other pair attacked my canaries mate and killed her. his owner bought him round to me as she didnt want him killed either. he was very quiet and scared for months. recently he seems to have perked up and sings his little heart out.

yesterday my husband thought he'd surprise me by bringing a young female home as company for him.unfortunately we didnt get the reaction we were expecting. he's done nothing but attack her and chase her round the cage and not letting her near the food or water. we've taken her out and she is in a hastily converted hamster cage at the moment. thankfully we had spare perches and dishes.she has plenty of room to fly around without hurting herself.

unfortunatly i dont have the space for 2 cages due to having other pets. how do i get them into the same cage in the long run and why is the male being so aggressive? we thought he'd be fine with another bird as he used to share without a problem.i have sat the 2 cages side by side for now and he is still glaring at her and she spent a while trying to get over to him and is now sat as far away from him as possible. what can i do to resolve this?

thanks

am x

[chapala]

I'd let them get to know each other in separate cages next to each other. Then after a couple of weeks, you can try again to put them together. Otherwise, you might have to find a home for the hen.