lovebird aggression

[agador_spartacus]

hi,

i'm new to the forum. i have two lovebirds, agador and spartacus. we bought them from a breeder in july, who said they are siblings and of the same sex (she wasn't sure which sex, but assumed female). recently, the more vocal of the two, agador, has become very aggressive.

We think he/she is hormonal.. agador has started to chase spartacus aggressively, biting and wrestling him off of toys/perches until spartacus falls to the bottom of the cage. His droppings are more liquidy, he goes back and forth on one perch repeatedly, flapping his wings, he does a weird clucking sound in the evening. Once, spartacus landed on my husband's head, agador followed and started doing a little dance, bobbing his head and emitting a very weird clucking noise. I would guess these are mating behaviors?

We do not have any boxes/tiki huts/paper in the cage to encourage nesting behavior.. just a few toys (plastic rings with a bell, a layered rope toy, a bunch of wooden stars on leather strips), plastic chains, and several rope perches. It's a big cage, so spartacus can steer clear of agador, but I am fearful that spartacus, always the more timid of the pair, will get hurt by agador's advances/rough playing.

What happens if they are the same sex? Will agador eventually back down? Will the aggression pass? Does it matter if they're siblings?

Any suggestions? The breeder was of little help. I appreciate the help!

[CrazyBirdLady]

I will assume they are peachface lovebirds, since they tend to be the most aggressive of the common lovebirds.

I would suggest you have them DNA tested. You can do it yourself and it will cost you $50 and you will know for sure. Avianbiotech.com - Avian Sexing Center

The behavior you are stating that Spartacus is showing towards your husband, sounds like male hormonal behavior. The clicking sounds are usually accompanied by a little dance and yes, regurgitation. For some reason, this attracts a willing female lovebird! If his droppings appear runny, you might consider contacting your vet for a check-up as it can be a sign of illness.

You might consider housing them seperately to see if that helps with the aggression for a bit. If they are siblings you don't necessarily want them to breed, especially if you don't know whether their parents were related or not.