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Hi guys, I have a question: one of my breeding males aggresively dominates the nest box (no eggs) from the female. He will rarley let the female near the entrance, and bites when she gets close. They've only had a box for about a month. Dose anyone think it will subside or have a reason to explain his behavior?


Appreciate the help,


Beth

You don't say what type of birds these are but IMO it sounds like they may not be a "bonded" pair. I'd take down the nestbox for now and see how they interact without it being there. Once you know that they are pair - i.e. sitting next to each other, preening each other, eating out of same bowl, etc. - then I'd reintroduce the nestbox.

Good luck

Sally
Idaho

I'm no breeder... but one thought is as Sally says... but then you can have a pair of birds who breed and raise chicks but never be a true pair... so repairing may be an option.

My only other thought is that the bird defending the nestbox might not be a male...

To be honest, my first thought was that the bird defending the box was a female but when she said they were a pair I thought of the other option, so I guess we are on the same page Monica

I am a stickler for sexing paperwork, and if I get birds without it or that act "weird" then I resubmit DNA tests. I also let the person who I bought the birds from know I am doing this and will make the results known to them.

If the "pair" are new birds, or haven't produced for you, then I would pursue this option first. Otherwise, if you KNOW they are male/female I would proceed with removal of nestbox etc.

Sally

Thanks for the input guys. I obtained them not too long ago from a women who had wanted to set them up with a box (as they had been shredding paper and stuffing it in their food dish) but never did. They're actually quite lovie-dovie (preening and reguiritating). After reading your posts, though, I'm thinking she may have had their sexes confused. She told me the smaller of the two was the female (the owner before her had had them sexed). That seemed logical as the supposed male was also more aggressive, as with most of my breeders. But we all know you can't categorize a birds' personality. Any rate, thanks for the input! Will keep a close eye on them (Peach-Faced Lovies!).


Beth

Actually, in lovebirds the males tend to be smaller, not the females! Females are supposedly a bit larger, broader, and when sitting have a wider stance of feet than the males... you might want to take a look at them when they are sitting on perches next to each other to see who has the wider stance...

However, considering a "new mutation", the longfeather (much like the english budgie, but not quite as established, being that a clutch can yield normals, intermediates, and longfeathers all in one) is larger than normal peachfaces, so if the male had "longfeather" (aka Standard Type roseicollis) in his genes then he could very well be larger than a normal female.
http://users.accesscomm.ca/parrot/articles/LFT.htm
http://africanlovebirdsociety.com/genet ... ather.html
http://www.birdhobbyist.com/parrotcolou ... ngfpf.html

Although considering, I'd say that longfeathers are probably pretty rare in the states, so my guess is that the larger one is female, and she's being protective of her nest... lovebirds, especially and particularly, the peachfaces, are very aggressive! They will attack another bird over 100x's their size if they see fit.

You might want to consider getting DNA tests done on the pair to ensure they are male/female. However, it really is my guess that if you have a male/female pair (and not female/female, which does happen occasionally with the birds acting out like a true pair) then it is the female who is protecting the nest... and females are known for bullying around the males!


You may get some better advice in the lovebird forum if you ask there!

How awesome are you!

I agree about the sexing and in the mean time thanks for the great links and information. I'm feeling so much more at ease with my Lovies and the possibility of knowing where the hostility is coming from! Maybe it's just mama doing her thing.

You guys are great,


Beth

Actually female lovebirds are usually much more aggressive than the males. They are also a tad bit bigger but this is very difficult to determine accurately.

Lilla,

I want to thank you again for the senegal female. I have handfed 2 clutches from her now and I have totally become smitten with senegals!!! It is so hard to let any of them go!!! I kept a female from the first clutch that I was unable to let go! I named her Sierra and I absolutely adore her!!! I took the nestbox away from the pair and they still want to go to nest again. they have been tearing up everything in their cage!! LOL!! At least she is not laying eggs on the cage floor though. They need their break!!!

Brandy