Best Buddies Fighting

[deb 0]

Tweety and Runt who have always been close which i thought strange for two males have suddenly started fighting.It is more Runt picking on Tweety and first it was the normal peeks now and then but now Runt is attacking Tweety. He sits in the cage and chirps angrily at Tweety but last night he started chasing him and pinning him down to peek him. he would sit on the perch above Tweety and than jump on him to knock him to the bottom and then start chirping angrily at him and peek him.Tweety is too placid to fight back and runs away from him and hides in the corner. he has not made him bleed yet but i do not want it to get that far. this morning poor Tweety was trying to have a drink and Runt jumped on him and pushed him into the water bowl, it looked like he was trying to drown him.i had to grab Runt off Tweety so he could get out of the water.they do not fight when they are out for free time.the cage they are in is a dome top and is taller more than wider but because they spend alot of time out of the cage and have there wings clipped i thought it would be a okay cage for them.they are not moulting at the moment so i rule out that reason for his behaviour but i am so confused about why this is happening.

[Elly 0]

Are either of your birds going through a molt?

Do have you have pictures of your set up or the size dimension of the cage?

How old are both your birds?

Are you sure they are both males (sometimes people don't know for sure)?

When does the fighting occur? During the day or in the evening?

 

If you have a separate cage I would consider separating but putting them next to each other so they scream for each other so you can get this sorted out.

[deb 0]

here is a photo of their cage and i know it is not the right type of cage but they are normally out of their cage for 2hrs in the day and then 3 hrs in the evening so i thought they would be okay in that cage but is it too small for them. they are not moulting and they are both males.Tweety is 18 months old and Runt is 4 months old and has already gone through first moult. the fighting occurs during the day and gets worse at evening so i have to make sure i let them out by 7.30pm. when they are out they follow each other around the house and i saw Tweety feeding runt.the way they act in the cage is so different to how they are in free time. i do not have any spare cages at the moment, they are all in use.

 

[Guest Phoebe]

:ygbudgie: Your cage certainly looks big enough for the two of them so they each have their own space. Two of my rescues (Sky of the ever growing beak that needs to be clipped monthly and Pickle had some sort of fight last week, I don't think there was an accident) and poor Sky ended up with a bloody foot and blood everywhere. I was about to pop him in a spare cage but, as he and Pickle are usually so close, I elected to rearrange the cage and put in new toys. And it worked!!! All is well now so maybe that is what you should do.

[deb 0]

that is a good suggestion, i will rearrange the cage and see if it helps them.

[Rainbow 0]

I think the opposite, the cage is not big enough. Either a much bigger cage or a seperate cage for each bird will be necessary in the long term. Another thing came to mind though, and that is Runt is 4 months old. You say he is demanding food from Tweety. If he is 16 weeks he is not very old, and a normal age to still be getting some regurgitated food from mom and dad. He may be running Tweety ragged demanding food. Tweety probably complied at first, it is normal, but probably has no desire to feed this baby. They have not been together long enough to form that type of friendly bond due to Runt's age. It takes time. I'm sure Runt can feed himself, he's not doing this because he can't, it's a stage they go through, being so demanding. It is very unusual to have completed the first molt at 4 months though, that is usually when it begins and is over by 6 months. How long have you had Runt and are you certain of his birthdate? They do go through a very annoying stage once that first molt is over too, from about 7 - 10 or 11 months of age, then settle down a little. Also, are you certain Runt is male?

[deb 0]

Runt is definitley a male and i looked back at my records and sorry he is only 14 weeks old.he probably has not gone through his first moult, i thought he had because he is missing some bars on the top of his head. i handraised him myself and weaned him onto seed at 7 weeks so he can feed himself.

Tweety is the one who wants to feed him and Runt gets annoyed with him trying to.they have been sharing a cage since Runt was 9 weeks old.

[**KAZ** 0]

Sorry to say Deb that I agree with the cage not being big enough or correct type for two birds. Think of a bird being able to fly across the cage for exercise and you will say that they need way more space than they have. Filled with toys and perches and they have even less space. Bickering is usually about space and possession of that space.

I would be getting them a bigger cage...wider so they can fly across from perch to perch. One cannot get away from the other when it needs to.

2 0r 3 hours out of cage time compared to the 24 hours in day kind of means jail time in a small cage for two.

Edited February 7, 2008 by KAZ

[deb 0]

thanks everyone for your help, i was thinking it might have been a cage problem so it looks like i will have to find a new cage. the pet shop near me sells bigger cages but they are about $180 so i might look around to see if i can find one cheaper.

[**KAZ** 0]

thanks everyone for your help, i was thinking it might have been a cage problem so it looks like i will have to find a new cage. the pet shop near me sells bigger cages but they are about $180 so i might look around to see if i can find one cheaper.

Deb, I got some cages off ebay recently from an easy to deal with seller. I will try and find you some links for some appropriate cages. You will be able to use your existing cage for future quarantining cage and or hospital cage.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/30-AVIONE-Deluxe-Fl...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

This is the dealer I bought my cages from.....

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Large-Bird-flight-e...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Jumbo-Bird-flight-e...1QQcmdZViewItem

Edited February 7, 2008 by KAZ

[deb 0]

thanks for the links, there is some nice cages there.the cages you bought was that 4 of them for $155, that is a good bargain.

[**KAZ** 0]

thanks for the links, there is some nice cages there.the cages you bought was that 4 of them for $155, that is a good bargain.

The ones I bought were 6 cages for $155. I bought 12 of them and it was free postage too at the time ...so a bargain.

Edited February 7, 2008 by KAZ

[deb 0]

that is awesome,i will be keeping an eye on ebay.thank you for all your help.i rearrange the cage today and the fighting has settled down. i will keep changing the cage until i get their new cage.

[Elly 0]

I agree with Anne and Kaz on the cage size and more...

You have to remember that they spend the majority of their time in that cage and 2-4 hours a day of flight time is not a lot when you consider you have 24 hours in a day.

 

A bigger cage is going to make the difference and then you can keep that cage to the side for quarantine.

[deb 0]

i rearranged the cage and there was no fighting last night.i know i have to get a new and bigger cage but i am happy that at the moment they are back to being friends.

[Guest Phoebe]

:ygbudgie: That's great they have settled down with the rearranging and upon looking at the cage again, I erred and everybody else is correct, a bigger cage would be much better, actually Sky and Pickle have a pretty large cage. Ever since I picked up a rescue tiel in a finch sized cage, any cage looks pretty good to me! Hope their new cage arrives soon! :hap:

[Bec Sta 0]

Good to hear that Tweety and Runt are back to being friends .

 

 

:ygbudgie: That's great they have settled down with the rearranging and upon looking at the cage again, I erred and everybody else is correct, a bigger cage would be much better, actually Sky and Pickle have a pretty large cage. Ever since I picked up a rescue tiel in a finch sized cage, any cage looks pretty good to me! Hope their new cage arrives soon!

 

A tiel in a finch sized cage?!

Poor thing wouldn't have had room to even breathe.

[Guest Phoebe]

:ygbudgie: She lived in that cage for 5 years, no wonder she plucked and laid eggs, she is doing just fine now and enjoys her many toys, time out of cage, sitting on my shoulder and BIG cage! And hardly lets out a peep, ever. Glad your guys are getting along, Sky and Pickle just had that one incident and they are happy together now!

[Bec Sta 0]

:ygbudgie: She lived in that cage for 5 years, no wonder she plucked and laid eggs, she is doing just fine now and enjoys her many toys, time out of cage, sitting on my shoulder and BIG cage! And hardly lets out a peep, ever. Glad your guys are getting along, Sky and Pickle just had that one incident and they are happy together now!

 

For five years, that's awful. I'm glad to hear she is happy now, she sounds like a very sweet girl .

[deb 0]

i can not understand how someone could put a tiel in a little cage, she is lucky to have found you Phoebe and be able to enjoy her life.

[deb 0]

i have just bought a new cage on ebay for Tweety and Runt, it is 91cm high,74cm wide and 46cm deep. i hope that will be big enough for them. i know it is still more taller than wider but most of the cages seem to be that way. i also woke up this morning to little blue feathers all over my floor so Runt must be moulting. i have to wait for deliverer now.it only cost me $72 and it is brand new.

[Guest Phoebe]

:ygbudgie: Lovely, they will enjoy it!

[birdluv 0]

they are going to love their new cage :budgiedance: