Hello everyone I am new to the community and was hoping someone could help me. I have a pair who have two babies that are now two weeks old. We have noticed tonight that the male has become aggressive toward the female and will not let her in the nest box. He is in there and seems to have decided he wants to care for the chicks himself! This is our first time breeding and everything has gone smoothly up until now, the chicks are healthy and growing well. This has been the first concern we have had and I've been doing some reading but can't find any information to help me with this one!

 

Hopefully someone can shed some light for me!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Faye

Hi Faye,

 

Welcome to the forum. It's normal for the male to take on more of the feeding activities once the chicks get to this age. But not so normal for the parents to be at odds with each other. As long as they are working things out, I would say to just keep an eye on them. If for some reason the male seems to be a danger to the female, then you could easily remove her from the breeding cage and let the father finish rearing the chicks.

 

What is more common is for there to be some kind of aggression (not always) at the time the chicks start to fledge. Because at that time, one or more of the parents gets the idea that they want to start a second round, and they see the first round chicks as being in the way. So then you have to watch out for one of the parents attacking the chicks. I've also seen it where one parent wants to start a second round, but the other doesn't. So then the two of them may start to fight. Or they may fight if one parent is defending the chicks from the other parent.

 

But most of the time everyone does the job they are supposed to do, and they often transition very smoothly to the next round, even with the older chicks still present. So hopefully what you witnessed is just a temporary squabble. But always be alert, like you have been, and if one of the birds seems to be in danger, then you have to decide whether to take the aggressor out, or else the victim, depending on the situation.

 

Edit: I Forgot to say that fledging is around four weeks of age.

Edited July 16, 201410 yr by Finnie