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en_una_isla
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17 Aug 2006, 4:49 pm

I have three birds, 2 male (a white one and a green one) and 1 female (yellow). Both the white and green one are smitten with the yellow one, and the yellow one returns both of their affections, though I think she feels a bit sorry for the green one and is intimidated by the white.

From day 1 the white one bullied and harrassed the green bird (the other male) and ogled and fawned over the yellow one (the female). The white one became more and more abusive toward the green one to the point where the green one would cower in the corner of the cage and was always alone unless the female dropped by to visit him. The white one was pecking feathers off of the green one and otherwise humiliating him and making him miserable.

So I brought up a smaller cage from the basement and put the green one in there alone but placed the cage next to the larger cage where the white one and the yellow one now live. The green one's health steadily improved but now he clutches to the side of the cage staring into the big cage at the yellow one, and she does the same thing, clutching to the side of her cage, staring at the green one, while the white one lords over her from a high perch and watches the whole thing disapprovingly.

Now, should I instead have kicked out the white one (the bully) and let the green one have the female?

Should I have them take turns in the big cage with the female?

Should I get a new female? Who gets the new female? The bully or the underdog?

I am afraid of accidentally getting another male when I think I'm getting a female... then my bird problems would only increase. :roll:



Paula
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17 Aug 2006, 5:00 pm

Birds establish pecking orders when close together, thats just what they do. If you don't want to get another bird, then yeah, switch them or rotate them. Birds need their flocks or they get really lonely. If you can't spend alot of time with the solo bird and you don't want a risk of getting another male, A finch might work, I got one for my Cockatiel, and that worked out nicely.....F.Y.I.cockatiels get along really well with other birds, they are not as territorial.



julieme
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17 Aug 2006, 7:02 pm

Maybe you can foster a bird for one of the rescues in www.petfinder.com

That way if it did not work out the bird could go back