What to do with parrots that hate each other?

[Greenhouseparrots]

My conures have decided they hate my male cockatiel and I'm not sure what to do. They've always disliked him a bit but today I went into the room to find his eye has been attacked and I know it was one of the conures that has done it. They've never attacked him out of the blue but they chase him off of me sometimes if they want attention and he behaves aggressively towards them if they get close. They've co-existed for over a year (not in the same cage but when I let them out I let them all out together) and apart from getting a bit jealous of my attention there's been no problems. Their cages are next to each other and I've seen them trying to fight through the bars a couple of times but thought nothing of it. Are they stressed by being housed next to each other? Will I have to only let them out separately? Is there any way they'll get along? When they're out of the cage they can fly around and usually stay away from each other. I've been planning on getting a new cage which is bigger than the ones they currently have and they won't be next to each other anymore and won't be able to see each other either, will that help?

 

[SailBoat]

Separate them!
Separate times out of their cages!
One of the downsides of multiple Parrots.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

Thank you for the advice! I was afraid that I'd have to have different times out of cage for them since I'm starting a new job soon and I'll be home less and they've been quite spoilt with the amount of time they spend out of the cage each day. They'll be going from around 5 hours each work day to about 3 on a good day and only 1 on the worst days. It will be a struggle to split it for them but their safety comes first and it won't be forever. That's partly why I'm getting them bigger cages, so hopefully it helps with the transition for them.

 

[wrench13]

GreenHouse, I always try to warn folks thinking of adding to a flock. Many different things can happen in establishing an additional personality, one of which you find yourself. Separate cages for sure with some space between. Don't be surprised if the tops of cages need some kind of separation from incoming toes being bitten.

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

GreenHouse, I always try to warn folks thinking of adding to a flock. Many different things can happen in establishing an additional personality, one of which you find yourself. Separate cages for sure with some space between. Don't be surprised if the tops of cages need some kind of separation from incoming toes being bitten.

I've had them for over a year and I haven't changed anything in their routine in that time really. The only thing I can think of is the fact that they haven't been going outside much in the last week due to bad weather, but they have less space outside and have never had a problem there. Perhaps because outside they don't really have a territory since they don't actually live there? Whereas they like to go in each others cages inside and maybe the conures have decided they don't want that anymore.

This the cage I'm getting for them

Amazon.co.uk

Which is bigger than their current ones. The different types of birds share a cage each, so the two tiels are in one, the two conures are in another and the budgies are in my other cage. I also have several playstands (basically travel cages that I've put toys and perches on) which they like to hang out on. They generally ignore each other when they're out together, though they do tend to sit near each other. I have a picture of 7 of them chilling together on one of the playstands.

 

[kme3388]

I’m sorry to hear about your cockatiel. I hope his eye is okay.

Bird dynamics can be so challenging at times. I myself have 2 conures one male, and one female that get into little spit spats. My male decided he’s going to be a maverick, and not allow my female to eat while they are both out. He’s also chased her back in her cage. Her cage is his cage, and his cage is his cage. When she’s had enough she’ll snip, and he’ll stop for a bit. I’ve never seen any injuries. They never preen each other, or stand really close. If you split them apart they contact call all day long. I feel like their spit spats may be somewhat normal. Others would need to comment. I’ve only had the 2 of them together for a little over a year (in separate cages).

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

I’m sorry to hear about your cockatiel. I hope his eye is okay.

Bird dynamics can be so challenging at times. I myself have 2 conures one male, and one female that get into little spit spats. My male decided he’s going to be a maverick, and not allow my female to eat while they are both out. He’s also chased her back in her cage. Her cage is his cage, and his cage is his cage. When she’s had enough she’ll snip, and he’ll stop for a bit. I’ve never seen any injuries. They never preen each other, or stand really close. If you split them apart they contact call all day long. I feel like their spit spats may be somewhat normal. Others would need to comment. I’ve only had the 2 of them together for a little over a year (in separate cages).

My birds are similar to yours in that my budgies sometimes argue amongst themselves and my conures will have disagreements sometimes. Even the tiels have had minor disagreements, but they don't hurt each other. What's happened to my cockatiel is definitely not that unfortunately.

I think the dislike for him may have grown over the year since I put the cages next to each other, though one conure did used to preen him as she was socialised with cockatiels from when I got her. She's the one in my profile pic. He did used to try and be friends with them but these days he's aggressive to them and they're aggressive back. I definitely think my gcc is the problem as she doesn't like anyone except the other conure and me, and her personality is very very strong. She holds grudges, throws tantrums and picks fights, and she's very confident too. I originally had the cages together as they would contact call all day but now I think it's worth separating the cages.

 

[kme3388]

My birds are similar to yours in that my budgies sometimes argue amongst themselves and my conures will have disagreements sometimes. Even the tiels have had minor disagreements, but they don't hurt each other. What's happened to my cockatiel is definitely not that unfortunately.

I think the dislike for him may have grown over the year since I put the cages next to each other, though one conure did used to preen him as she was socialised with cockatiels from when I got her. She's the one in my profile pic. He did used to try and be friends with them but these days he's aggressive to them and they're aggressive back. I definitely think my gcc is the problem as she doesn't like anyone except the other conure and me, and her personality is very very strong. She holds grudges, throws tantrums and picks fights, and she's very confident too. I originally had the cages together as they would contact call all day but now I think it's worth separating the cages.

All 3 of my parrots are hormonal right now, and both of my conures are molting. They are sassy to put it lightly. I tried to get my Jenday off my shoulder yesterday, and she snipped at me. She didn’t want to go back to her cage.

I am not sure if @LaManuka is busy but would be a good resource for this. LaManuka has a flock, and a cockatiel. I had cockatiels growing up, and I felt like they were easy targets for other more rambunctious parrots. In the shelter I volunteered at they had the budgies, and cockatiels in a separate room to protect them from the more rambunctious parrots. It’s been so long sense I’ve had a cockatiel.

 

[LaManuka]

Firstly, my apologies. This will be a bit long-winded, but it explains how we got to where we are now! And thanks @kme3388 for the tag

Yeah, flock dynamics can be a bit challenging, can't they?! Somehow I've ended up with five when I'd much preferred to have had only two or three. But Jem the cockatiel joined the flock in March 2022, having been an escapee from elsewhere whom we caught in our back yard. We tried for weeks to find his family without success, so we decided he'd be better off here rather than being sent to a shelter and ending up heaven-knows-where. At that stage I was actively looking for a lorikeet baby and we finally got Lovejoy from a breeder in September 2022. THEN I walked into a pet shop to buy lorikeet food in June this year and ended up buying a princess parrot, Peach, sitting there with a terrible single wing clip that I knew I could get fixed, so she joined the flock too. So that's how we've ended up with five, along with Fang the cockatiel and Val the budgie.

Fang didn't like Jem very much when he first got here, Fang has always seen himself a bit more as "people" rather than a bird, and wasn't impressed with Jem's attempts at making friends. Adding Lovejoy to the flock has changed that dynamic over time though. Jem has decided that he REALLY doesn't like Lovejoy and the feeling is mutual, and Fang isn't crazy about him either. So Fang and Jem seem to have formed this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" alliance with each other and are now pretty much always together. Val the budgie and Lovejoy are best little buddies and spend a lot of time together and have formed a little cartel of their own, and if Jem starts anything with Lovejoy, Val is always right there to give him back-up. Not that Lovejoy needs it, he's a smaller species of lorikeet but one thing to know about ALL lorikeet species is that they NEVER back down! Add Peach the princess parrot into the mix - she has fallen MADLY in love with Lovejoy (he is very handsome after all!) and she will also take a swipe at Jem in order to defend her little rooster if he starts anything. So the dynamics here can be a bit of a challenge. And I do have to give them separate out-of-cage time and time-outs sometimes if tempers flare, just until things simmer down.

I had so much hoped that they would all get along, and they did for probably about the first 6 months or so, but as the personalities came out and alliances were forged they have changed over time. And who knows, they may change yet again for reasons that will probably never be clear to me. @Greenhouseparrots I think you are doing a wonderful job in managing all those personalities and I'm sorry to read that your 'tiel got injured - Val the budgie was once hospitalised by my then purple crowned lorikeet Lilly (she's the one pictured as my avatar) when she nicked his eye in a fight so I know how terrible that feels. Inevitably we will be left feeling like we could be doing more, goodness knows I feel that way when fisticuffs break out here. But the arrangements you're making getting bigger cages should you find your new job leads them to being caged a bit longer are very sound, and about the best that you can do for them under the circumstances.

 

[Free as a bird]

My conures have decided they hate my male cockatiel and I'm not sure what to do. They've always disliked him a bit but today I went into the room to find his eye has been attacked and I know it was one of the conures that has done it. They've never attacked him out of the blue but they chase him off of me sometimes if they want attention and he behaves aggressively towards them if they get close. They've co-existed for over a year (not in the same cage but when I let them out I let them all out together) and apart from getting a bit jealous of my attention there's been no problems. Their cages are next to each other and I've seen them trying to fight through the bars a couple of times but thought nothing of it. Are they stressed by being housed next to each other? Will I have to only let them out separately? Is there any way they'll get along? When they're out of the cage they can fly around and usually stay away from each other. I've been planning on getting a new cage which is bigger than the ones they currently have and they won't be next to each other anymore and won't be able to see each other either, will that help?

My conures have decided they hate my male cockatiel and I'm not sure what to do. They've always disliked him a bit but today I went into the room to find his eye has been attacked and I know it was one of the conures that has done it. They've never attacked him out of the blue but they chase him off of me sometimes if they want attention and he behaves aggressively towards them if they get close. They've co-existed for over a year (not in the same cage but when I let them out I let them all out together) and apart from getting a bit jealous of my attention there's been no problems. Their cages are next to each other and I've seen them trying to fight through the bars a couple of times but thought nothing of it. Are they stressed by being housed next to each other? Will I have to only let them out separately? Is there any way they'll get along? When they're out of the cage they can fly around and usually stay away from each other. I've been planning on getting a new cage which is bigger than the ones they currently have and they won't be next to each other anymore and won't be able to see each other either, will that help?

Ouch i hope your tiels eye heals well.
I'm just wondering are you sure it was an attack and not an accident in the cage? I hope it was just an accident but I think most of us agree that it's best to separate them.

I wish I could answer your questions with certainty but I can't, birds are birds, they're individual creatures with individual characters and knowing how they will react is a coin toss sometimes. I hope it all works out

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

Ouch i hope your tiels eye heals well.
I'm just wondering are you sure it was an attack and not an accident in the cage? I hope it was just an accident but I think most of us agree that it's best to separate them.

I wish I could answer your questions with certainty but I can't, birds are birds, they're individual creatures with individual characters and knowing how they will react is a coin toss sometimes. I hope it all works out

I can't be fully sure it was an attack as I wasn't there. I was only meant to be gone for an hour max (my parents were home though) and I ended up being gone for two and a half hours, so I left them out of the cages as my room is fairly bird safe at this point. I guess he could have hurt himself a different way but I don't know how, and the conures have been aggressive towards him and I have had to separate one of them from the flock for aggression before.

I decided to put them all out in the greenhouse today and keep an eye on them since I have a week off between finishing my old job and starting the new one and they've been fine. No aggression and my cockatiels eye is also fine luckily.

I think I'm going to have to just make sure I don't leave them unsupervised ever, and with the bigger cages I won't feel too guilty if they have to spend a bit more time in there. Thank you for your reply!

 

[Greenhouseparrots]

Firstly, my apologies. This will be a bit long-winded, but it explains how we got to where we are now! And thanks @kme3388 for the tag

Yeah, flock dynamics can be a bit challenging, can't they?! Somehow I've ended up with five when I'd much preferred to have had only two or three. But Jem the cockatiel joined the flock in March 2022, having been an escapee from elsewhere whom we caught in our back yard. We tried for weeks to find his family without success, so we decided he'd be better off here rather than being sent to a shelter and ending up heaven-knows-where. At that stage I was actively looking for a lorikeet baby and we finally got Lovejoy from a breeder in September 2022. THEN I walked into a pet shop to buy lorikeet food in June this year and ended up buying a princess parrot, Peach, sitting there with a terrible single wing clip that I knew I could get fixed, so she joined the flock too. So that's how we've ended up with five, along with Fang the cockatiel and Val the budgie.

Fang didn't like Jem very much when he first got here, Fang has always seen himself a bit more as "people" rather than a bird, and wasn't impressed with Jem's attempts at making friends. Adding Lovejoy to the flock has changed that dynamic over time though. Jem has decided that he REALLY doesn't like Lovejoy and the feeling is mutual, and Fang isn't crazy about him either. So Fang and Jem seem to have formed this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" alliance with each other and are now pretty much always together. Val the budgie and Lovejoy are best little buddies and spend a lot of time together and have formed a little cartel of their own, and if Jem starts anything with Lovejoy, Val is always right there to give him back-up. Not that Lovejoy needs it, he's a smaller species of lorikeet but one thing to know about ALL lorikeet species is that they NEVER back down! Add Peach the princess parrot into the mix - she has fallen MADLY in love with Lovejoy (he is very handsome after all!) and she will also take a swipe at Jem in order to defend her little rooster if he starts anything. So the dynamics here can be a bit of a challenge. And I do have to give them separate out-of-cage time and time-outs sometimes if tempers flare, just until things simmer down.

I had so much hoped that they would all get along, and they did for probably about the first 6 months or so, but as the personalities came out and alliances were forged they have changed over time. And who knows, they may change yet again for reasons that will probably never be clear to me. @Greenhouseparrots I think you are doing a wonderful job in managing all those personalities and I'm sorry to read that your 'tiel got injured - Val the budgie was once hospitalised by my then purple crowned lorikeet Lilly (she's the one pictured as my avatar) when she nicked his eye in a fight so I know how terrible that feels. Inevitably we will be left feeling like we could be doing more, goodness knows I feel that way when fisticuffs break out here. But the arrangements you're making getting bigger cages should you find your new job leads them to being caged a bit longer are very sound, and about the best that you can do for them under the circumstances.

Thank you for the reply! I'm glad it's not just me that's having these problems. I never realised how different their personalities could be until I had parrots, I kind of thought a bird is a bird and that they wouldn't be as complex as they are! I also never meant to end up with this many of them. I got two of them to begin with and then rescued one from a friend, and then rescued another and then someone I knew wanted to get rid of their bird and so on until now when I say no to anymore birds.

They've gotten on so well for about a year, and anytime I've gotten a new bird it's been very easy to integrate them into the flock. I owe that to my crimson bellied conure who has always accepted the new birds and the others have followed her lead. We even had a playdate with a friends cockatiel and my flock and it went fairly well so I know they're socialised and most of the time don't cause issues.

I'm going to make sure I don't ever leave them unsupervised and see how they do from now on, with the change in routine and if they do attack again then they won't come out together anymore. I can't be fully sure they actually did attack him as freeasabird pointed out, so it might not have been that. They were all fine outside together today so hopefully they're not actually attacking him.