Aggression versus "Playing"
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2016 6:50 pm
At the end of December, we brought our Lady Gouldian finches, Robert and Cora, home. We have been enjoying them and observing their behavior for a little over three months. When we brought them home, they were in a 17x 23 cage. We've recently moved them to an 18x30 cage. We bought them at a reputable store that specializes in birds. The sales person told us that an older woman had brought them in for re-sale because she couldn't care for them any longer. She told the people in the store that the two had mated and had one brood.
We're trying to determine if 1) Robert's occasional pecking and chasing is aggressive or playful activity and 2) if they might be incompatible as mates.
To date, Cora has not laid any eggs. We give them seed daily as well as greens (lettuce and sprouts). Several times a week, we give them boiled egg, including shell. The cage has two containers for water and two cuttlebones. We have two food cups on one side of the cage for seed and usually put the sprouts or egg on a plate at the bottom of the cage. They seem happy eating from both. Although each of them usually eats from a specific food cup, they both eat from each of them.
We have one water container hanging on the side of the cage and another on the cage floor. They prefer the later, both for drinking and occasional splashing and bathing. We spray them three or four times a week if they haven't been bathing. They seem to enjoy it.
Cora and Robert alternate their day between periods of sitting still and periods of activity. When they're still, they often sit near each other, usually five or six inches apart. When they're active, they fly among the perches or hop around the cage floor, which we have covered with corn-cob litter. At night, they usually roost on the lower of the two perches, sometimes five or six inches apart and sometimes closer.
Robert performs his mating dance every morning. Sometimes, Cora encourages him to begin with a little croak. Usually, when he begins, she sits watching, but as he approaches, she usually flies away and he stops. He sings to her frequently during the day, sometimes on the same perch and sometimes from a branch nearer the top of the cage.
Periodically during the day, Robert will approach Cora and make a pecking motion towards her beak. Sometimes, she returns the motion and sometimes she flies away. He does not make contact and has not pecked any feathers from her.
Robert also has periods when he appears to chase Cora around the cage. For example, if she is sitting on one of the food cups and he's on the other, he'll jump to hers. Wherever she flies, he follows. As with the pecking motion, he does not directly attack her, but does pursue.
As we're novices and have not had any kind of birds before, we'd appreciate advice as to whether Robert's behavior qualifies as "aggressive." We'd also like advice on anything we could do to improve their habitat or if we should separate Robert and Cora, introduce another female (or male), or both.
Many thanks!
We're trying to determine if 1) Robert's occasional pecking and chasing is aggressive or playful activity and 2) if they might be incompatible as mates.
To date, Cora has not laid any eggs. We give them seed daily as well as greens (lettuce and sprouts). Several times a week, we give them boiled egg, including shell. The cage has two containers for water and two cuttlebones. We have two food cups on one side of the cage for seed and usually put the sprouts or egg on a plate at the bottom of the cage. They seem happy eating from both. Although each of them usually eats from a specific food cup, they both eat from each of them.
We have one water container hanging on the side of the cage and another on the cage floor. They prefer the later, both for drinking and occasional splashing and bathing. We spray them three or four times a week if they haven't been bathing. They seem to enjoy it.
Cora and Robert alternate their day between periods of sitting still and periods of activity. When they're still, they often sit near each other, usually five or six inches apart. When they're active, they fly among the perches or hop around the cage floor, which we have covered with corn-cob litter. At night, they usually roost on the lower of the two perches, sometimes five or six inches apart and sometimes closer.
Robert performs his mating dance every morning. Sometimes, Cora encourages him to begin with a little croak. Usually, when he begins, she sits watching, but as he approaches, she usually flies away and he stops. He sings to her frequently during the day, sometimes on the same perch and sometimes from a branch nearer the top of the cage.
Periodically during the day, Robert will approach Cora and make a pecking motion towards her beak. Sometimes, she returns the motion and sometimes she flies away. He does not make contact and has not pecked any feathers from her.
Robert also has periods when he appears to chase Cora around the cage. For example, if she is sitting on one of the food cups and he's on the other, he'll jump to hers. Wherever she flies, he follows. As with the pecking motion, he does not directly attack her, but does pursue.
As we're novices and have not had any kind of birds before, we'd appreciate advice as to whether Robert's behavior qualifies as "aggressive." We'd also like advice on anything we could do to improve their habitat or if we should separate Robert and Cora, introduce another female (or male), or both.
Many thanks!
