Hi Fellow IRN Parents
Have tried to google this, but cannot find a conclusive solution. Am stressed out to the max, if i was a feathered creature, i would not have a single one left. :-(
We have two babies - an older (by a year) male IRN (Joy, hatched 2015), and female IRN (Hope, hatched 2016). (I've posted before about them here: My baby laid eggs, but not hatching :'( - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community)
We got Joy in December (about 3 months old) Hope when she was about 6/7 months (got her in Feb, March 2017), The reason for Hope joining the family so late, is that in Jan 2017, we lost our first female IRN, Cheeky, and Joy was extremely stressed over losing his mate. He plucked to a point where i was having anxiety attacks over his failing health, and my partner begrudgingly agreed to get him another mate.
Enter Hope.
Hope bonded with my partner from onset, and took over dominion of the cage immediately - but accepted Joy in her space. They mated last year (2018) without any aggressive behaviour displayed. The eggs (as expected) did not hatch. They co-existed in the one cage with no problems through all this - in spite of Hope's aggression towards us.
I forgot all about the previous post i did last year, it was quite a memory jog to read it :P
This year, the mating ritual started again, however there was an incident where Hope attacked Joy and nearly killed him. Needless to say, I INSISTED on a separate cage for Joy (for when i have to leave the house), but my partner INSISTED that they still sleep in the same cage due to Joy being extremely stressed out when separated from Hope. We removed the breeding box from Hope's cage as well, but she still nested and laid eggs anyway.
Now we moved homes. Hope's completely abandoned her eggs and does not tolerate Joy in her cage at all anymore. I understand they are extremely stressed at the moment and need time to adjust. But it feels like i am fighting a losing battle, because Joy is adamant to be as close as possible to Hope, to go in to the cage to just "hang out" or to try and feed her.
Hope, on the other hand, is adamant to apparently try and kill Joy.
Joy is not getting the message, and in no way shape or form deterred by Hope's aggressive and violent behaviour. It's almost like he is on a suicide mission. When i close him in his own cage, he becomes very stressed out. When i let him out, he is adamant to go to Hope, who now without fail attacks Joy when Joy comes near her. So Joy is stressed out, either way.
Joy is my ray of sunshine, i rescued him in December 2015 and am emotionally perhaps over attached to this bird. I dearly would like to keep this birdy baby of mine. Hope is my partner's bird, and obviously she's not going anywhere either.
What am i to do? Please, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My partner wants them to sleep together in one cage again, but i cannot bear the thought - fear completely overwhelms me. The day that Hope attacked Joy, i was there to witness it and it was a traumatizing experience for me. It's with high levels of anxiety that i relented and allowed Joy to sleep with Hope in the same cage again, only because Joy gets so upset when separated from Hope.
I am definitely, considering the new environment and increased aggressive behaviour, not going to allow them to even sleep together - one morning i will oversleep and then?
What am i to do?
Have tried to google this, but cannot find a conclusive solution. Am stressed out to the max, if i was a feathered creature, i would not have a single one left. :-(
We have two babies - an older (by a year) male IRN (Joy, hatched 2015), and female IRN (Hope, hatched 2016). (I've posted before about them here: My baby laid eggs, but not hatching :'( - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community)
We got Joy in December (about 3 months old) Hope when she was about 6/7 months (got her in Feb, March 2017), The reason for Hope joining the family so late, is that in Jan 2017, we lost our first female IRN, Cheeky, and Joy was extremely stressed over losing his mate. He plucked to a point where i was having anxiety attacks over his failing health, and my partner begrudgingly agreed to get him another mate.
Enter Hope.
Hope bonded with my partner from onset, and took over dominion of the cage immediately - but accepted Joy in her space. They mated last year (2018) without any aggressive behaviour displayed. The eggs (as expected) did not hatch. They co-existed in the one cage with no problems through all this - in spite of Hope's aggression towards us.
I forgot all about the previous post i did last year, it was quite a memory jog to read it :P
This year, the mating ritual started again, however there was an incident where Hope attacked Joy and nearly killed him. Needless to say, I INSISTED on a separate cage for Joy (for when i have to leave the house), but my partner INSISTED that they still sleep in the same cage due to Joy being extremely stressed out when separated from Hope. We removed the breeding box from Hope's cage as well, but she still nested and laid eggs anyway.
Now we moved homes. Hope's completely abandoned her eggs and does not tolerate Joy in her cage at all anymore. I understand they are extremely stressed at the moment and need time to adjust. But it feels like i am fighting a losing battle, because Joy is adamant to be as close as possible to Hope, to go in to the cage to just "hang out" or to try and feed her.
Hope, on the other hand, is adamant to apparently try and kill Joy.
Joy is not getting the message, and in no way shape or form deterred by Hope's aggressive and violent behaviour. It's almost like he is on a suicide mission. When i close him in his own cage, he becomes very stressed out. When i let him out, he is adamant to go to Hope, who now without fail attacks Joy when Joy comes near her. So Joy is stressed out, either way.
Joy is my ray of sunshine, i rescued him in December 2015 and am emotionally perhaps over attached to this bird. I dearly would like to keep this birdy baby of mine. Hope is my partner's bird, and obviously she's not going anywhere either.
What am i to do? Please, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My partner wants them to sleep together in one cage again, but i cannot bear the thought - fear completely overwhelms me. The day that Hope attacked Joy, i was there to witness it and it was a traumatizing experience for me. It's with high levels of anxiety that i relented and allowed Joy to sleep with Hope in the same cage again, only because Joy gets so upset when separated from Hope.
I am definitely, considering the new environment and increased aggressive behaviour, not going to allow them to even sleep together - one morning i will oversleep and then?
What am i to do?