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Fighting in a new loft

386 views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  BreadcrumbsandRoses 
#1 ·
I've just adopted my first 4 birds, and brought them home to a new loft about a week ago. They're Capuchins, two males, one a little bigger than the other, and two nearly identical females, all 1-2 years old. The breeder thought the smaller male and one of the females had started pairing up on their own but wasn't quite sure (she didn't plan to breed them, I might let them raise a couple chicks), and the larger male had been housed in a separate loft.

The main problem is, the larger male is bullying the smaller, and it seems to be getting a little worse the last few days instead of settling down. I haven't seen any blood & he's been able to eat, but the big guy is starting to tear bald spots on the smaller male's neck, is constantly trying to mate with both females (to be fair, they're both trying to impress both females), sits in both the milk crate nest boxes I have set up, and chases the smaller male around a good chunk of the day. The loft should be plenty big for them, there's lots of room to perch (but I haven't gotten any 1-bird sized perches, it's all longer boards and branches so far). I have a small travel cage (like 2' by 3') I could use short-term to separate them, but long-term I kind of need them to work it out & cohabitate.

Should I just let them work if out? Separate them into pairs? Just separate the aggressive male? If so, should I put him in solitary within the loft, or bring him inside the house? Lastly, should I rearrange the loft in some way? Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
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