Ask Lafeber

Indian ringneck female parrot is aggressive

Hi, i have a pair of indian ringneck parrots (their age is not known). I have been observing for a few days that my female ringneck is really aggressive to my male ringneck. Whenever i come to give them food or clean their cage, the female starts attacking the male. Now, my male parrot’s flight feathers are not there (wings and tail).
Because of winters, i could not provide them a bigger cage so the cage is small but not as small for them to be fighting. We bought this female in September of last year (2023) because the other female flew away.
I simply cannof think of any reason she might be attacking him for. Please suggest a solution for this.
Much appreciated

Hi,

The reason may be as simple as they are not compatible. Not all parrots are. In the wild, parrots choose a mate. In captivity, they often do not care for the mate we choose for them. Sometimes they get along OK, but when hormones kick in, and they are not compatible as mates, they start fighting. Sometimes one bird likes the other, but it isn’t reciprocated. Is either bird tame with you or another person? This can cause a lot of confusion because parrots have one mate, and other adult parrots are seen as rivals. In this case, it may be jealousy since the female is doing it when you come near the cage. I would not keep these birds in the same cage. With this type of aggression, no cage is going to be large enough. It isn’t fair to him if she has pulled out his feathers or caused him to lose these feathers while trying to get away from her. He is now essentially helpless, and she very well may decide to kill him. He has to be very stressed at this point and it probably won’t get any better. There is nothing you can do to make two parrots get along. They either do or they don’t. I would move her to another cage, or possibly find her a new home if you don’t want a second cage. But as bad as this is, and in a short time, I would get them separated before it is too late.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda