Housing multiple Linnies

[Lisa]

I am in need of direction on how to house multiple Linnies in same cage if possible. This spring was my first time breeding and hand feeding Linnies. I decided to keep 2 males from the 1st clutch for pets. The boys have done well together in a large flight cage. I do see a fair amount of dominance type of behaviors towards each other such as one mounting the other and holding each other down, grabbing and pulling each others flight feathers when side by side on a perch seemingly just to make the other squawk. Some squabbles at the food dishes etc.. not sure if this is normal or a sign of trouble. They are also very nice to each other grooming and sleeping close. One of the females from this clutch was returned to me because the mom thought the young daughter handling the bird to rough etc.. Once the female bird came back into our home the brothers are now fighting and can not be in the same cage. They also pick on the female. The returned female was sweet at first but now wants nothing to do with them. I also have a 3rd male from the 2nd clutch that is still weaning. SO.... 3males and 1 female all in separate cages and the breeding pair in their own cage. 5 cages! I suspect this is hormonal behavior so have been taking measures described in the article about discouraging breeding behaviors. I have done all the thing like setting the cages close to get them used to each other, having them out together in neutral territory etc... now I am resorting to getting each bird out individually and spending quality time but it is not a calm environment as they want to fly on to the others cages and stir up trouble. Also the 2 older males frequently seem to jet around in their cage kind of angrily. I do not have the male's cages next to each other. If i take one bird out of the room to spend time they call and fret and the one i am trying to bond with just wants to get back to the group. I do want to keep the returned female. Please advise. This is not going well!! Thank you!
Oh and I know these birds are all related so of course I would not let them breed.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

I have many thoughts to offer, but my first question is: how old are they? If not at least 6 months old, hormones really wouldn't be in play.

 

[Lisa]

I have many thoughts to offer, but my first question is: how old are they? If not at least 6 months old, hormones really wouldn't be in play.

The 2 males and 1 female are right at 5 months old. One male is 3months. The Parents are around 3yrs old housed together, not tame and do not get out of their cage.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

The 2 males and 1 female are right at 5 months old. One male is 3months. The Parents are around 3yrs old housed together, not tame and do not get out of their cage.

I had started a post here with my thoughts on how to do this, but one important question remains to dictate how to do it. Who of these 4 do you plan to ultimately keep? Tell me that and I can make a better suggestion. Also... what have you got on hand for cages?

 

[Lisa]

I would like to keep them all. However the two older green males belong to my daughter and she will be taking them with her when she moves out in a year or so, hopefully in the same cage. For cages i have a prevue 528 small animal keeper and 2 other cages of similar size, 2 larger cages one is 34 wide x 40 high and the other one similar maybe a bit smaller, and lastly 2 18x18x30high.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Since your daughter will be taking two males, that leaves you with a male and a female, siblings... is that right? I find the bond of opposite sex siblings hard to break if caged together before sexual maturity and can cause issues if you wish to pair them to other mates later.

I would guess you sold the hen originally as she wasn't as big and lovely quality as the others, so if it were me, I would keep just the best one from the clutch for the future. I would cage mom and the female together in one cage until a good home is found, and put the 4 boys in the prevue 528. That is how I would keep it simple. Or at least I try

If you want to grow your breeding pairs, keeping opposite sex and buying unrelated mates for them works, but the babies are all related so you can't make a new pair for you or anyone else. Something to consider anyhow.

I find that sexually mature linnies of either sex eventually will go through periods of over preening each other, which makes dark marks in the feathering which I dislike. When I keep moving everyone around every 4-6 months they don't get over-bonded and tend not to do it.

 

[Lisa]

Yes, i will be left with a male and female' siblings which i would not want to breed and the breeding pair. Thanks for the insight! When not breeding do you cage multiple birds together based on sex or mix them together? How many do you keep in one cage? Is this based on space/cage availability or is there a strategy to this? When you move them around every so often how do you choose who goes with who and do they fight? In my first post above i was talking about how mine are all squabbling and fighting so i am separating them for fear of them injuring each other. Is this normal or does it indicate a problem?

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Linnies almost never fight if kept in even numbers. I find them very easy to mix and match. If you split a pair and they can hear each other, they may make some noise for a couple weeks until they pick a new partner which is hard. If you keep them in groups divided by sex, it is most drama free in the off season, and I find them less likely to preen each other to the point of some black striations in the feathers. Let them squabble and sort it out. The only time I intervene is if they are drawing blood. It is a pecking order they need to establish.

 

[Lisa]

Okay! Good to know thanks!