I am having a huge problem with a bonded bird

[pokor3]

I have Piper (sun conure) Boomer (IRN) Elliot (african grey)

Boomer has bonded with Piper,he hangs out on pipers cage ,goes in eats his food and drinks his water. He will even take a bath.
All the birds are males. I feel alot is hormones ,they don't feed each other I think it's a companionship thing.
When Boomer came to live with us Piper hated him..lunged at him every chance with an occasional connection. 3yrs later they have become friends.
the 2 birds live in separate rooms, my problem is Boomer lunges at me anytime I am near Pipers cage.if I am looking for something in the pantry
and happen to set my hand on top of the cage,boomer protects that cage & I end up literally bleeding. I take a couple blood thinners and this makes
a huge problem. I realize I'm the threat in the realationship,Boomer knows Piper & I are so bonded it was just he and I for 6-7 yrs.
I have clipped an extra feather on boomers wings,he still gets to pipers house. How long do any of you think this behavior will last, can this be a forever thing ? I can rehome him to a home that has his clutch mate. I should also add boomer will lean over to ask for a kiss only to ripp my
lip open. Help.....

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Pokor

So sorry to hear about your problems. I don't have any solutions but just some ideas for you to think about.

1. Firstly, you need to do what is best for your health so if you need to rehome Boomer, then do it. I don't say that lightly because I know it is very hard for birds to adjust to new homes... But he will adjust if you find him a good home.

2. Can you move Piper's cage so that you aren't accidentally putting your hand on it when doing other things?

3. For your own sake, don't put your face anywhere near Boomer.

4. These behaviours will continue until something changes. Has this just started? Could it be a breeding season behaviour? If so, it may stop when the bird's hormone levels change. Since that's hard for you to control, you need to also look at what you can control in your behaviours and in their environment. Things you could try include changing cage positions, altering the amount of out of cage time they get, moving cages, change the layout of the cage, increase training time. From what I've been learning, disruption can help with territorial type behaviours.

Good luck and best wishes.

Ellie.