Lovebirds - Night Chirping

Question
Dear Chris,

I really need your advice.

Last year I adopted two elderly, abused lovebirds. (they were kept in their cage for about 10-12 years).  I love them to pieces, and totally spoil them.  To see them fly for the first time was beautiful.  

Once I got them home, I realized after a few weeks that they can be quite aggressive and harm each other, (even draw blood!) so I purchased separate cages for them.  I allow them to play together and cuddle when I can be there to monitor, but they sleep in separate cages and it's never been a problem.  

My question has to with a recent development in their behavior at night.  They are now chirping at different hours of the night.  Sometimes it starts at 2am!  The normal time that they seem to want to get up is at 5am, which is OK - I will take the cover off at that time.  At 6am, I open the door and let them fly and play for a few hours until I leave for work.  When I come home at 7pm, they want to go to bed...and they let me know it!  LOL!  So they have a pretty full day of exercise in the morning and shredding paper during the day.

The early chirping sessions have been happening for a few weeks now, and it's becoming very disruptive to my sleep.
They have their own room, and I close the door each night to make sure they are not disturbed.  I'm not sure what to do about the chirping.  It sometimes happens every hour on the hour until they are ready to get up.  Luckily I live in my house alone and not in an apartment building!

The only thing that has been different for them recently is the fact that I had an African Grey visit for a few weeks, but he never slept in their room with them.  He only spent time in his cage in their room during the day and they seemed very curious about him and not afraid at all.  In fact, the Grey was more afraid of them!  

The Grey is gone now, but the night chirping continues.

Any ideas?

Sincerely,

Debbie
"Sleepless in Jersey"

Answer
Hi
The chirping is a way of maintaining contact with the other bird when they are physically separated.

Explaining their general behaviour is not easy. I think (because of the paper shredding) that you may have two females and in the absence of males they want company but then get frustrated! Most young females cope with this by forming a homosexual relationship. Maybe these two have had hetero relationships in the past hence the frustration.

Do they have nest boxes?  You could try a large cage with two nest boxes attached and see if that resolves the problem.

Good luck!