adding new birds...

[bllivingston]

My lovebirds mate died yesterday. He was never as friendly as her. he'll come out of the cage and sit on my head, but is scared to "step-up" on my hand. He loves when I come over to the cage to talk with him and he doesn't like when I leave the room. He was usually the one being picked on by her, so I wouldn't classify him as aggressive.
I want to get him a companion. He keeps calling for his mate and he's unusually restless. I have an acquaintance who is selling a breeding pair of lovebirds. I'm worried about fighting if I introduce a bonded pair to him. I saw an ad for baby lovebirds for sale, (either 3 months or 6 months) but I worry that he might hurt the young bird.
What would be the best way to introduce a new bird to my lonely lovebird?

 

[sssaucey]

I wouldn't introduce a bonded pair with him for companions, lovebirds can be extremely aggressive. Not to mention the pair may see him as competition.

Since his mate just died I would wait a little while and see how he is. If you decide you still want to get him a companion you would have to introduce them slowly. After the new birds quarantine, keep their cages side by side and see how they interact through the safety of the bars. Once you feel that they are ready to meet (no aggression being shown), than they can have out of cage time together. Once you feel they are bonded you can than think about letting them share a cage.

 

[MonicaMc]

If a bird dies, it's highly recommended to find out the cause of death. If you don't know what the cause of death is, then you should first make sure that your current bird is healthy before even considering bring in any more birds.

 

[bllivingston]

Thanks, MonicaMC. I had them checked and both of my birds are healthy. I ended up getting a new female from a lovebird breeder. She got aggressive with her mate and he had to separate her. I had them separated the first couple of days, but they seemed to want to be with each other. They were side-by-side in separate cages and they were always as close as they could get. They are now in the same cage. A very large cage. Once, the male preened the female, but other than that, they don't interact all that much. They don't fight, but they don't cuddle or play. The male is very vocal - he wants me to pay a lot of attention to him and calls to me frequently, but he's not hand trained. The female was raised by a lovebird breeder, but she seems scared of me. It's only been just under two weeks. I don't know if she's still adjusting to her new surroundings... She's just not very friendly. She's just under a year old and he's just under two years. I know they can live a long time, I just want them to be happy!