I switched my male lovebirds mate and he attacks her

[JulianM]

So my male Lovebirds original mate is quite a messy female and always throws her food and water around. Not to mention, she was very aggressive. What I ended up doing was introduce another, more docile female to him but he attacks her when she gets near him. I am 100% sure of their genders. However, I am unsure what to do because while him and his original female mate get along well together, she is very aggressive to humans and tosses her food trays around. I guess my main concern is will him and his new female mate eventually get along even though he constantly attacks her when she gets near him?

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums, Happy New Year!!

Generally, there is no guarantee a pair or group of birds will get along initially or ever become friendly. Please observe closely to prevent injuries or worse.

That said, I am not familiar with lovebirds. They have different social structure than other avians, hopefully experienced members will share their experiences. If you don't receive sufficient guidance, please consider posting a new topic in the Budgies/Parakeets forum. Make sure to change it a bit from your original post as we don't allow duplicate threads. (cross posting) You may also learn from prior threads in that area!

 

[Kiwibird]

First, please put your male back with his original, preferred mate or at least split him up from the new female before he hurts or kills her. Parrots are monogamous creatures and very selective about their mates, with whom they’ll generally remained paired with for life. Just because you didn’t like the first female doesn’t mean he didn’t nor does it mean he’ll like the female you prefer either. And no, it is not likely he will ever be able to be safely caged with or breed with her, though supervised interactions may improve over time.

Second, parrots generally fall into 2 categories, they are either breeders/bonded to another bird or they’re a pet bonded to humans. Breeding pairs do not make good pets in most cases. Individuals who are caged separately can certainly interact with each other, but to be a good pet, they can’t really be a mated pair. You need to decide whether you want to breed lovebirds (and if so, are you prepared for the difficulty and responsibility of being a responsible breeder) OR do you want pet lovebirds? The 2 usually aren’t interchangeable.

Lastly, parrots are notoriously messy creatures. All birds are actually. Flinging food around is normal bird behavior. They also create terrible messes with poop, feathers and ripping up toys. It’s a constant battle all bird owners face to keep them clean. I have 1 bird, not a big food flinger and his area can be cleaned spotless at 8am and by 9am it looks like a bomb went off. Some birds are slightly less messy than others, but if mess bothers you, birds in general of any size or species may not be the right pets for you.

 

[JulianM]

Thanks Kiwibird for the very detailed response! I actually have an edit to make to my post. So the original lovebird (aka messy one) that my male lovebird was previously with: I am unsure of the gender. It would attack him while they were together especially when they ate from the same dish or when he went on the original lovebird's stick (which I am assuming is a territorial issue), but at times they would sleep together. However, I eventually put them back together and they would regurgitate to each other. My goal is to breed, however I havent put a nest inside yet and am still unsure of the original lovebirds gender. Would puting a nest inside with my male lovebird and the original lovebird help me determine if it is actually a female? Just by observing their behavior carefully?

 

[catastrophe]

Lastly, parrots are notoriously messy creatures. All birds are actually.

Can confirm: have cleaned both linnie parakeet and sun conure areas in the morning, only to have had to clean them within two hours [emoji81] birds are definitely messy. Think of them as two year olds with wings.


Loki - Sun Conure [emoji169]

 

[Kiwibird]

I am not an expert on lovebirds, but I don’t believe any of the commonly kept species are sexually dimorphic. That means there is only one sure way to tell male or female and that is a DNA gender test. They don’t cost much and the sample can be taken at home or by the vet. Some experienced keepers and breeders might be able to note subtle differences between genders based on coloration or body shape and make a fairly good guess, but it’s never 100% until the bird reproduces or is gender tested. Parrots, especially captive bred parrots, can pair off with the same gender FYI.

I would suggest, before encouraging any kind of breeding behavior, you read over the following threads to learn more about what exactly it is you’re in for. Breeding parrots responsibly and ethically is a big undertaking and just because they lay fertile eggs does not mean they’ll make good parents (meaning you’ll have to take over hand feeding, which is a whole other level of difficult, especially with tiny birds). I’d think long and hard about why you want to breed them and if you’re up for it!

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/54987-before-i-start-breed.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/74363-so-you-bought-unweaned-baby.html