New love bird owner

[Marnie]

i have had Willie (peach face) about a week now. i have been miserable since i lost my IRN Bette (she has been missing a month now)
and longed to hear joyful noise in my house again. so i adopted this little lovey from our local parrot rescue. he is so very quiet, never hear much out of him at all. i know he is missing the comanionship of the other lovies he was housed with.
so i am adopting another peach face tomorrow, sex unknown.
how do i introduce them? i see multiple loveys housed together in pet stores so i suppose they like to be with their own kind. i want Willie to have a friend to keep him company. all the stores i called did not know the sex of their love birds. how the heck can you sell them if you don't even know their sex?
anyways, i can't wait to present Wille with a new friend, but am not quite sure how to go about it.
i have lots of bird experience but never had love birds before.
they are quite the little charmers.
any advice would be appreciated
Joan

 

[TeakwoodBirdHouse]

If you can, keep them in separate cages at first. Let them get to know each other before putting them together. And remember, Lovebird is just a name. Many lovies will not get along well. Especially females. They can be territorial, nippy, and possessive. I've had a few, and love them. But, they can make you crazy. Of all the birds I've had, my Bella was the bird who took my heart with her when she died. She was an extra special Lovebird.

 

[MikeyTN]

Lovebirds can be fine being the single bird! They don't have to have a mate. By giving them a mate, they can become very aggressive!!! I used to raise them...

 

[Marnie]

i don't really want him to have a "mate", i would like another male for a companion.
i had 2 male keets that were best friends and loved to talk to each other.
i was hoping the same for Willie.

 

[MikeyTN]

Like it was mentioned already, Lovebirds can be mean even to one another! It can be done, but depends on the individual bird. Not long ago someone was having the issue with two lovebirds fighting and one was the weaker one and was being pestered to the point he won't eat or drink. I suggested him to separate them into separate cages for good. He was fine after that. My partner wanted Lovebirds but I refuse to get them cause they can not get along with any of my birds, I know that from experience....

 

[sssaucey]

My local bird store had to move my lovebird's cage from being beside the other lovebirds cage because they didn't like each other , and fought through the bars

 

[YNAMomma]

I agree with the previous poster. Even though alot of people thing lovebirds need a partner to keep them happy, if you are able to give them adaquate time and love from you they are actually more fun without a mate in my opinion. They then bond to the humans in the house and become mroe affectionate to them instead of their cage mate.

 

[Marnie]

well the good news is these guys are getting along fantastic! they sit and preen each other in front of the mirror and chatter away at each other.
Willie was most excited when he heard the new lovebird come in the house. they eyed each other and chatted back and forth so we just put the newbie in with willie.
the new one called "levi" is having a blast with the new big cage,
he and his cage mate were in a tiny 10x13x21H cage, i can't believe how small it was. it had a nice swing and mirror in it which willie just loves! so i did get some good out of it. right now they are cuddled together asleep. so cute!
i will post a couple pics tomorrow.....

 

[IolaniAviary]

Your very lucky, in the future you should allow more time. It can take months and months to get two Lovebirds in the same cage, they are not social as their name suggests. My last pair took almost 4 months, and some pairs will simply never bond. I have heard of people throwing them in together and thinking things are dandy, and the next day the hen has killed the male.

If this bird was never hand-tame, I don't see a problem with getting a mate. Most parent-raised Lovebirds will never be quite like a hand-fed and many never come close. While they don't need a mate, if they aren't fit to be a pet it's a great idea. How wonderful that your providing a forever home!

Also, two males will sometimes fight. They may act fine together for quite some time, and once sexual maturity hits they will begin to act violent towards each-other. If you don't want chicks, and you have a female/male, you need to make sure there is nothing that resembles a nest. Chronic laying is far too common in these guys.

 

[MikeyTN]

Try sticking your hand into a pairs' cage and see what happens. Once they pair up, they're more mean then ever. Only very few cases that they're still staying sweet. I know I didn't put my hand anywhere in their cage....

 

[IolaniAviary]

I disagree completely.

Most pairs will simply fly away from your hand, my newest will try and fly out the door as quickly as possible. Now if you grab the hen, that's a different story. I do however have one hen who will fly OUT of the cage to bite you, but that's not all that common.

Many pairs are completely friendly, Spyros and Lawney were both hand tame and I never had an issue. It just depends if the bids are tame to begin with, and how much your work with them

 

[MikeyTN]

You can disagree all you want, that was my experience! I had multiple pairs at one point and they're very protective of their cage!

 

[IcyWolf]

Try sticking your hand into a pairs' cage and see what happens. Once they pair up, they're more mean then ever. Only very few cases that they're still staying sweet. I know I didn't put my hand anywhere in their cage....

We had a bonded pair of lovey's that lived at the pet shop I used to work at, the male was as sweet as could be but the female would literally charge at your hand and try to bite you. Her name was actually juliet but we all secretly called her the b**** lol. It was almost impossible to clean the cage or change their food and water without getting attacked by her!

@Marnie, did you adopt them from wings over williamsport or feathered friends sanctuary in lancaster?

 

[Marnie]

i adopted Willie from Wings Over Williamsport. he is an American Cinnamon Violet Pied and i was told he is friendly. he was sooo very quiet here in his new home that i really felt he was missing his cage mates.
hence i got "levi" who i renamed "Wonie" (Wille & Wonie) lol!
found him on craigslist.
Willie is larger than Wonie but i can barely tell them apart. Willie is in love with Wonies' mirror! i often find both of them there sharing the mirror.
they don't mind me putting my hands in the cage and i was told by Wonies' previous owner that he liked everybody and liked free flying time.
don't know the sex or age of Wonie. Wonie is more interested in new foods which is a good thing.
so far so good with these two. i just hope Wonie is a boy and i don't find any eggs. i love listening to them chattering away. i brought in a branch from my crab apple tree which is full of little fruits and they loved it.
i really got these guys to get some bird song back into my life while i hope and pray i get Bette back someday soon. they are sweet but i miss my Bette. thanks for all the info on these little dynamos. i learned a lot.
Joan