Pair of 1 Yr Old Lovebirds--Baby Boy Died Sunday--New Mate?

[christine]

Hi everyone, my name is Christine.

I have a pair of lovebirds that I got around December of last year (they are about a year old now). Since I have gotten them my life has totally revolved around them. I got them tested for every bird disease they might have--they are all negative.

They have two macaw-sized cages, one at home and one at work. They migrate with me to work everyday. I recently decided to let their wings grow out so they can fly. I was teaching them to only hang out on a few bird safe landing zones.

At some point the little boy ate metal. I went to an engagement party on Saturday and I had to leave around 4pm, got home at 1am and didnt want to disturb the birds with light so I put a blanket over their cage but I didnt stare into the cage cause it was too hard to see so I didnt check on them. The female woke me up at 8am loudly singing. I took blanket off and saw the male sitting at the bottom of the cage looking like he was sitting peaking out of the bars at the bottom----then I noticed he was too still. He had died at some point between 4pm and 8am.

I was devastated. He was my little buddy. He was the most friendly of the two and the most bonded to me. He didnt "step up" he "leapt up" he was always so excited to hang out with me.

I took his body to the avian vet who did an x-ray and found metal in his stomach--a tiny bit but thats all it takes. I looked back at the past few days to see if I had any sort of clue to his demise. The only thing I can think of is that before I left for the engagement party he was spending a lot of time on the heated perch. Perhaps he wasn't feeling well.

I'm still playing the blame game trying to figure out what I did to cause this. I wish I could turn back time. I miss him so much its crazy how much these little birds have wormed their was into my heart. I was hoping to have 10-15 years with them at least--and it was cut way too short for the little boy. I wish I had at least been there to comfort him when he didn't feel good.

Since this has happened my focus has turned to the little girl. She has been spending a lot more time on my shoulder or on my head. She's attached--I'm thinking about renaming her Glue or something. I'm worried about her being without the little boy--her boyfriend.

Should I get another bird for her? Maybe it would help both of us get over the loss.

Then again there is logistics to worry about--how do you transition a new bird into the house? Especially if she has been tested for every disease and is in the clear. How do you buy a new bird, keep them separate so as not to spread disease on accident, get the new bird tested, wait a week or two for results meanwhile living with two birds living separately--one of them brand new and needy because they are scared and in a new place and the other one newly mateless and more needy because of that? Not to mention, what happens if the new bird comes back positive for Psittacine or something?

Any way, thanks for listening/reading. RIP Baby Boy whose name forever changed but I always called him Baby. The little boy is the one with the more boldly orange forehead and a blue butt. The girl is all green with a orange/grayish forehead that fades into the green.

 

[MikeyTN]

I'm very sorry to hear about your baby boy!!!!

When you get the new bird you must keep them separated until you do the testing that would be correct! But even then you should try to keep them separated in different room for at least a month before introducing them together. Keep them in separate cages and let them see each other then allow them to play together and see where you go from there.

 

[Fae88]

First off I have to say I am SO sorry about your loss . Years ago I lost my male Lutino Cockatiel "Scooter" and it literally took me until recently to get over it enough to even entertain the idea of owning another parrot.

I am new to Lovebird ownership. But I have a lone male Lovebird. His previous owner was sick of him and his mate and decided to give them away. The female went to her new home first leaving the male alone in his previous home for a couple weeks. The previous owner was not worried about them being separated, they just wanted to be rid of them . Which is sad because they were together for over a year.

Long story short I ended up with the male and his cage and food for free. I took him to the avian vet and all of his tests came back to show that he is healthy. I had his wings clipped just because he had little to no human contact and I didn't feel comfortable taking him out of the cage fully flighted.

While he is alone I don't feel that he is depressed. He has seven new fun toys to explore and play with and gets out of his cage for 2-3 hours a day if not more. I have only had him for a short time but I have devoted a lot of time and attention to him. He seems to be content. He is constantly beak grinding in and out of his cage. He can be a little nippy like the majority of Lovebirds but it doesent bother me.

Anyways my point is. I too am new to this lone lovebird situation. But I do think a single lovebird can be happy with out a mate as long as said bird gets LOTS of attention, toys, and out of the cage time....At least that's been my experience.

 

[Lovely]

Same thing happen to me. My first 2 lovebirds were sisters, and when one of them died the other one got really attached to me. I couldn't have that, because I was working, and going to school. I knew Nips (the one still alive) would be very depressed being alone almost 5-10 hours a day (includes sleeping) I did find her another friend. The first night I brought the friend home, they got along very well. Instant friendship.

 

[christine]

Thanks everyone for your responses, the little girl seems to be perfectly happy despite being without her mate. She keeps making small clicking noises at me, which I've equated to a cat's purring. She seems happy. I am going to wait a bit before deciding to get another baby--its expensive to get all those tests done for Psittacine, DNA sexing, etc. The Vet did confirm that I should keep them separate for about a month so thanks MikeyTN. Fae88-your new lovebird looks like my Baby Boy . Thanks for being so understanding, I never expected to be as attached to lovebirds as a dog but I am. I hope when I get another bird that they have instant friendship like yours did Lovely.