Several lovebird questions

[Sorechia]

So I got a lovebird April 6, she was hatched Feb 15. I say she but I have no idea if she is a she or a he. Anyway, I had never even considered lovebirds, I always thought of them as the other small birds, nice to look at but not really personable. Well that was until I walked into our local bird store. She had a hand-fed lovebird that was AWESOME. I came back to get him, and he was sold, so she just reached in the cage with all of them and grabbed one at random. That produced Romulan, the dutch blue lovebird. My husband who says he isn't a bird person, has a new buddy. Romulan loves him and when he is around she flies to him immediately. Well he casually asked about what would happen to her personality if we got another one. So.....here are my questions:

1. I have always heard if you get another lovebird, they will bond to each other and not want anything to do with you. Is this true?

2. For those of you that have more than one lovebird, do you keep them in separate cages or the same?

3. The breeder was feeding her seed, what do you feed yours?

I have more but I think this is good for now!

Thanks!


Monica

 

[DallyTsuka]

i have two lovebirds, and they are caged separately, as they dont get along very well.

i think its more a individual based thing, if they bond to other birds more or people more, but if you spend time with both, they can be both very tame with you. at the same time, they may not want scritches from you or they may not be as interested. i think it can go either way. lovebirds are territorial and often dont tolerate new birds easily and it can be very difficult to introduce them to eachother. personally, if your bird is happy with you and your husband, there isnt much reason to get a second one, unless YOU want one for yourself, not your bird. it's a myth that lovebirds have to be kept in pairs, they can be single birds who are very happy with their owners


as for diet, i feed mine seed, zupreem pellets, mash, fruit, veggies... basically as much variety as they will eat pellets should be a supplement in the diet, but not too much as they can cause kidney problems later in life in higher amounts. you can see an example of my birds' diets here, just to give an idea.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.108798165946254.18215.108747479284656&type=1

 

[MarciaLove]

congrats! ok so here are some answers

1. They may not have such a strong bond with you but will still love you that is as long as they don't breed once they breed they will be mean.

2. My breeder pairs are in one pair per cage and I only have one pet so she is alone in her cage. I would suggest for you to keep them in separate cages and just let them play together so they will have a stronger bond with you and they wont try to breed.

3. All seed diets are bad for any bird I feed mine 70%seed-30%pellet, fresh fruits and veggies (the safe ones), and a chop mix with some different kinds of rice and all kinds of veggies.

GOOD LUCK! Lovebirds are one of my favorite birds they have so much personality and are so sweet!

 

[Tonkatiel]

So I got a lovebird April 6, she was hatched Feb 15. I say she but I have no idea if she is a she or a he. Anyway, I had never even considered lovebirds, I always thought of them as the other small birds, nice to look at but not really personable. Well that was until I walked into our local bird store. She had a hand-fed lovebird that was AWESOME. I came back to get him, and he was sold, so she just reached in the cage with all of them and grabbed one at random. That produced Romulan, the dutch blue lovebird. My husband who says he isn't a bird person, has a new buddy. Romulan loves him and when he is around she flies to him immediately. Well he casually asked about what would happen to her personality if we got another one. So.....here are my questions:

1. I have always heard if you get another lovebird, they will bond to each other and not want anything to do with you. Is this true?

2. For those of you that have more than one lovebird, do you keep them in separate cages or the same?

3. The breeder was feeding her seed, what do you feed yours?

I have more but I think this is good for now!

Thanks!


Monica

I'm not really sure if my answers will help you at all but I'll give them anyway

1. My lovebirds arent very tame anyway, but I have 3 - 2 of which are bonded, and the other is the 'odd man out'. I'm still working on taming them, and I'm being very patient about it - but I havent had too many problems. They all eat treats from my hand, and they come to the side of the cage and talk to me when I'm standing near (they won't allow much more than this at the moment, but we're getting there slowly). So no, I wouldn't really say that they don't want anything to do with humans

2. I keep them all in the same (large) cage. They squabble sometimes but generally get along very well. My lovies are only 6 months old, so haven't reached sexual maturity yet, but we are planning on separating the odd man out when that time comes if not before.
I'll add that my lovies have been together since they were babies so are used to each other. Introducing new birds (especially lovebirds!) can be dangerous, so please read up on this before you decide to get another one!

3. I feed my lovies a mix of seed, pellets and a chop mix. I started a thread a few days ago called 'lovebird diet' which explains more about what I give them, and other peoples responses of what they feed

 

[crimson]

So I got a lovebird April 6, she was hatched Feb 15. I say she but I have no idea if she is a she or a he. Anyway, I had never even considered lovebirds, I always thought of them as the other small birds, nice to look at but not really personable. Well that was until I walked into our local bird store. She had a hand-fed lovebird that was AWESOME. I came back to get him, and he was sold, so she just reached in the cage with all of them and grabbed one at random. That produced Romulan, the dutch blue lovebird. My husband who says he isn't a bird person, has a new buddy. Romulan loves him and when he is around she flies to him immediately. Well he casually asked about what would happen to her personality if we got another one. So.....here are my questions:

1. I have always heard if you get another lovebird, they will bond to each other and not want anything to do with you. Is this true?

2. For those of you that have more than one lovebird, do you keep them in separate cages or the same?

3. The breeder was feeding her seed, what do you feed yours?

I have more but I think this is good for now!

Thanks!


Monica

congrats on your new addition...I own 3 of them and they are all different.
I raised Halo at just 6 days old(that's a long story) and we are very tight.
always steps up, I can get a kiss any time I want(I just love that!)
But she loves flying around and hanging with the rest of my flock, cockatiels,conures, and my senegal.
Typically it is best to get a good bond with your bird prior to owning a second one. that way hopefully you will get the best of both worlds.

again, it depends on the birds, I have two here that I keep in the same cage, don't love each other but don't hate each other either....it really quite strange, I've never come across it before. Halo is by herself, and will devote her time to killing anything that comes across her path in her cage.

I feed them seed, pellets, mash, fruits, veggies, etc...etc....

sometimes I'll have 6 birds on my at once, all competing for the top spot....my head!LOL, Halo use to be queen, but now it's my female pineapple conure Kahlua. Halo is ok with that, she just climbs up and gives me kisses.
I spend time with all my birds, but they like their flock friends too.

 

[Katkoota]

I am find this thread very useful. Thanks for posting. I got a couple new lovebirds last Saturday.

 

[Betrisher]

We started out with two pairs, which were a gift for my adult son who has autism. The gift was so successful that we decided to get two more pairs and a much larger cage. The whole scenario changed then, because the birds were able to fly much longer distances than before. We could also put in more challenging toys for them to play with (including a Slinky, which is the best-ever toy for birds, IMHO). I do believe Lovebirds are the most heartwarming of birds to keep because they never ever stop playing. Our Black Masks hang upside down from the Slinky and bounce and bounce. The Fischer's like to dangle from a series of acrylic bangles I have threaded on their perch and the Peachies just love their swing.

I would say that even though our colony consists of different species, the colonial nature of Lovebirds means they seem to be happiest in a colony. I'm happy to be disagreed with, but that's my observation so far.

I should add that our little blow-in, Nimbus, has teamed up with Periwinkle and Mango and they treat him as if he were their child. They feed him and include him in everything they do.

Go on. Get a few more! You won't be sorry!

Our guys came to us on a seed-only diet, but now we give them fresh veggies and fruits as well as grass pickings and thistles. They prefer fruit to everything else, but too much results in loose poos so I watch that carefully.