Few questions

[Emma&pico]

Hi hope everyone’s alright

few questions

pico had a tie knot climbing rope is his cage he was feeding it and making love to it constantly to point he would come out of his cage come see me then go straight back into his rope overly obsessed I would say
I’ve taken it out of his cage is this right thing to do ?

indie I am sure she’s 100% a female seen her put bits of parts of her ripped up toys in her wings she spreads her wings and bows to him she only 8months old she very cage aggressive with me have to change food and water while she’s out
When do female lovebirds lay eggs is that a 100% with females or does it depend?
And what do I do to help her through it ?


they are in separate cages and have time out together with me indie wants to be with pico all time pico tolerates her a lot better now he lets her in and out of his cage when they are out together and goes in with her he doesn’t like to be away from her but doesn’t really interact with her either if that makes any sense
When I put them in there cages she flys to picos and wants to be in there with him shes fine when I put her back in hers though but I would say definitely she prefers pico cage as in goes there to eat drink etc if out in room pico never goes in hers lands on top to never in

I purpose what I am asking is how do we go forward Do I keep them in separate cages or let them live together? Or does it depend on how they carrying on getting on with each other ?

if they do live together if I have no nest box do the breed anyway definitely don’t want babies do I just leave them separate to avoid this ? Just want what’s best for them ?
for pico at minute I think separate better although he’s happy for her to be there with cage door open like yesterday they were playing with ball at bottom of his cage together (which is most I’ve seen them do ) both chose to go in his cage she asks pico to feed her he does to almost aggressively then indie tells him off this as been a few times but for indie I think she would love to live with pico but she can be bossy with him

sorry for all questions female lovebirds make me nervous I did want two males but wouldn’t change her for world

 

[Emma&pico]

Pictures of indie and pico from today

 

[Tyrion]

So pretty

 

[Emma&pico]

So pretty

thank you

 

[Emma&pico]

@Zara any advise please

could it be because pico hand reared he’s happy on his own he’s definitely a human bird

indie parent reared and seems to want more bird attention

 

[Zara]

indie I am sure she’s 100% a female seen her put bits of parts of her ripped up toys in her wings she spreads her wings and bows to him

Males will also rip up paper and do the paper tail thing sticking stuff in their rumps. My boy Sydney will spread his wings too, not for quite as long as the girls, they hold that aeroplane position for a long time with the soft tsst tsst tsst noise.

When do female lovebirds lay eggs is that a 100% with females or does it depend?

Two of my girls were just over a year old for their first eggs. Both laid clutches of 2 for their first. My other hen was adult when she came to me so I don´t know. I know other hens who are years old and no eggs yet. I have read that lovebirds can breed before they reach a year old, so some obviously lay even younger than mine were.

And what do I do to help her through it ?

In general, it´s important a hen be on a well balanced diet. If you can inlclude pellets and fresh veggies into that daily it iwll help her have enough nutrition so that when the time comes to lay eggs, she will have a leg up and theoretically have less problems (less likely to have nutrition deficiencies).
My girls eat pellets and veggies. My youngest needs a supplement but only because she had issues before, the other girls don´t take the supplement. If your girl won´t eat pellets and veggies, a supplement would be the ideal way to keep her healthy. This is something to discuss with your vet during check ups. Each bird needs different diets, so they will be able to advise you more accurately.

Do I keep them in separate cages or let them live together? Or does it depend on how they carrying on getting on with each other ?

They should be bonded before living together.
Bonded means they sit together, nap together, preen each other and in general do flock activities together (play eat bathe - doesn´t have to be together every single time)

if they do live together if I have no nest box do the breed anyway definitely don’t want babies do I just leave them separate to avoid this ?

If they eventually live together, just be sure to have a nice natural branch to roost on at night. No nestbox is needed. A bonded male / female pair of lovebirds will inevitably lay a clutch of eggs. When this happens, switch each egg for a dummy egg, let her sit on the eggs on the cage floor for a maximum of 21 days before removing all the dummy eggs and rearranging the cage (incl. perches, toys, bowls).

Given you are not 100% sure on sex yet, you can wait before buying dummy eggs just in case they are in fact both boys. If you get an egg out of the blue, boil it, let it cool down and then dab a dot with a Sharpie (branded) pen before putting it back where you found it, then treat that like a dummy egg (except obviously tossing it in the bin once the ¨incubation period¨ is up).

I think she would love to live with pico but she can be bossy with him

My girls can be bossy with my boys. They can be very strong characters and the boys, as fierce as they can be to others, seem to be a little mouselike soemtimes with their female partner. It´s something to monitor.

 

[Zara]

could it be because pico hand reared he’s happy on his own he’s definitely a human bird
indie parent reared and seems to want more bird attention

If Indie was parent reared, then maybe. She will recognise she is a bird and seek bird comany for bird behaviours.
My eldest male, my first bird was a very human bird. Lived alone for over a year before I brought a friend home for him. Took another 4 after that before he finally got a bonded friend. She was also raised by me like he was, I actually raised her for longer (almost 6 months!) and she is so clingy to him. She is clingier than my other hens.
So ultimately, I don´t think there´s a concrete answer to this. Just each birds personality coming through.

 

[Emma&pico]

Males will also rip up paper and do the paper tail thing sticking stuff in their rumps. My boy Sydney will spread his wings too, not for quite as long as the girls, they hold that aeroplane position for a long time with the soft tsst tsst tsst noise.


Two of my girls were just over a year old for their first eggs. Both laid clutches of 2 for their first. My other hen was adult when she came to me so I don´t know. I know other hens who are years old and no eggs yet. I have read that lovebirds can breed before they reach a year old, so some obviously lay even younger than mine were.


In general, it´s important a hen be on a well balanced diet. If you can inlclude pellets and fresh veggies into that daily it iwll help her have enough nutrition so that when the time comes to lay eggs, she will have a leg up and theoretically have less problems (less likely to have nutrition deficiencies).
My girls eat pellets and veggies. My youngest needs a supplement but only because she had issues before, the other girls don´t take the supplement. If your girl won´t eat pellets and veggies, a supplement would be the ideal way to keep her healthy. This is something to discuss with your vet during check ups. Each bird needs different diets, so they will be able to advise you more accurately.


They should be bonded before living together.
Bonded means they sit together, nap together, preen each other and in general do flock activities together (play eat bathe - doesn´t have to be together every single time)


If they eventually live together, just be sure to have a nice natural branch to roost on at night. No nestbox is needed. A bonded male / female pair of lovebirds will inevitably lay a clutch of eggs. When this happens, switch each egg for a dummy egg, let her sit on the eggs on the cage floor for a maximum of 21 days before removing all the dummy eggs and rearranging the cage (incl. perches, toys, bowls).

Given you are not 100% sure on sex yet, you can wait before buying dummy eggs just in case they are in fact both boys. If you get an egg out of the blue, boil it, let it cool down and then dab a dot with a Sharpie (branded) pen before putting it back where you found it, then treat that like a dummy egg (except obviously tossing it in the bin once the ¨incubation period¨ is up).


My girls can be bossy with my boys. They can be very strong characters and the boys, as fierce as they can be to others, seem to be a little mouselike soemtimes with their female partner. It´s something to monitor.

thank you @Zara for information she is on pellets seeds for foraging still working on veggies
she holds it a while and makes that noise she’s fiery too bites a lot very cage aggressive even when holding millet she goes for hands rather than millet in cage fluffs up a lot even when out of cage but learnt to work with her apart from odd bite on ear

pico settled and back to himself since removing rope knot so think I made right choice

 

[Emma&pico]

If Indie was parent reared, then maybe. She will recognise she is a bird and seek bird comany for bird behaviours.
My eldest male, my first bird was a very human bird. Lived alone for over a year before I brought a friend home for him. Took another 4 after that before he finally got a bonded friend. She was also raised by me like he was, I actually raised her for longer (almost 6 months!) and she is so clingy to him. She is clingier than my other hens.
So ultimately, I don´t think there´s a concrete answer to this. Just each birds personality coming through.

I agree I think it’s personality pico just likes doing his own thing being with me loads of energy and she’s more independent bossy more vocal copies a lot of sounds

suppose best of both worlds for them own space but get to interact with their own kind too