New to love birds need some advice

[Roxanne]

Hi,
My name is Roxanne Ritter. I live in CT with my husband, three human
daughters (9, 7 1/2 & 3 years old) and our two female tiels Kiwi 3 y &
Daisy 4 y + some Zebra Finches. The two tiels share a cage at night,
but are out during the day. I am a stay at home mom, so when I am home
they are out. We are the second owners and got the two together. We
where told that Daisy had a different mate and Kiwi was added when
that tiel died of a tumor,they are friends, but not close. It,s hard
to describe, but I have had a pair when I grew up that loved each
other. Constantly grooming each other cooing lovingly.
Daisy is Mrs. pushy. When she want something she wants it now! They
both have there wings clipped, but if she has not seen me in ten min
or so she will call for me and then fly to find me. She loves being
petted and uses me as a human perch. My little Kiwi is a daddy's girl.
My husband travels for his job 90% of the time, but when he is home
he's hers. She sits on his shoulder and tells him everything that has
happened when he was gone.

I grew up near Hamburg, Germany. My parents had a Poultry farm.
My Uncle breed Parakeets, Cordon bleu Finches and Canaries. We always
had pet birds.
Our first was a canary named "Hansi" very original I know. He was a
fantastic singer and to this day, 30 years later, I use part of his
song to greet my birds and they all know it.

I just found this site.( i also belong to two Jahoo groups)

So here is my question: does anybody of you have Love birds and tiels?

The reason I am asking is that I rescued one yesterday from a lady
that did not interact with him for 2 1/2 years besides cleaning his
cage and feeding him. ( don't actually know if the bird is a he or
she.) she feed him only sun flower seeds And millet spray. I had a old
cage from my tiels that I disinfected and washed before I picked him
up. And i also went to Petco to get him some toys and food. (To my
husbands dismay, since I spent to much).
Right now he is in Quarantine in the family room. He hears the other
birds and I thinks he likes it, but he's scared every time I come to
close. I spent a lot of time in the room today just talking while I
folded clothes. My youngest daughter actually ask me why I told "peach
" what color towel I was folding! Oh ja, he's a Peach faced love bird
just in case you din't guess.
I called my avian vet and he has an appointment on Thursday to have
him evaluated and his wings clipped, so I can start working with him.

I did buy Love Bird food, but it looks the same as tiel food to me, so
can he have tiel food?
Are the requirements for his diet the same as my tiels? Like greens
and fruits and such?

Also do you recommend a mate same sex or opposite sex? I know that
will be way down the road, but I am on a tight budget so I would need
to save if I want to get him a companion.

I wouldn't put him in the same cage as the tiels, but can they share
out time or will they fight?
Again down the road when we all get used to the new baby.

Thank you
​

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome! Lovebirds can have the same seed mix as tiels. Fruits and vegetables are also important. Pellets are also a good part of their diet.

I would not recommend a mate if you want a hands on relationship with him. Males tend to get along better than females. Females can be very territorial so two females are not recommended to share a cage.

Are they flighted? If so, out time together should be fine as long as you watch them. If they are flighted they can get away should one bully the other.

I hope that this helps some.

Matt

 

[tarad]

I have two lovebirds that are very mean to my cockatiel. I have had all of them since they were babies and all are handfed and flighted, but the lovebirds just hate the cockatiel. The cockatiel keeps trying to be their friend, but it's not happening. My Quaker hates the cockatiel also. I know that one of the lovebirds is a female and she can be so mean to all of the other birds. She's great with people though. If you let her, she will fly all over the house chasing the cockatiel. I'm not sure if my second lovebird is a male or female, but it is bonded to the other lovebird even though sometimes she is mean to him/her. You never know if your birds will be friends or not, but in my opinion I would not count on the lovebird being friends with your tiels. Also, even if you get another lovebird there is no guarantee that they will like each other. They could even hate each other. I do feed the lovebirds and the cockatiel lots of greens, sweet tats, birdy mash and I also sprout seeds for them. My lovebirds do not get the same seed as the cockatiel nor do they get nearly as much. It's my understanding that cockatiels are seed eaters and lovebirds should not have that much seed. Hopefully, others will pipe up with their opinions. Good luck and welcome to the Avenue!