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Second lovebird

D.Chu

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/7/21
Messages
34
Hello Aviaries!

It's been too long since my last post. About 3 weeks ago, a 2-3 month old lovebird visited my house. There was a tag on it, so it belonged to someone. I tried posting it online to find the owner but no response so I decided to take care of it.

I already have a female lovebird named Mango that is about 1 and a half years old. I am trying to get them to be friends.

The first week, I kept the two lovebirds in seperate rooms and they are able to hear each other. After about a week and a half, i put them in the same room, both in cages just to get them aquainted.

After about another week, i put the cages close to each other. And today i decided to let them out of their cages and meet each other and boy it did not go as planned. Mango got angry and kept on pecking the new lovebird named Peri.

So i decided to try putting some millet on a large tray and let them have at it and it was fine. They ate together, minding their own business but sometimes Mango would peck a bit here and there when they are eating.

I am not sure what my next steps are to make them become friends but i can see the progress being made since day 1. It has been getting better but I just dont know what to do next if they continue on fighting.

Should I continue putting them in seperate cages next to each other? Or should I let them out of the cage and try to let them get aquainted? With supervision of course.

Mango will always chase after Peri like for example, if Peri lands on my head, Mango would then land on my head and assert its dominance. When I try to let them be together alone with me peeking behind the door, Mango would occasionally chase Peri and peck it, and then i have to intervene their fight.

What should I do?
 

Zara

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Definitely keep them housed separately.
You should try to house the cages as close together but also not too close that they are unhappy. Once they are nearby, set up perches in the cages, linear and at the same height. Not parallel while they are not bonded or friendly. Birds approach sideways, the linear perch will allow them to do that. I can draw a picture or something if you need me to.
Allow frequent time out of the cage together and have large plates for food to go on as well as a large shallow plate to bathe in. You want these big enough for both to enjoy and do together but still have enough space so they can't fight easily. I find the large plant pot plates are great for baths as they come in big sizes, light plastic easy to clean. You could even use those for food and spread it out. You could also set up a foraging tray with toy parts and toys bits of treats etc for them togforage together. Having multiple bowls and plates is an option but you will likely find they still fight over the same one bowl so better to just make the bowl bigger and use the same amount of food but spread around so they can both eat/drink/bathe/play at the same time.

Don't leave them unsupervised. Try not to let either land on you as that is causing Mango to chase Peri.
 

D.Chu

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/7/21
Messages
34
Definitely keep them housed separately.
You should try to house the cages as close together but also not too close that they are unhappy. Once they are nearby, set up perches in the cages, linear and at the same height. Not parallel while they are not bonded or friendly. Birds approach sideways, the linear perch will allow them to do that. I can draw a picture or something if you need me to.
Allow frequent time out of the cage together and have large plates for food to go on as well as a large shallow plate to bathe in. You want these big enough for both to enjoy and do together but still have enough space so they can't fight easily. I find the large plant pot plates are great for baths as they come in big sizes, light plastic easy to clean. You could even use those for food and spread it out. You could also set up a foraging tray with toy parts and toys bits of treats etc for them togforage together. Having multiple bowls and plates is an option but you will likely find they still fight over the same one bowl so better to just make the bowl bigger and use the same amount of food but spread around so they can both eat/drink/bathe/play at the same time.

Don't leave them unsupervised. Try not to let either land on you as that is causing Mango to chase Peri.
Thanks for the help, i really appreciate it. But I don't get what you mean by setting up the perches in cages linear and at the same height. Do I put the perch side by side the cages?

I was thinking of buying a bigger cage to house both of them so Mango wouldn't be so teritorial would that be an option?
 

Zara

♥❀Livin´ in Lovebird Land❀☼
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But I don't get what you mean by setting up the perches in cages linear and at the same height. Do I put the perch side by side the cages?
I will show you using my vet cages;
See how the perches would be like one perch had the cages not been separating them.
Keep a good 10cm between the cages so neither can grab the feathers of the other.
IMG_20220908_184032.jpg IMG_20220908_184037.jpg


I was thinking of buying a bigger cage to house both of them so Mango wouldn't be so teritorial would that be an option?
Lovebirds should be housed one bird per cage, or one bonded pair per cage. But a bonded pair must be actually a bonded pair, not just accepting of each other. If you want two unbonded birds in a cage, you would need a large aviary, and then you would be better to add a couple more and have 4+ birds.
Just putting two birds in the cage together is a bad idea.
 

D.Chu

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/7/21
Messages
34
I will show you using my vet cages;
See how the perches would be like one perch had the cages not been separating them.
Keep a good 10cm between the cages so neither can grab the feathers of the other.
View attachment 413141 View attachment 413142



Lovebirds should be housed one bird per cage, or one bonded pair per cage. But a bonded pair must be actually a bonded pair, not just accepting of each other. If you want two unbonded birds in a cage, you would need a large aviary, and then you would be better to add a couple more and have 4+ birds.
Just putting two birds in the cage together is a bad idea.
I have put a coconut in Mango's bird cage and Mango love's to stay in her coconut. Whether it be resting, grooming herself or just chilling. She has it for about a year now. Would it be depressing for her if I remove that coconut? Because she thinks its her safe area. I am just worried that it get's anxiety or sad when i remove it.

Before I had Peri, Mango would always stay in its coconut until I wake up or I come back from work. I am just scared that she is not used to not having that coconut as her safe space. But since Peri is here, I am not sure what to do because I am only used to take care of a single lovebird and not two. I am learning as much as I can but sometimes youtube can be quite limiting on how I can solve the issue.
 

Zara

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There is no right or wrong answer. And all you can do is try different things to see what works for you and your birds.

I will say that having a coconut with a female generally is not a good idea. They will eventually get nesty because of it. I did used to have a litte wooden nestbox (empty - without any bedding) for my male lovebird when he was a lone and he also would sleep in there, nap in there. He never did hang out in there nor try nesting, never had any hormonal issues so he kept it for years. Even when I had other birds, he kept his box but the others were not allowed into his cage as they were not bonded to him. Eventually when he bonded with a hen, I did leave the box in for a little bit to ease transition but she was in there and laid 2 eggs in no time, so I had to remove it. He now has a large natural perch to sleep on in the back top corner and seems to be fine without the box. I´m sure if I put one in now he´d love to sleep in there, but it´s a bad idea for us because I have the hen who will get nesty.
 
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