Do Breeder Birds Make Bad Pets?

[Moonfox]

I have heard that if you breed your lovebirds together, they will no longer make good pets: i.e won't enjoy human company and be difficult to handle. Is this true?

I am considering breeding my female lovebird once I can handle her for more than 5 minutes without a bite :P. Will she take to trying to shred my fingers if she has a mate? Or will she be less aggressive?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[michael]

I'm going to offer an opinion on this but really hope others will offer their views as well as my experience is a bit limited. So here goes...Will breeding your lovebirds make them not good pets or not enjoy human company? No, at least not entirely. Will your female take to shredding your fingers if she has a mate? Maybe, but then she may continue to do it anyways. I would hope though you could handle your lovebird a lot more than five minutes without a bite, especially if you plan on any interaction at all later on should you introduce another bird. An established bond with you will be broken upon pairing of another bird " if " they in fact bond with each other. And its just as possible to lose all of your bond as it is to still keep "some" of it. Either way you should expect that a breeding or bonded pair of lovebirds have to spend time with each other. No if ands or feathers about it. Their little get together will naturally be the most important feature in their lives, so obviously the most you could expect is to share in a little of "their" time. I say "their" time also because your problem carries even more variables. Your initially starting off with a female and they are known to be a little more aggressive of their surroundings than the males. Its now possible that even though you start with a tame female, the male that you pair up with her may decide to be friendly with you instead whereas the female now treats you as an intruder. Then again you may also be accepted by "both" of them or rejected just the same. My understanding is the males are generally a little more forgiving with situations like these. None the less, it can be a difficult decision to make with no sure fire way of knowing what will happen ahead of time. You really have to be willing to accept the outcome regardless of the remaining circumstances. Just my :2cents: .............Michael and Goofy lovebird

[Moonfox]

Thanks, Michael.

I was thinking about it, and if my female did accept the male as a mate, I wouldn't be too bothered if both birds rejected me as a companion, because at least they could socialise with each other, and then I could be happily playing with the babies.

I can only think it would be a better idea to introduce her to the male in a room she's never been in, or in his cage, rather than in hers. What are the chances of her accepting a new male?

[michael]

I can only think it would be a better idea to introduce her to the male in a room she's never been in, or in his cage, rather than in hers. What are the chances of her accepting a new male?

Moonfox. It sounds like you already have some ideas/concerns about females being territorial as your plans for introducing them would be much safer and give them a better chance at getting along. Some poeple will even provide a neutral cage when pairing two birds. Although from much research I've found many do get along the chances can still be a toss up. Lets be safe and say the chances are (guessing here:roll:) about 50/50. That is a bit conservative either way, but :wink: this could change depending on other factors such as age of both birds, species, and environment. There are many things to consider when introducing "any" lovebirds. A female can easily cause harm or kill a male in no time so strict observation is necessary when introducing them. This can take weeks or months to determine if its safe to house them together and many times poeple have had to permanently separate them or only allow conjugal visits outside their cages even if they appear to like each other. I hope this helps a little :). I would though take a couple weeks and read through the forums here along with a visit to the "lovebird resource library".... And keep asking questions as many poeple here have much more experience than I do and I know they would love to share their ideas with you.......By the way! Welcome to our community :)............Michael and Goofy lovebird

[Elle]

It depends on the bird's personality itself. Some go back to being unsocial once they have a mate and others keep longing for that human contact they learned to enjoy. No one can predict what the bird will do.

I have a male who was socialised and I introduced him to my hen who is semi tame. My hen is now so busy trying to have babies that she no longer cares for us. Our male, however, seeks our company as much as he can. They like each other and like spending time with each other. However, they are not a good preening pair. Our male will be busy masturbating on his mirror while the hen is busy on her cuddle buddy.

Our male had an inpact on our budgies though. Now that they saw Petie spending time with us, the budgies are competing for our attention. They now come visit and give kisses and fight over us.

My point again is it depends on the bird itself.

[graushill]

I thought I would just give my opinion on the original question. One of my flock, my lovie Nemo, was kept as a breeder bird in an outside aviary before he came to us. He's now a pet, and while I think he's a wonderful pet, having him get used to us was very difficult and traumatic, for all involved but specially for him. Since he came to us he even started plucking himself and despite all our efforts still is an habitual plucker. I'll probably never know for sure if losing his flock, and having to live in a house, in a cage(which he'd never done before) with humans in close quarters played a part in his plucking, but I have always asked myself that.

Nemo is a mask lovie and masks are usually by nature much shyer and less interested in people than peachfaces, so this could certainly have played a role in his reaction to us. He's now calmed down a lot and is not as scared of us as he was in the beginning. I adore him 'cause he's the most gentle, sweet natured lovie I've ever come across, but he's not and will never be a cuddly, people friendly lovie.

He was also meant to be a buddy for a pet lovie, Pontus, that had lost his partner (Pontus turned out to be a she but that's another story). Pontus is a quite laid back lovie, and after quarantine and a long introduction period, accepted Nemo, although their relationship has had its share of highs and lows. They've been togehter for 2-3 years and it wasn't until about a year ago that Pontus finally let Nemo sleep beside her on the same perch. Like Elle said, no one can predict what the outcome will be since all birds are different. You could end up with two lovies that never accept each other and never can be caged together just as easily as with a happy pair.

I hope this helps a little.

Gloria

[LauraO]

I think the idea that birds who breed can't be pets is a misconception that has a negative effect on too many lovies' lives. I think what Gloria points out is important but it sounds as if her lovie lived in an aviary, which I think is unique. Most breeders live in a small cage 24/7 without getting out or having toys to play with. It would be difficult for lovies in either of these situations to become a pet, but not impossible. However, if you have pet lovies who breed I think it's totally possible for them to remain pets.

I currently have 20 lovies and ALL of them are pets. My biggest wish is they would STOP laying eggs and having babies, but most of them have had eggs and babies in the past. Those who were tame before the eggs and babies remain tame, and those who never preferred humans still don't. I think the key is to continue spending time with the lovies despite the breeding process. For me, this means letting the males out to play and still talking and interacting with the females. It's true that most all females gets bitey and territorial while they have eggs and babies. I don't let this stop me and take bites to continue interacting with the females. Right now I have have several hens on eggs, and talk with them several times a day. When they are off eggs, they come and spend time with me and hang out.

Now, whether to get more than one lovebird is really a choice each person needs to make for themselves. Reading through the forum is a great way to decide as many people have had to dealt with this issue in the past. It's also impossible to predict how your lovie will react to having a mate. Of my 20 lovies, the pairs react a number of ways and those ways also change over time. Currently, most of my males are all about having Laura time because their mates are on eggs and they get bored and lonely. Normally, some pairs visit me together and others prefer to be with their mates and their sex rarely has anything to do with their preferences. The important thing to remember is that if you do get two lovies and they bond, they will likely prefer each other, but it doesn't mean one or both won't still enjoy being with you and playing with you.

Good luck:D