How long does ittake for 2 birds to be bonded?

[Baboo's Momma]

Hi, I have 2 lovebirds, Baboo, a 5 month old hen and Ke-Lei, 2 1/2 month old unknown. They have been aquainted with eachother for about 5 weeks now. The reason i'm asking is i'm still new to birds. This is my 1st experience with 2 together. My local breeder and another person told me that if they don't get along well enough to live together yet they never will. At times they will play together and preen eachother , even cuddle up, but other times they'll fight and toe bite. I don't really know what 'normal' is. What everyones experiences and opinions. Thank you!

[StormyMom]

Mine have been together for about a month. And just like you describe, is how mine are. My boy Stormy, is absolutely CRAZY about my girl Lizzy. He follows her everywhere, wants to snuggle 24/7..but in reality it bugs the living heck out of her. Shes constantly chasing him away, toe biting, attacking him. I mean, they do have their times where they snuggle and get along, but for the most part Lizzy is more to a "human" bird where as Stormy is more of a "bird" bird. (If you get what i mean). Im almost considering seperating them to different cages because im afraid shes going to loose it one day and really hurt him! Id like to know if theyd ever trully bond as well, but i think its really on their end. It may be that theyll never bond!

[Angelic vampyre]

I have had breeders tell me that to get a pair to bond leave them together for at least 3 months if at this time they have not bonded then forget it but i have never tried it myself. Hope it works out for you both

[Pips mom]

Mine have been together for about a month. And just like you describe, is how mine are. My boy Stormy, is absolutely CRAZY about my girl Lizzy. He follows her everywhere, wants to snuggle 24/7..but in reality it bugs the living heck out of her.
This is exactly how it is with Pip and Ivy.....only thing is Ivy is not a lovie and not a thing about her is anywhere near a lovie! so I just thought it was that she doesn't understand lovie behavior, but here I see now that even if I got Pip another lovie, he might bug the heck out of it too? I don't think you see this problem as much with other birds like tiels....my two tiels bonded instantly......love at first site! and the only minor disagreements are when it's time to go to sleep for the night, they fight over a sleeping spot!

[Baboo's Momma]

Thanks for you're replys! It's given me new hope to know this is "normal". Baboo is my 1st and a lot more bonded to me than Ke-Lei. So, I got a ppl bird and a bird bird too. So, more time and wait and see......I can do that! I'll update and let you know when I make progress!

Thanks again!

I'll also take more opinions and such;)

[LauraO]

I say if you have two cages and the birdies get out of cage time together, it doesn't really matter if they ever bond enough to live together. It does sound like they are working things out and enjoy spending time together. Even if they are getting along, I would not put them in one cage as they are young and you want to determine their sex before pairing in same cage. Two hens can get aggressive and kill one another if they are in the same cage and nesting.

[Baboo's Momma]

Yes, that's another thing. I had hoped Ke-Lei was a boy, but I haven't dna'd yet. I plan to soon. They are in seperate cages, but my goal is for them to be housed together. Of course, when depends on them..!

[StormyMom]

Mine are supposably boy and girl but not DNA proven yet. But im almost 99% sure they are a boy and girl. Lizzy is so bossy, demanding, aggressive and nesty she just has to be a female. And Stormy is just this sweet laid back guy whod rather run than fight. A real sweetie whom i havent seen any aggression at all from. Of course i know some birds are exceptions so well see later on down the road.

Pipsmom i find my tiels are much more laid back and easy going than the lovies. The only time i ever had to seperate any was when i had 2 males fighting over a female. Besides that they dont necessarily like each other enough to cuddle, but they do tollerate each other and get along just fine besides the little bickering over the little stuff lol

[LovelySydney]

This is good for me to read, as I have two boys so i wonder how THAT bonding will go when it happens. As long as they aren't fighting i wouldn't worry too much about it. is toe biting fighting? If so then maybe that's not good - I am still in quarantine stage so i will learn all you are learning in roughly 30 days!!