The Great Divide.

[angelo]

Greetings all,

I have read many scenarios regarding getting a second lovie, but here goes anyway -

We have had Pita for about a month now - (appx 6 months old) not tame will eat from my finger but doesn't like hands at all
Today we got another lovie!! (appx 3-4 moths old) tame, comes on my finger, shoulder right away!!

I introduced them and they seem to get along well,
I bought one big cage with a dividing wall in the middle that is removable -
I figured i would set this cage up so both birds will have a neutral place.

I have noticed the following -

Pita is following around the new lovie everywhere it goes, and almost seems to be bossing it around , for ex, everywhere the new one goes to eat, the old follows to shove the new one outta the way - new one gets on the swing, old follows and shoves the new one off the swing - etc.. etc..

They have been sitting with each other for a while, sorta feeding each other and grooming as well. not sure what to do at this point, they seem to get along, but im afraid that Pita wont let the new lovie eat or rest :(:confused:

PS: I still have Pita's original cage

[FuzzyAga]

Good, well, you have seen the problem and have arrived at the answer yourself. :)

The two lovies go into separate cages and the youngster can get much needed rest and food without interference. :)

Even my bonded pair get put into separate cages at select times of the day when I feel that Juanita is getting physically worn down by Petey.

[linda040899]

These 2 need to be separated before the younger one gets seriously hurt. Chasing can easily escalate and the younger bird will not win that battle.

Hopefully, the younger bird is healthy, as you skipped quarantine and that can be risky for your existing lovie.

[Pips mom]

I agree.....Pip and my pionus Ivy are great together and love each other, but I have to give Ivy some down time with no Pip around at times. If Pip is out, Ivy cannot eat anything with her foot, or play with a toy with her foot, or Pip will try to snatch it and won't allow it....he'll harass her until she drops it! She can only have a piece of millet when Pip is in cage! Sometimes you just have to give them their own space with nobirdy to bother them!

[michael]

Good thing you kept Pita's old cage! ... So how does Pita act with the new on your person? ... What are their genders? .... Hey!...Whats the new ones name?........:rolleyes:

[Chickobee]

You can put the dividing wall in between the two sides of the cage. That way they can get to know each other for several weeks before you take it out. If you see that they are toe biting each other then you will need to have them in two completely separate cages so they can't do that.

When you see that they are both hanging onto the divider talking to each other and trying to allo-feed each other through the bars you will know they want to be together. I still let this go on for a while before removing a divider but I let them play together outside of the cage to see how they interact.

Even when the divider is eventually removed you will want to keep at least two food dishes in the cage that are placed away from each other. This will allow both birds to feed and prevents one from guarding the dish.

Are your birds DNA tested (or sex-linked mutations) so you know their genders?

If you have a male and a female they will most likely get along well enough to be caged together after they get to know each other. Two males will also sometimes get along well enough to share the same cage.

It is almost never possible to put two females together because as they reach sexual maturity the dominant hen will want to protect her nest area and will injure or even kill the less dominant hen.

If you do not know the genders of your birds you will need to proceed very carefully with regard to possibly caging them together permanently. Even if they get along as juveniles this can change overnight as they mature--sometimes with extremely dire consequences.

[angelo]

No, they have not been dna tested as of yet - i plan to take the 2 to the vet in the near future to have that done as well as their normal check-ups -

Pita doesn't seem to mind when the new one is on me..... i walk around with the new one, till Pita calls for it, and then it takes off to wherever Pita is -

I tried putting the divider wall back but they both hated it, they clung on to the wall calling to each other and feeding each other through the barrier -

I have been watching them today from work ( i have a webcam hooked up) and they seem pretty calm - i will continue to monitor them and take it from there i guess, looking at them now, they are snuggling and seem to be behaving for the most part -

As for the food scenario, i have two separate food trays at opposite ends as well as their water, this way i can put the dividing wall in pretty quick and they would both still have what they need - I have doubled all the toys etc. so there is enough for both -


Chickobee's comment is what im worried about the most -

"If you do not know the genders of your birds you will need to proceed very carefully with regard to possibly caging them together permanently. Even if they get along as juveniles this can change overnight as they mature--sometimes with extremely dire consequences."

Thanks all for your support -

[michael]

.....Chickobee's comment is what im worried about the most -

"If you do not know the genders of your birds you will need to proceed very carefully with regard to possibly caging them together permanently........

Absolutey. Even at only 4-6 months of age, it could be anytime now their behavior may turn into a territorial dispute........:omg:.......Have you compared the cost of your own vets DNA testing with Avianbiotech's? .... If your willing to clip a toenail or pluck a couple feathers, you could save a little $. ... Its an option. .... Thanks for sharing your newbe. Hopefully, everything works out to where everyone's happy..............:)

[personatus]

I generally find, when they bond together at that age, they usually get along just fine with no problems. Yep, it can all turn sour and end up with a nasty fight or a dead bird, but this can also happen with proven pairs that have been together for years.

To me, when they are calling for each other, feeding, preening and snuggling, thats
a good sign they are bonding well together. The chasing is possibly harmless...the old bird could be excited with the introduction of a new play mate and not want to miss out on anything....normally when it's going to go wrong you hear the screaming and comotion and see all the biting or blood! The majority of pairs out there go through the pecking order aswell, find out who the chief is and all, thats usually the female aswell :D

If they do bond, and turn out to be 2 females that could be a problem in the future. I had a bonded pair together for years and actually thought they were male and female, but once they started getting nesty i had to split them as the one got her rear end whooped...both were females. If they dont get nesty they get along just fine, but the chance of a female lovebird never getting nesty at some stage is pretty slim to say the least :D

Get one DNA'd from avian biotech, one male is all you need really.

[thebubbleking]

MY 2 cents would be for how long has this been going on and is it overly agressive, all my birds and the new ones i have and have rehomed all go through a pecking order and a bit of testing to see who is the dominant alpha bird..all my parrots from my conures to wee parakeets all do some shoveing and mine mine mine type of actions it should slow down and then stop when the order is established.

[angelo]

I appreciate all the info guys, makes me feel a little better about the situation.

I located a good vet in the area and will be making an appt soon for checkups and dna sexing.

I went home from work yesterday and started monitoring them again. Sure enough the new lovie, which we named Pepper (short for peppermint) was trying to eat and doing well, until Pita got curious once again and came over to investigate and sure enough shoved s/he out of the way. This went on for a little bit but nothing really serious but nevertheless still bothered me. I tried putting the divider back in the cage last night around bedtime and they did not like that at all. Pepper was stuck on the divider wall with its beak at the top perched for about 20 mins, while Pita was frantically trying to find a way through. This was pretty depressing for me, so i just removed the divider and all was well for them again. i just felt bad and couldn't stand to see them that way:(

But like Bubbleking mentioned, they are grooming each other, feeding each other etc,,, so all is well for now. well see what happens at the vet.

Thanks again for all your comments! :)