I Love Lovies

[Enko_chan]

I just wanted to take a moment and declare how much I adore Freyja and Odinn.

They've been in somewhat of a mating frenzy lately, but they started begging to come out and play with me yesterday. They're on my right arm at the moment just looking at me and chirping away happily.

Woops! Spoke too soon. They've flittered off to play under their sheet: an old sheet I have hanging down over part of their play area- they like to climb up and down the underside of it... it keeps them off the tapestry and avoids the continued destruction of the window blinds. You know how much we love these birds when we don't much mind that they've destroyed an irreplacable African tapestry. We also put a box of papers they're (secretly) allowed to destroy at the bottom of the place where the folded sheet hangs. It makes them feel like they are doing something naughty, without having them actually destroy something they shouldn't. :rofl:

[FuzzyAga]

How sweet they are! I completely understand the love we have for our lovies!

My Juanita and Petey are also mating and I've given up and put up their nest box (a plastic bin). With her, the more desperate she is to have a nest, the harder she bites. "You lummox! Don't. (chomp) You. (Chomp) Understand. (Chomp) That. (Chomp) I. (Chomp, chomp) Want. (Chomp) a Nest!(triple chomp)." Most of all, she picks on and bites my husband--the weakest wimp of the flock. It's amazing, but he has no pain tolerance, hollering like a girl. :) Do I secretly chortle? I shouldn't, but I do. Juanita checks to see what our expressions are like when she's biting. If she can't get a rise out of us, she stops biting. She'll bite my toes, but if I don't show any expression, then after another bite or two, she gives up.

I also don't want to be cruel to her, so she gets her nest. And Petey wanted to sleep in her cage last night--and she let him. There is nothing faulty about her communication.

Putting up a sheet sounds like a good insurance protector for the drapes. For some reason, they love to climb hand-over-hand (if they had hands).

[Enko_chan]

Since Frey and Odie are both boys, at least I am 99% on that, I've just left their "club house" aka nest box in there- they love it, they tend it well, and keep it clean. They hump like its going out of style, but never lay any eggs...

and I KNOW what you mean about hubby being the wimp of the flock. Freyja never bothers to bite me because she KNOWS she can't get a rise out of me, but Chris is overly gentle with them and she takes advantage and gives him a good chomp because she KNOWS he'll jump out of the way and howl and she'll be able to escape while he's fixing her water. Most of the time she'll just push on by him without using the beak at all, but when Odie's been at her all day, she'll use her beak to either get Chris out so they can return to their adult situations OR try to escape to save her feathery butt for a few minutes! They don't pull that crap with me! They know they won't escape if I'm the one at the door.

Benny's my only real hard biter in the flock and Chris won't go anywhere near his territory. Ben will land on and visit with Chris, but his hands stay far away from that little green missile. Benny is usually quite gentle with me, but when he throws a tantrum he gets very single-minded and reverts into velociraptor mode.


EDIT: Don't be confused by my calling Freyja "She"... Its just that I thought Freyja was a hen until a few months ago. Chris won't let me call Freyja a boy- he thinks it will further confuse her.

[Pips mom]

Lovies are truly amazing little birds! Oh the funny and cute little things they do! Pip is here with me now.....he flew out here to visit with me and hang out with me....even left his love Ivy in the dust back in the bird room! This is becoming a more and more common thing for him now. I still see his trust in me growing even after having him all this time (over two years) I think he appreciates the fact that when he gives us a good nip now and then that we take it like troopers and love him all the same....it's like we passed the lovebird "toughness test" gotta be tough to be a lovie! I love the communication we have between us. I can immitate his little grunting sound and bob my head and he'll do it right back to me every time. He's just SO darn cute! Pip is my most social bird.....likes everybody and most everybirdy! He hasn't touched his food dish in days now.....nope... it's always better when you take food from somebirdy else's dish! Such a little stinker...so full of energy, love, and spunk!
With Rudy we haven't really formed that bond just yet.....he's still getting used to me, but I've seen some big changes in the way he sees me now. Sometimes he'll even fly right up to the front of the cage in response to me talking to him. I love how when I take his food or water dishes away to fill them, he'll sit right there where the dish belongs until I bring it back....he's always waiting right there for the dish to return! He sits there and doesn't move when I do things in his cage, so he trusts that I won't grab him or anything. If I do put my hands too close though, I get yelled at! When I look at that little red face, he just looks so sweet and innocent.....who could resist that face??
I don't know how anybody couldn't just fall in love with a lovebird! They are truly in a little birdie class of their own!