Lawrence
03-12-2010, 10:29 AM
Hi all,
I have 7 lovebirds (including 2 babies), here they are:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2781/4426691883_9bcdc6da15.jpg
I have been putting them separately in 4 different cages, in the order I acquired the birds (Sunshine with Jelly), (Bloo), (Papaya with Mango), (Conan and Brien, the babies). I want to move the 5 together into a big cage now, so I put them out together to observe the flock interaction like you saw in the picture.
About 10 minutes into the getting together time, Bloo started to show everyone that he's the boss. He beak-jousted Sunshine first, which forced Sunshine to jump off the cage. Next was Papaya, he also beak-jousted him out. Next was Mango (who's quite young, it's about 3-4 months) who took the clue and just jumped off the cage. Bloo then made a short chirp with his head pulled up, kinda of like saying "Yeah! Who wants some?" kinda attitude, he also rattled roof cage also with his beak awhile later. He did go after Jelly too, but she held her ground with the beak-joust, twice, so in the end Bloo just kind of left her alone. Sunshine went back up twice but both times Bloo chased him off without the beak-joust so the three of them just wait it out on the floor.
What I want to know is, with the kind of 'alpha' behavior that Bloo showed, will it be possible for them to get along inside the cage? When not together, their cages are next to each other and they can see each other all the time. The new cage is also quite big (16 inches tall, 20 inches wide and 5 feet long) so it should be more than enough space for the 5 of them. Will Bloo stop pulling ranks on the others (or once it's established, will Bloo just leave the others alone?) Or is it just because Bloo and Jelly are both black-masked and the others are not that he was doing it?
Any comments on what's going on and should I go ahead with the big cage plan? All of the adults are wing-clipped if it made any difference. Also Sunshine and Jelly are the most tame, they will allow me to pick them up and hang it out on my shoulder when I walk around the house. Bloo is a little shy and the two peach faced I just had for over a month so they dont like me yet.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2694/4426691909_90d81fd68a.jpg
The babies are also blackmasked mauve and another cobalt, when I tried to put Brien (the mauve one) near the adults, Bloo always made a move for him altho I shoo-ed him off.
I appreciate any comments or suggestions from you experts :)
Cheers,
Lawrence
I have 7 lovebirds (including 2 babies), here they are:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2781/4426691883_9bcdc6da15.jpg
I have been putting them separately in 4 different cages, in the order I acquired the birds (Sunshine with Jelly), (Bloo), (Papaya with Mango), (Conan and Brien, the babies). I want to move the 5 together into a big cage now, so I put them out together to observe the flock interaction like you saw in the picture.
About 10 minutes into the getting together time, Bloo started to show everyone that he's the boss. He beak-jousted Sunshine first, which forced Sunshine to jump off the cage. Next was Papaya, he also beak-jousted him out. Next was Mango (who's quite young, it's about 3-4 months) who took the clue and just jumped off the cage. Bloo then made a short chirp with his head pulled up, kinda of like saying "Yeah! Who wants some?" kinda attitude, he also rattled roof cage also with his beak awhile later. He did go after Jelly too, but she held her ground with the beak-joust, twice, so in the end Bloo just kind of left her alone. Sunshine went back up twice but both times Bloo chased him off without the beak-joust so the three of them just wait it out on the floor.
What I want to know is, with the kind of 'alpha' behavior that Bloo showed, will it be possible for them to get along inside the cage? When not together, their cages are next to each other and they can see each other all the time. The new cage is also quite big (16 inches tall, 20 inches wide and 5 feet long) so it should be more than enough space for the 5 of them. Will Bloo stop pulling ranks on the others (or once it's established, will Bloo just leave the others alone?) Or is it just because Bloo and Jelly are both black-masked and the others are not that he was doing it?
Any comments on what's going on and should I go ahead with the big cage plan? All of the adults are wing-clipped if it made any difference. Also Sunshine and Jelly are the most tame, they will allow me to pick them up and hang it out on my shoulder when I walk around the house. Bloo is a little shy and the two peach faced I just had for over a month so they dont like me yet.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2694/4426691909_90d81fd68a.jpg
The babies are also blackmasked mauve and another cobalt, when I tried to put Brien (the mauve one) near the adults, Bloo always made a move for him altho I shoo-ed him off.
I appreciate any comments or suggestions from you experts :)
Cheers,
Lawrence