Flock behavior question

[Lawrence]

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

[linda040899]

One thing regarding "flight" cages is that you always need to have an even number of birds and it works best if those birds are bonded with their own mates. Having an odd number of birds is leaving the unpaired bird open to attack by cagemates simply because he's single. It's always preferrable to put known male/female pairs in the flight. More females than males or the other way around is, again, an open invitation to possible disaster. Remember, a bird being picked on has no way of getting away if you are not there or don't see what's going on.

I also don't put younger birds in with older ones. Again, the older ones are apt to attack, either injuring or killing, the youngsters. I don't mix species in flight cages because behavior/personality traits are different in the various species.

Once you establish a flight, it's no more birds added. The colony housed in that flight own the flight space and newcomers will not be welcome.

For the above reasons, more of my lovebirds are housed 1 pair/cage. Any exceptions to that are carefully thought out.

[Chickobee]

One thing I have read, but not tried, is that two pair in a cage does not work because they will fight for territory. One pair works, and three or more pairs often will if the cage is really big and all of the birds are put in at the same time.

The article I read also said that returning a pair who have been removed from the aviary temporarily does work and the other birds will remember them when they come back.

If you already have the other cages, why are you thinking of putting all of the birds into one cage?

This kind of thing works OK with budgies and finches but doesn't generally work with lovebirds unless the aviary is really big. I've sometimes thought that could be the reason why many pet stores don't sell lovebirds--because they can't safely cage multiple birds together.

A couple years ago I had seven fledglings in a very large cage (32"x28"x42") together who were all getting along. Then one day they attacked the single bird. At that time I didn't realize young lovebirds begin pairing up at such an early age.

[LauraO]

I know it's possible to put multiple pairs together as Linda has described. However, I would hesitate ever doing this. Frankly, lovebirds are very violent and territorial when they live in a flock situation, and problems can crop up at any time. I have 26 lovies. Each pair has a cage, but they have a room they are out in during the day. They have to be watched constantly as the flock dynnamics constantly change, and birds can and do get hurt if we are not aware of what is going on at any given time and make the appropriate adjustments. I can't even imagine what kind of chaos can crop up in a flight cage with multiple lovies:omg:.

[Lawrence]

Thank you for the input, in light of this situation I will probably delay my decision and may scrap it if it doesn't work. For now I will continue to observe them more in the playing area. My motivation for putting them together is actually just to enjoy all the different kind of love birds in one cage.

Cheers,

Lawrence

[Chickobee]

We also have each pair caged separately. The only times there is group interaction is when they are out playing together. When they are all out of the cage the birds can recognize by body language when it is best to make a hasty retreat. We have never had any injuries during flock out playtimes and they climb all over the playgyms and generally have fun and make a huge mess.

In a cage situation it is possible for the birds to corner and attack one bird and it can't escape. This can result in serious injury and death.

When I had the seven juveniles sharing a cage and they attacked the one bird it was seriously injured. I found Phoebe perched alone in a corner with her feathers all fluffed up. They hadn't killed her but if I hadn't removed her I'm very sure they would have. She recovered from her injuries in a cage by herself.

At the same time I split the other birds into pairs in separate cages too. I wasn't taking any more chances after that one.