Think about getting a new lovie somewhere along the line

[KenDRAGON]

i've been tossing around the idea of getting another lovebird sometime in the next year but i wanted to get some other perspectives on it.
if you didnt already know i have a 2-3 year old masked lovebird named muffin who i presume to be a female (and who i'd definately get sexed before adding a new bird) and i just was wondering if i'd have to get same species if i wanted to introduce and possibly cage together. muffin has lived before with cockatiel buddies and wasnt too agressive towards them and really seemed to enjoy their company, one in particular. i'm feeling a little guilty that she's alone now, especially since she isnt very hand tame so i cant interact with her as much as i'd like. i'm not looking for any baby-making anytime soon so if i were to get another bird i'd like to do same gender.
so i guess my questions are:
if she got along well with the new bird, could i cage her with a same gender lovebird of a different species or does that generally not work out well
and
if i got a hand-fed or hand-tame new bird would housing it with muffin ruin that, even with regular handling?

i feel like i rambled on here a bit so if you need me to reword any of this i will lol

[linda040899]

If you are thinking about getting a companion for Muffin, you definitely need to know gender. Two males will usually be happy campers together but that's usually not the case with hens. Hens are more aggressive and more cage territorial so if Muffin is a hen, it will be a bit harder to house her with another bird. Granted, she got along well with several other birdie companions and that may or may not work again now that she's had a cage all to herself. (I'm using "she" very loosely, as we don't know gender.)

Should Muffin turn out to be a DNA'd hen, a DNA's male would be your #1 choice but male x female also = babies. Many people don't want to deal with babies, so my next suggestion would be to look for a hybrid (Peachfaced x eye-ring species), as some of those are sterile and can't reproduce.

As long as you continue to interact with Muffin, you won't lose your birdie buddy. In fact, Muffin will have someone to cuddle with at night and you could potentially have 2 tame lovebirds, one for each shoulder! :)

[KenDRAGON]

thanks! i definately intend to get her DNA'd before i make any definate decisions, i just wanted to get my facts straight about how i should go about it after i know her real gender.
if muffin were a male, would my new lovebird have to be a masked? can different species coexist peacefully?

[linda040899]

if muffin were a male, would my new lovebird have to be a masked? can different species coexist peacefully?
Not necessarily but it would probably be better if you got Muffin a Masked pal. Personalities are different, as is behavior.

[KenDRAGON]

okay. i really like the masked, although i was curious about peach faced since they seem to be very personable, but i'd rather do whats better for Muffin, obviously.

[Enko_chan]

It may take time, as you know- after you get a new bird for the social dynamics of your flock (yourself included) to settle, but once everyone is settled in, so long as you continue to interact with both birds, it is entirely possible for you to have a bonded pair that you also have a close relationship with.

Chris and I have this going with Freyja and Odinn. They don't particularly like being scritched as much as my other birds do, but that's just them. They spend a lot of time interacting with us, hanging out on our persons, they love being talked to, sung to, read to. I've had paired lovies in the past that have liked to be touched by me, and other people on this board have paired lovies that also have a close bond with their human companion(s). Freyja and Odinn have been here for over a year now, and I feel that our relationship with them is getting better all the time.

I agree with Linda about things working out better with male-male than hen-hen cohabitation and mask-mask vs. peach-mask, although things can work out with a hen-hen pair and/or a peach-mask pair, when it comes to nesty time, the hens may fight over the nest, and peachies and masks have different nesting instincts. In other words, they may get along fine until it comes time to nest, and then fights and problems arise. The safest course would be as Linda laid out.

You could also have another bird, have them live separately but they could play together. They could be friends, have interactions, talk together whenever they want... it isn't the same, but that is another way to go if Muffin turns out to be female and its too difficult to do it any other way.

OR, you could get a mask male, and fake eggs and be prepared to replace the eggs if she lays.

Its good that you're thinking and planning ahead of time, that way by the time these things come up, you'll have planned for most of it.