Domestic violence...Can he love again?

[CharlieBlack]

:confused:My partner bought me two lovebirds from a local breeder the christmas before last. I named them Titania and Oberon. I have never had them sexed but the breeder was sure that they were male and female.

All was well until about 2 months ago. Literally over 2 nights Oberon had very dramatic bald patches so I took them both to the Vet. The Vet put Oberon on a course of antibiotics and suggested that I split them up as it looked as though Titania was biting Oberon's feathers off.

I spoke to the breeder who told me to take away all nesting materials and their box as it may be that Titania has reached sexual maturity and Oberon hasn't and she is frustrated with him.

After 3 weeks Oberon's feathers were growng back and I couldn't see his skin anymore so I gradually introduced them to living together again. They were fine for about 2 weeks and then the same thing happened again.

I spoke to the Breeder who said that he thinks that are obviously not compatibile and so he took Titania and now there is just Oberon.

I want to get Oberon back to good health before I do anything, but I like to plan ahead and I am not sure what I should do next...

Should I try and tame him, I don't want him to be lonely, and if he is happy to do so keep him as a lone ranger?

Or should I let him grow his feather's back and then get him a new partner? If I do that, might I encounter the same problem again?

Has anyone had anything like this before?

[Pips mom]

Oh, I'm sure this has probably happened to others before. Maybe the two weren't male and female. You can try to get him another mate....but you should get him DNA tested first to make sure of what sex he is and also the new bird. Chances are good that you could find him another birdie friend that he'll like, but just like people....sometimes they just don't like each other or get along, so it's always the chance you take!

[bookworm0550]

you can try to tame him if you want. if you want to buy him a friend, that's fine too.

[linda040899]

I agree with Pips Mom. DNA sex Oberon so that you know what gender you have. Pelvic sexing is nothing more than a guess, if that's the way the breeder did it, so there's a 50% chance of being right and a 50% chance of being wrong. Sometimes breeders set up pairs so the babies can be genetically sexed.

If Oberon is a male, you have your choice of gender. Two males can be very happy campers together or you can get a female. The female would need to be no older than Oberon and the same species. Keep in mind that male + female = offspring, so that would be a concern. Chances are that Oberon could be re-paired with another lovebird, if that's what you want to do.