Rescued Birds have questions

[lmeijer]

Hello. I recently purchased a lovebird nAmed Joey (a girl) tuen two months later got Phoebe. They are in seperate cages but love to hang together on my shoulder.

So it's been three months since I got them, my first birds (I have four cats), and I love them. So I have a friend who works at a shelter and they rescued 20 birds from a messy house. 16 went to a foster because they were in poor health ans four...well.... They asked me to adopt... Because they had been together for 3-5 years and they didn't want to split them so.... I adopted.

Omg, I know have six birds! What was I thinking? Am I crazy?
So my questions are these:

1. I don't want my two to go wild with the others around, what's the best way to prevent that?
2. Should they be "watch me" birds instead of " play with me birds" snce there is so many?
3. After quarenteene should I put my girls with them all in one cage?
4. Is this too many birds, should I find them a home? As a set of two or four?

Any advise is appreciated!

Lisa

[Mummieeva]

First of all congrats on the new birds. I will try and help
1. Just play with your current birds same as you do now. They will stay tame as long as you play with them often.

2. This is up to you. At the very least I would try teaching them step up and allowing them out of cage time.

3. You could try caging them all together if they get along very well. I would go slowly on that part.

4. There are many bird owner here with more then one pet bird. While I have not had 6 lovies at once I did have 3 lovies,2 budgies, 3 cats,and 4 kids..lol. it can work you just have to manage your time very well.


Steph

[lmeijer]

Thank you very much Steph!

[Enko_chan]

Haha... congrats! It happens. Some of us here have MANY birds and somehow... somehow manage to keep a great number of them tame. Me, I have five birds, not five lovies- 2 parrotlets, 2 lovebirds, 1 quaker parrot and they are all hand tame.

When a new bird or birds came into the mix, as Mummieeva said, I wouldn't change my routine too much with the established flock members, except perhaps to make time for the new ones. Even spending time talking to them... going around the room greeting all the birds when you enter the room... (I sing to my birds and weave their names into the songs and it gets them all excited to hear it), giving them time out and teaching them step-up... letting them feel like part of the flock even if you don't have the time to spend one-on-one as you do with your established flock. Life threw me a curveball and I ended up working at home- so whenever I'm not working in the fishroom/lab with chemicals or cooking on the stove, I've usually got a bird with me... but not everyone is able to be so flexible. My better half, Chris, has a full time job and is also a fulltime student so adds the lovies into his "getting ready" and winding down rituals as best he can, and makes special time for them when he gets a day off.

It is completely up to you, of course, how you choose to proceed. It seems likely that these guys will find companionship among themselves as well as with you- so the burden of entertaining them does not fall entirely on you. Still, I've always tried to have each of my birds be at least a little tame and used to handling, in case we need to- Goddess forbid- go to the vet in an emergency! Its also easier if you're able to get them back into their cage when they get out of cage time.

As for caging them together- if the cage is large enough, yes. It always works better with an even number of lovies, so there isn't an odd man out, but I'd go slowly. Also, if possible, it may be easier if it is not the cage your established lovies have been living in... or at least add new perches and toys and arrange them as differently as possibly so that they don't feel like the new birds are intruders, and like Mummieeva said, proceed slowly and with caution!


As for fostering these lovies and finding them a home... I have a feeling that issue will work itself out. My mother used to foster rescue birds from difficult situations, and tame them down then find them a forever home... sometimes she would look at it as a clinical situation from the beginning, as though the birds were rehab patients, that deserve tender loving care and to be treated with dignity but with a certain level of detachment (she's a NP so the clinical detachment goes with the territory) and other times it would be a play-by-ear situation. Sometimes, regardless of how it started out, the bird would simply decide that they had already found their forever home. See if having 2 birds is enough, or maybe 4 birds works, or perhaps you'll end up keeping all 6. Though there is the issues of the stress of being re-homed again, it seems to me that it would be outweighed by finding a perfect forever home. Should you choose to rehome some or all of the lovies, how you do it really depends on whether or not they are in pairs... at least it would to me. It isn't that they wouldn't eventually get over being separated, I just wouldn't do it, I'd wait until I found someone who would take them together. If they are unpaired, it would be reasonable to find a home with someone that has a lovie who is in need of a mate OR with someone who wishes to give a singleton lovie their undivided attention! If you decide to rehome them all, you can try to find a home for all four together, but it may be harder to place them. It may be worth a try and if you aren't finding anyone, then change strategy.


One last thing... I don't know how your home is set up, so its possible that your established lovies have already heard the calls of the new lovies on the block, but I always tell my established flock members that a new birdie is coming to live with us, chat about them, just so that it isn't a surprise out of the blue when a new bird or four come to stay!

[Pips mom]

Are all the birds you've adopted in one cage? and they're all lovies? If the four live in the same cage and seem happy together, then really the most work caring for birds is cleaning and if it's just the one cage then having four more shouldn't be too bad. How big is their cage? because with that many together it should be a good size and if it's not big enough, I would look for a bigger cage, but right now with all the change they are going through, better to keep them in something familiar. I don't think that I would try housing your current birds with them.....the new birds are used to how things are, and may not be so accepting of anybirdy new.....with that many lovies, I'd imagine that there may be some that won't get along. If it were me, I'd work on possibly caging the two you have first together if they get along good and seem to do ok, and leave the other ones adopted caged separately from your first two. Also, I have found that whenever I added another bird and another cage to clean, that it seems a bit harder at first, but you settle into a routine and it gets easier, so no, you are not crazy to have six birds! I have five birds and possiby will have six by the end of the summer because my next door neighbor wants us to take their parrotlet because he is friends with my lovie Rudy.
Congrats and good luck with the new birds! It's really nice that you took in unwanted birds from a bad situation and gave them a good home! They are lucky birds! If you think though that this is too many birds for you and you do consider giving them up to another good home, then I'd think separating them into pairs would be ok, as long as the pairs are happy together, as long as they have a birdie buddy. they should do fine.

[Enko_chan]

I don't think that I would try housing your current birds with them.....the new birds are used to how things are, and may not be so accepting of anybirdy new.....with that many lovies, I'd imagine that there may be some that won't get along. If it were me, I'd work on possibly caging the two you have first together if they get along good and seem to do ok, and leave the other ones adopted caged separately from your first two.

I'm in agreement with Pipsmom about probably keeping your established 2 lovies in their own cage- though perhaps someone who has many lovies living in one cage can shed light on this one- as I know it can be done successfully. I should have added that in my response... but should you decide to house them together, take care and go slowly and try to allow the established lovies to not feel that their personal space is being taken over. They may feel that way anyhow, which is why I would learn toward leaving them in their own cage, and housing the other four together in a separate cage from your established two.


so no, you are not crazy to have six birds! I have five birds and possiby will have six by the end of the summer because my next door neighbor wants us to take their parrotlet because he is friends with my lovie Rudy

Yup, me too. Five birds and if/when our parrotlets have chicks we're planning to keep one. That'll make six. Lots of us here have considerably larger flocks that they manage quite well!

[lmeijer]

omg I love this place! Thank you ALL souch for the help! I contacted a local breeder who offered to take the birds but I think I am already attached! So I guess I am apart of a flock :-)

I plan to keep the four together since they have been for their lives. What size cage is good for four birds?

As for my other two, they are both females approx, 4 months old. They bicker a little but get along for the most part and sleep together on my shoulder. I would love to see them in one cage for bonding as long as they still let me hold them. Right now thy are in seperate cages next to each other. Do you think they wood be ok together? If so what size cage would they need?

Again, thank you so much!

[Enko_chan]

Ahhh, I see!

What I would actually recommend, seeing as you have 2 hens that only tentatively get along... and are living separately- is not to have those 2 move in. I misunderstood. I thought they were older and bonded and already living together. While hens can cohabitate peacefully, they are more prone to fighting than male-female or male-male pairings, and even if they get along well when they are young, they may later fight over nesting spots. Like I said, some hens do bond and live peacefully together, and will even lay eggs together in one nest... or emulate a male-female pairing, but they are more prone to problems than other pair dynamics.

Your two hens, your established flock members, are probably best suited living separately in their own cages as they have been living already. You know your birds best, though.

A flight cage like this one (my personal favorite and a good price for what you get- its sturdy and well-made, and the doors lock on the outside) http://www.birdscomfort.com/flight_bird_cage.html would be great for 4 lovies.

Do you know the ages and genders of your new lovies? Are they 2 pairs? It'll give us more of an idea of how to proceed with introductions and housing.

[Pips mom]

Yeah, be careful with those two hens and watch them carefully if you want to try to have them live together. I think most times two hens will not get along once they grow up.
That flight cage is a really great cage! I have that one for my cockatiels. It's pretty big, but for four lovies, they are pretty active birds and alot of space to play is good if they are not getting time out of cage, plus lots of room for fun toys! Pip doesn't have a huge cage, it's fairly roomy for one lovebird, but he spends all of his time out of the cage when we're home.

[lmeijer]

I was told they are between 3-5 years old. They do not know the gender (I had two sexed and am awaiting response). They are bonded in pairs but all get along. I personally think they are all males and three are identical so they could be siblings. I will upload a photo soon. They were ceased by animal control with 16 other birds and well as other animals. I was told the other 16 went to a rescue as they were ill but these four were in a seperate cage and healthy.

[Dave_K.]

I agree about the two hen thing with every one. we had two hens who were clutch mates that got along for quite a while then one day it was war. we have lots of cages so it was quick to seperate them so no serious injuries happened

[Chickobee]

It was really nice of you to take in these four birds...

...but, I would still worry about them and extend the length of their quarantine from the usual minimum of 30 days to 60 or even 90 days.

If the other birds in that aviary were sick these birds could have been exposed to whatever they had. You don't want your original birds to get sick also.

Do you know what the other birds had? If they are being treated for a specific bird illness it is possible that your four new birds should also be treated or, at the very least, watched very, very closely. Did they have a vet check, or how was it determined that the other birds were sick and these four were OK?

We are one of the ones who has quite a few lovies and we wouldn't risk bringing any new birds into our home if they came from an aviary with sick birds. It would be too devastating if all of our birds got sick.

I sure do hope that your generosity is not rewarded by a lot of vet bills... :(

If the four new birds have been cohabiting in the same cage for years they should be able to continue doing so. I would only worry about this if they were juveniles and hadn't yet reached sexual maturity. When that happens it can change flock dynamics very dramatically, and not always for the best.

It is more likely that your two original hens cannot cohabitate than the four birds who have been caged together for "years".

It's not necessary for every bird to be a hands-on bird. They can still have a good life if their cage is large enough and they are well taken care of. Lots of people keep lovebirds simply to enjoy their antics, their perky chirps, and how beautiful they are without ever playing with them. If the truth be told, most birds prefer their feathered friends more than their human ones!

We try to keep all of our adult birds tame enough so we can get them in and out of their cages but most of their out of cage time is spent playing with each other, and they like it that way.

[lmeijer]

From what I was told they weren't sick, but not well cared for. These were the only four that seemed fat and happy.

[Enko_chan]

Chickobee has a very good point. Diseases like PBFD can be devastating, regardless of flock size- but especially to a large flock, the tests may not always turn it up right away and have 90 day incubation periods, so depending on what the other birds were sick with, a longer quarantine may be in order. Considering where they came from, that may be a good idea anyway.

[Pips mom]

I would imagine that if no signs of PBFD were visible in any of the birds, that the birds probably don't have it.......but you never know when they added any new birds to the flock, so it's something that could still develop. With birds, you just never know! It's always been scarey to me when I've added another bird here, except for Pip.....he was an only bird in his previous home, so I didn't worry with him!
Whenever you add a new bird to an existing flock, even if you feel sure the bird is healthy and came from a good breeder and all that.....it's always a good idea to keep that new bird or birds seperate for a good month. I've seen what can happen.....I know someone who's whole flock was exposed to PBFD after bringing home two baby lovebirds from a reputable breeder. It took three months for it to show up in one of the baby lovebirds and by then the rest of her birds were all exposed. Being careful is always worth the effort.