Introducing a new family member

[JoeSchmoe]

Hey all,

Well I went to the pet store to pick up some seed and among the usual budgies and finches I saw a little face peeking out from under a toy in one of the cages. This store doesn't usually carry lovebirds so I wasn't expecting to fall for a little bird here, and yet I did...
Haven't sent the DNA test away yet so we're not sure of the sex but he/she is an adorable 8 week old black mask. Now in person she's a light violet colour but I've taken some pictures and she looks more of a dark teal so who knows...lol We've tentatively named her/him Sly
Here's a couple pics..

http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af158/JoWray/Sly/DSCF0018.jpg


http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af158/JoWray/Sly/DSCF0019.jpg
Now for my question...how long should I wait to allow Sly to be out of the cage at the same time as Kiwi. Kiwi has already inspected Sly's cage from the outside and there was a little beak scuffle through the bars but nothing serious.
Kiwi is about 2 yrs and Sly is just 8 weeks so there's quite an age difference as well.
There is no intention to ever house them together regardless of their sex but I'd like to get to a point where we can have them both out and about at the same time and hopefully have them share the outside cage so I don't have to divide it.
I have their cages next to each other currently but could move one into the next room if that would be better, they chatter back and forth a bit but everyones quieted down now and the beak grinding has begun, looks like Sly is feeling comfortable already, which is great news!

Open to any suggestions on how to proceed or things to avoid...
Thanks
Jo

[bookworm0550]

first, sly is a very nice looking bird.

well, i would quarantine sly to make sure he's healthy and whatnot first before introducing the two birds. you don't want to get your current bird sick in case sly is carrying something. the quarantine period sucks. that's my least favorite part of getting a new bird, but i'd rather be safe than sorry.

my experience has always been the new bird will get picked on a bit more at first, but as time goes on, the resident birds become more accepting. how long will it take? it really depends on the birds. sometimes they just never really like one another, but will tolerate each other. my lovebirds aren't all friends w/ one another, but they do well out of the cage at the same time. there will always be fights now and then, but nothing too serious.

[linda040899]

Hi Jo and congratulations on you new baby lovebird! Age-wise, you are looking at a baby that is just about 10 weeks old. That's based on beak coloration. The beak is half horn colored and half amber colored. The amber color (lower part of the upper beak) will continue to fade until the entire beak is horn colored.

The problem your existing lovebird is having with the new one is age. Your new bird is a baby and your existing one is an adult. Adults can be aggressive with younger birds so this is something you will have to be careful about. A friendship may develop as the baby gets older but you can believe that your older bird is quite capable of inflicting a serious injury to the younger one.

I agree with quarantine. You don't know that your new bird is healthy and you don't want to expose your existing one to any unknown illness unless you have to.

[jk1944]

I thoroughly agree with the quarantine suggestion. However when that time is over, I'd move slowly and patiently with your plan to have them play together outside their individual cages. I wouldn't take my eyes off them while they're out due to the harm factor. Also, if you do have a male and a female, and they're playing outside their cages, romance can happen in a blink of an eye! :whistle:

And bye the way, I think Sly is perfectly lovely! Best of luck to you all!

[Carole]

He/she is adorable! Can I ask you what kind of kit you had to do the DNA test? My little ones are a little over 5 months and I don't know what sex they are :)

[linda040899]

You can have your avian vet take the sample to send off for DNA sexing or you can use Avian Biotech (http://www.avianbiotech.com ) and send the sample yourself. If you opt to do it yourself, you have a choice of blood sexing (short clip a nail and collect blood droplets on a special collection card that is provided in the kit) and feather sexing (To feather sex, you need to remove about 5 chest feathers and send them to Avian Biotech. Feathers must be freshly plucked. Molted feathers will not work.) Blood sexing is $19.95/sample and feather sexing is $24.95/sample. It takes approximately 72 hrs once Avian Biotech receives the samples for you to get your results. Results are available online and you will get a sexing certificate for each bird.

[JoeSchmoe]

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions, we seem to be progressing nicely with Sly's taming. She's young so it's going much easier than Kiwi. They are quarantined for the time being and we take them out separately to work with them and let them have some free time.
I take Sly into a different room because I'm kind of paranoid that Kiwi might get offended or jealous....sounds dumb I know but she seems very sensitive to what we do.

As for the DNA I had the woman at the pet store do the snipping the nail too far for me, she's a breeder herself of parrotlets and is quite comfortable with birds. Also easier not to start off my relationship with Sly on a sour note..lol
I have the card to send away on Monday, the place in Ontario is called Healthgene.

Thanks again for the replys and I'll be posting some more pics in the gallery soon...Sly just spent a good portion of the evening on my head, grinding and preening herself so she's getting comfortable very quickly.:)

[Carole]

Thanks, Linda. I think I'll let the vet do it :) The little ones are getting a little better around hands, but we are still not there yet. My biggest problem lately is telling them apart, LOL! Since they went through their first molt, they both have a lot more peach on their heads. When I first got them it was easy as Adagio had none and Dolce just had two little dots. But now they both have large patches of peach on their heads :)

[personatus]

Nice looking bird, my favourite! :D It's either a single violet or a dark blue (cobalt), both look the same. As she gets older and moults the mask will darken and turn deep black and the blue/violet colours will become more vivid.

Quarantine is always a good idea, but if you have already caged them side-by-side then it's probably too late. I've never quarantined any of my birds, although I only buy them from established breeders I know and trust.