Shall i get Holly A boyfriend

[shellyb40]

Hi I am wondering whether i should get Holly a boyfriend, she has started to spend alot of time looking and pecking her mirrior and also she loves her own reflection in anything shiny!! She use to have a bf called Nobby up until about a year ago but he died suddenly . She seems happy and loves being out of her cage being a little hooligan but i worry she is missing not having company of her own species. Myself and Holly are kinda close but she is not hand tame as she was not hand reared but she will eat things out of my hand. Any advice would be great.
Thanks:)

[jk1944]

I think if you get Holly a bf, and they like each other, there will be baby lovebirds in the future, and that's a serious thing to take on. There's lots of information about this written up in the forum by very experienced breeders and owners.

My personal story is I have one female lovebird who bonded ok to us over a year (still won't eat out of my hand though!) Then I got another bird, a conure, and they're both learning to be friends under supervision. There's no doubt in my mind that my lovie would be been just as happy with no other bird!

[One bird for one heart.]

Well it seems to me that Holly already has a boyfriend! When lovebirds have a mirror they don't relize its theirself looking back at them they truely think that their is another lovebird in their cage! I think if you want her to be really bonded to you alone I would get rid of the mirror and she might see you as her "bird-buddy." But if you really want her to have a real bird buddy to play with I would suggest getting another female inless if you are prepared for having babys, and that would not be an easy task, I now many people here can tell you how much time and effert it takes if you have to end up handfeeding them. I know you will make the right choice for what ever will work best for you. Best of luck!

[linda040899]

With Holly being a female, your only choice for a companion would have to be a male. I've had hens that get along, but those are the exception rather than the rule. Two cage territorial females in one cage, even an oversized large one, could be a recipe for disaster.

I, personally, have mates for all my lovebirds that want one. That accounts for about 99.5% of them. Lovebirds are very social and with as much time as we can spend with them, we still can't cuddle with them when they go to sleep in their cages at night and we don't do anywhere near as good a job of preening/grooming them as they do with each other. Keep in mind that there ARE singleton birds that don't want anything to with a birdie companion and it's your decision to make regarding Holly.

Mirrors are not really good items to put in lovebird cages for exactly the reason you are seeing. They can bond to a reflection that's not real and they don't distinguish real from unreal. To them, it's a bird, period.

Keep in mind that getting a male companion for Holly could result in offspring at some point, unless Holly is an older lovebird. One other option would be to get a female and house them in separate cages side by side unless they decide they can co-habitate together. Another species of bird is a possibility, as well, but the same rules apply. They may or may not get along. Pip and Ivy get along fantastically but not all relationships are like that!!!!!

[Dodo]

We recently got a second bird in part to provide companionship for our single lovie hen. Frodo (the lovebird) had been an only bird for 10 years when we recently got Scooter (a maroon-bellied conure); I had considered getting a second lovie, but did not want the responsibility of babies should they happen (although Frodo is getting on a bit in years). Unfortunately Frodo and Scoots don't seem to have hit it off as well as we'd hoped; Scooter is very interested in being friends with her, but she charges at him and chases him off whenever he approaches. Given time, perhaps they'll be friends, but perhaps not. At any rate, two cages to clean instead of one, and spending time with them both separately in addition to supervised time together out of the cage, is a whole lot of extra work. I wouldn't give Scoots back for anything, but if you're considering pairing up Holly with another bird she may or may not accept, be prepared for the possibility that you'll end up with two birds who depend on only you for companionship as well as two separate cages to keep clean.

[linda040899]

Very well said and your words certainly put things in perspective! There's no guarantee that Holly and a second bird would get along but there's also nothing that says they won't. Flip a coin.......

[kakazizou]

x x x x

[shellyb40]

Thank you all for your feed back I really appreciate it. I have thought about if I get her a bf there may well be offspring , I use to work for a animal rescue centre so no all about hand rearing and how much hard work it is . I just want Holy to be as happy a possible .

[Pips mom]

Yes.....Pip and Ivy do get along fantastically and seem to love each other, BUT.....because of their exteme personality differences, they will probably never be able to share a cage.....from what I can see I think it would be best for Ivy to always have her "quiet time" with nobirdy bugging her. Even though Ivy is accepting of Pip's annoying ways, I don't think she quite understands why he's like that. Their personalities are like night and day! You just never know what birds are going to like each other. Ones you think would stand a much better chance of being buddies don't and the ones that you think could never get along do. They are just always full of surprises!