Wally's New friend

[nicoley173]

Hello,
I have just bought my hand-tamed peachface a companion. Wally (who is actually a girl we have since figured) has been my bird for the past 5 years and has always been in a cage by herself for that time. Over the last year or two I havent had as much time for poor old Wally like I used to so Wally has spent most of this time nesting on the bottom of her cage. One egg every two days for the last 6 weeks... usually it only last for 4 eggs but this time I have lost count!! So i decided to buy Wally a boyfriend. I bought this bird 3 days ago and put them in the same cage together but Wally does not seem interested in this bird at all. She chases it away and tries to bite it. But lucky the other bird still has its wings so he can get away with ease. I was wondering if Wally will bond with this other bird eventually?? I bought a new cage so Wally isnt familiar with it and it is mutual ground. I would really love for them to have some babies because Wally seems to love nesting. Any suggestions on how to handle this situation or have I gone about it in all the wrong ways???
Thanks :)

[diljaa]

Where did you get the other bird? It is recommended to quarantine all new birds for at least 30 days.
Also, don't put him straight away into Wally's cage, you should get him his own cage and put it next to Wally's and let them interact with each other first through the cage bars and see how that goes. Lovebirds can be very territorial (especially females and especially if she has been laying) and Wally could easily seriously hurt or even kill her new friend.

[nicoley173]

I actually bought a brand new cage and put them in it together. Wally has laid yet another egg on the bottom and doesnt seem overly interested in the other bird unless it comes near him. Do you think that they will adjust to each other's company?? Would I be better off seperating them?? Wally has stopped nesting since leaving his old cage and is actually playing with toys and on the perches. In his old cage he would only ever sit on the bottom of the cage and nest.

[linda040899]

For right now, you need to separate these 2 birds. Leave Wally in the new cage and put the new bird in the other cage. Since quarantine has already been broken, it's too late for that. However, leave the cages side by side until they get to know each other. Make no mistake about it. Wally is a hen and is perfectly capable of seriously injuring or killing any cagemate she has that isn't to her liking.