Sookie is getting a friend, looking for some advice!

[Steph]

Hi, well as I said, Sookie is getting a little friend on Sunday. He is a 12 week old orange faced opaline with special needs as he cant fly due to a birth defect. I have read up on the basics about introducing lovebirds but I'm just a bit worried because he cant fly and he is only a baby and Sookie is almost seven months. I'm not sure how to introduce them out of their cages for the first time, I am assuming that the baby shouldn't be on me when they are introduced or Sookie might not like it so the best place for the baby would really be on the floor? He is also aviary bread but has been living in the breeders home, I am assuming since the breeder realised that he couldn't fly - so any help on how to make friends with him would also be good as would any help at all.

I have just thought of something else! If I am right and Sookie is a girl is there any way to stop them from breeding? The breeder wasn't keeping him because he couldn't breed from him because of his birth defect so I don't really want to go ahead and do it, if they did breed do they have a greater chance of also being born with a defect?

[linda040899]

Congratulations on your pending new addition! Even before introductions, you will need to quarantine the new one for a minimum of 30 days to make sure he/she is healthy. I'd be interested to hear more about this genetic defect that took away this baby's ability to fly. Dislocated wing joints will do the same thing. Pictures would be helpful.

I would introduce them to each other in separate side by side cages once quarantine is done. Being older, Sookie could also be aggressive with the youngster and you would find that out with the safety of cage bars between them.

[Steph]

Thanks Linda, I am calling the breeder on Saturday again to arrange collection so I will find out more about his wings then, if it is dislocated joints is this something that would be able to be corrected? I will post pics as soon as I get him. Would it be advisable to keep the cages together until he is a bit more mature, say five or six months? I'm really nervous about the whole thing but I do think it is the best thing for Sookie, I feel so bad when she hears birds chirping outside or on the tv and gets so excited, she should have a mate I feel quite guilty for getting her on her own so I really hope this works out well for her.