Who's who?

[droppy]

Hello,

I'm new to lovebirds, so it's great o find such useful resources!

I've recently purchased 2 lovebirds, from a local petshop. The staff there said they are less than a year old, but i'm not so sure. Also, we noticed that in the pet shop they used to stick together, so we thought they're a couple.

Nevertheless, they sometimes fight (over food regularly), and only one of them grooms the other. We would really like to hear your opinion on them: are we the proud owners of 2 girls or 2 boys? If they are a boy and a girl, who's who? :)

Here's a picture of the 2 of them: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/233/dsc0200rc.jpg/

Thank you!

[linda040899]

I can't tell you by looking if you have male/female, male/male or female/female. Peachfaces need to be DNA sexed in order to determine who is who. Both are over 6 months old, as both are in full color.

Part of your problem is most likely your cage. Round cages are not good for parrots, as they see "round" as an unending wall with no safe places to hide (corners). The cage is also way too small. Most of the cages I use for my breeders are 18"H x 18"W x 36"L with 1/2" bar spacing. Replacing the cage may solve your squabbling problem.

[droppy]

I can't tell you by looking if you have male/female, male/male or female/female. Peachfaces need to be DNA sexed in order to determine who is who. Both are over 6 months old, as both are in full color.

Part of your problem is most likely your cage. Round cages are not good for parrots, as they see "round" as an unending wall with no safe places to hide (corners). The cage is also way too small. Most of the cages I use for my breeders are 18"H x 18"W x 36"L with 1/2" bar spacing. Replacing the cage may solve your squabbling problem.

Thank you very much for your response. Indeed, we've noticed the cage is too small too, so we're getting them a new one soon. Is it better if it has a round top or should it be square too?

[linda040899]

Square cage with a dome top is OK but round everything is a no-no. The problem your 2 are having is that they have no space between them. Hopefully, that new cage will come very soon. :)

[shadnamber]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Congrats on your new Lovies!:)

[kimberly1985]

Just wanted to say:

Welcome to the forum! And whatever their gender is, they are both so pretty!

[droppy]

Just wanted to say:

Welcome to the forum! And whatever their gender is, they are both so pretty!

Thank you everyone! :)
Our lovies have a new, huuuuge home. They look really happy and playfull, but they still fight over food. I guess it takes time for them to get used to the new cage.
We've noticed something changed in the past 2 weeks. The one that was shy and quiet at first turned really active and "bossy" towards the other one: he/she chases the other away when eating, won't let him/her sit in certain places of the cage etc.
We're confused, because from what i've read, females are more active, playful and not so shy, but the one that had such behaviour at first now changed (she/he is more scared and shy, i think he/she is a little scared of the other bird).
We're really happy they are healthy and active, but we're concerned about them fighting: are they a girl and boy and the boy is courting her and she doesn't accept him? Could you describe their behaviour in such conditions (courting behaviour, specific sounds they make)? Or are they actually fighting over territory? (i hope the fighting won't get worse with time). Nevertheless, they groom each other on a dayly basis and mostly sit together.

In the meantime, they are very happy with their new home and enjoying flying and bathing :)

[Enko_chan]

It is possible you have 2 hens and one is exerting dominance over the other. It may be necessary to separate the two or end up with a potentially fatal situation. If they are a year old, they are reaching sexual maturity and reaching that critical point.

It is also possible that this is just lovie behavior- it is hard to tell from this little information. Do these birds seem to bond and like each other at all or is it mostly fighting? Sometimes my bonded and very much in love, male lovebirds will squabble over food or argue over a place in the cage they both like, but they have never harmed each other and I don't think they ever will... but what you are describing could be dangerous if both are female and coming into sexual maturity. Can you tell us more about how they interact?

The bottom line may be that a DNA gender test is in order.

[droppy]

Thank you for your repply!

Well, they haven't shown violent behaviours towards each other, just sometimes "pinching" each other with their peeks if there's food/a special place in the cage involved. I think they do like each other as one of them constantly grooms the other (doesn't miss any chance) and recently the other one started doing the same (for very short periods of time, though).
They sleep together, side by side, interact during daytime (eat together after sometimes having a little fight over food - "yelling" at each other for food or pinching).

Should i look for some specific behaviour? So you believe we should DNA test them right away?

Thank you!