Reintroductions?

[DallyTsuka]

So, ive caged mango and munch separate for a few reasons. if munch's dna test comes back male i want to try to cage them together again as i wouldnt have to deal with breeding (or in this case, inbreeding).

i want to do a trial where i house them together in the tiels cage for 1 week, alone lol. its a whole new cage and i can see if munch gets territorial over it or not.

mango and munch are siblings, they groom eachother, they cuddle together, eat together (out of cage all of this), play together, bathe together... but munch has been growing more and more distant of mango as they get older, this started once she/he hit 6 months old (theyre 9 months old now) yet mango is very attached to his sibling and i feel bad that he is glued to the side of his cage staring at munch as she goes about her day completely ignoring him. they used to be so close. in the same cage munch often attacks mango but has never drawn blood. out of cage she often bullies him too. theres never been blood or injuries to him but i do wonder if this will work?


if the test comes back female, in the future when we get a bigger place we will be getting mango a buddy. but thats not any time soon. munch tends to prefer us now over his/her sibling. we talk to her she follows us and regurgitates for us rather than him now. she doesnt respond to him when he clings to the side of his cage chirping at her and staring at her all day. i worry for his sanity lol

is it normal for two formerly bonded siblings to grow apart as they age? is it asking for trouble trying to cage them together if munch is a boy? do you think mango will accept a new friend in the future if we introduce them properly away from munch? mango's buddy is still years away pretty sure

[linda040899]

The best way to handle reintroductions is in a neutral cage, as you have suggested, and put the dominant bird in the cage last. In other words, put Mango in first so that Munch doesn't have time to assume ownership of the territory. With dominant lovebirds, assuming ownership of the territory can take as little as 30 seconds....... Place the other cages out of sight and see what happens. There's no harm in trying and it just might work. :)

[DallyTsuka]

i kinda cant move any of the cages (gotta put the tiels in one of their cages and we have no other room to put them where the cats wont harrass them and the tiels cage is too large to put anywhere else)

but i will put mango in first, though i have before lol ive put munch in mangos cage while cleaning munch's so i dont get bit and she goes and attacks him in his own cage... :omg:

im expecting it to not work if i end up trying it

[linda040899]

Gheesh!!
That's unusual! Sure doesn't take long for Munch to feel at home and take over, does it! All you can do is try and see what happens. Occasionally, very occasionally, our birds surprise us and behave as we want them to. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Go for it. :)

[DallyTsuka]

is it normal for siblings to grow apart? i will not cage them together unless the DNA test tells me munch is a boy lol

[linda040899]

I won't say it's normal but it happens, for whatever reason. My 2 macaws are brother/sister and sometimes they get along, while other times they fight like little kids. Dao (male) is the dominant bird and I've had to split them up very occasionally when he really got nasty with Georgia.

[DallyTsuka]

well if it doesnt work out, mango wont be getting a new friend until we get a bigger place in a few years... will he be happy with his cage next to munch's until then?

[linda040899]

Hard question to answer. Lovebirds are very social, however, in captivity, the option of just flying away to find another companion is just not an option. This is a bridge you will have to cross if you establish that they can't live together in a single, larger cage.

I have a couple of lovebirds who like having a cage all to themselves and company in a cage next door. Whether or not Mango would find that acceptable will remain to be seen should co-habitation not work.

[DallyTsuka]

i'd love to get him a buddy now but my fiance is concerned for money and space reasons, which he is right and thats why we want to wait til we get a bigger place. i hope to find a nice turquoise hen to pair him with for future breeding, but thats far away. and it may not be a turquoise. a green hen would be nice too i like how the wild colours look too, but with a turquoise i'd get some turquoise pieds which are beautiful. but if i get a hen, i just want him to be happy. in the end, thats my goal. he is so shy of hands and people that he wants very little to do with us but munch likes interacting with us instead of him a lot and i worry hes unhappy and lonely. hes the type of bird that doesnt like human company no matter what you try. hed rather be with a bird

[lemonypickett]

I can empathize with your mental confusion over this..... I think the first step is to wait to get the dna tests back.... then you can be better armed with the information you need to make an informed decision.

Once we hear back, I may have a idea (possibly)

Hang in there, in the meantime, you may want to keep them apart so no fights ensue.... I rescued a lovie that had been attacked by others, and after almost $1000 in vet bills, he still passed away after a couple of weeks and broke Eddie and my hearts..... so keeping them apart until the sexes are known may be safest.

[DallyTsuka]

i am definately waiting, that is the plan. should be in any day now

[lemonypickett]

Isn't the excitement killing you? Man I was soooooo excited to find out about my guys I remember....

Looking forward to hearing!

[DallyTsuka]

still not in :( maybe tonight ?? lol im so impatient