Introducing new bird...please help

[actyourshoosize]

I have had an orange-faced lovebird for almost 2 years and have just bought a lutino so my first bird, lilly, is not lonely when i'm not home. The new bird is still pretty young, maybe 5 months or so. I thought the age gap might be too much, but people at stores told me it wouldn't matter. Lilly nips at the new bird a lot and sometimes gets a little violent. I've heard from many sources that this is normal, and even brought the cage with both of them in it back to the store so they could tell me if it was normal and they said it will eventually stop when they get over their territory issues. Most people have told me to just put them in the cage together right away but now im questioning if that was a good idea. The new one seems very timid and scared and im wondering if it may be traumatized or scared because of my old bird taunting it. I take both birds out to get used to eachother and me, although the new one was very adjusted to people when i bought it. i have until monday to take the new bird back if things dont work out, which i would hate to do since im already attached to it. Any suggestions on what to do to fix the problem? Or if i should just take the bird back and hope it will find a new family?

[linda040899]

Separate these 2 immediately!!!!! Aggression from an older bird to a younger one can lead to serious injury and even death. Since I see you are online, I'm going to post this and continue with the message in a different reply. Your new baby needs its own space immediately!!

[linda040899]

OK, now that I've posted the most crucial part of the message, I will continue. Aggression between lovebirds, especially older ones put with younger ones, is very common and an older bird can maime or kill a younger one. It's best to always house them separately, side by side, until they get to know each other. If your first bird is a hen, she will most likely not accept a younger, immature male, as he can't satisfy her needs. Hens also tend to be very territorial about their cages and many will not accept another bird in their homes. I've had cases where I had to put both birds in a completely neutral cage that neither of them have lived in. When I do, I put the male in first, as it can take as little as 30 seconds for a hen to take over a new cage. Some lovebirds will never get along in the same cage and will only be allowed to interact outside the cages and only with supervision.

One thing the pet shop forgot to tell you is that you should quarantine any new bird for a minimum of 30 days. I don't care who tells you what. Quarantine! It's too late now, as they have already been together but shame on this shop for giving out so much inaccurate information! If you like the new bird, I don't see any reason to return it. It can still be a companion for Lilly, even if they don't live together.

Hope this helps.

[actyourshoosize]

thank you very much for that information. you seem to know a lot more than the pet store did. Do you think there is any chance to give it one more shot if i seperate them for a while and then get a new bigger cage for them? Also, it is not 100% sure but an expert has told me they are pretty sure Lilly is actually a male because of his/her characteristics. Once again, thank you so much.

[linda040899]

I gave up trying to behavior sex or pelvic sex my lovebirds. I get fooled more often than not! DNA sexing is a lot more accurate, although it's not 100% positive, either.... :)

Anything is possible and I would try separating them until the younger bird is much closer to 10 months old. They will be company for each other even though they are not together. Your older bird is mature and the new one is just a "teen-ager." I've seen this combination work but it's the exception rather than the rule. A larger cage might eventually be the answer but not right now. Patience is the key and you will need lots of that with lovebirds!

[Janie]

I'm so glad that Linda was able to get that message of separation to you in a hurry. I've read from books and other lovebird owners that one can kill another one in the blink of an eye. I have an older lovie, about 9 or 10, and added two more, DNA'd brothers, a few months ago. They do NOT like each other and maybe because it's a threesome or maybe because my older bird is very attached to me but I can promise you that I don't turn my back on them for a second when they're all out. The younger brothers do like each other and share a cage but both are aggressive towards my older bird, whether it's because they're curious or want to bite him, I'm not really sure but I never give them the chance. My older bird would also happily bite their heads off except I think he's afraid of them. I don't know. I had hoped they would all get along but I bought them knowing that they probably would not.

I can assure you that Linda does know a lot more than your pet store! :D I've had my first lovebird for just over two years and *I* know more than any sales person I've come in contact with in a PetSmart or Petco does (cause I learned it here!). Unless you're dealing with a pet bird specialty store that only deals in birds and maybe fish, it is rare to find anyone working in a pet store that knows squat about parrots. While I did not buy any of my birds from a pet store, I did go there for supplies when I first adopted my older lovie and not one thing they told me was correct as far as cage size, food, etc. Any reputable store selling a bird should tell you that an avian vet check and quarantine are both very important. I bought my younger boys from a breeder and the first two things she told me was to have them checked by an Avian vet and to quarantine them for 30 to 90 days to protect my older bird.

But, the good news is that you've found this forum and there is so much good (and correct) advice here. If your older bird is a male, and without DNA sexing, there is no way to be sure, it likely will be easier to introduce another bird and they might end up liking each other and sharing a cage but that is something that you'll have to watch very closely and never leave them unattended until you know they like each other. Good luck!

[Buy A Paper Doll]

I will add, my pair didn't necessarily get along all that well when I first introduced them but they are able to live together now. But it took literally months to get to this point with them. They had separate cages and I only let them play together for a few minutes at a time, several times a day. I watched them like a hawk and separated them if I saw too much squabbling. As they grew to like each other more, I was able to increase that time gradually. Now they get along just fine.

If I had just put the two of them together in one cage, it would have been a disaster for sure.

[actyourshoosize]

sad to say, after watching them and reading things on this site i realized what i had to do and took the new bird back. surprisingly, the store got new love birds in and my old one who came along for the trip seemed unexplainably interested in one of the new ones by itself. we put the one my bird was interested in in the cage with her to see what would happen and they took a liking to eachother. i ended up taking that one home to see what would happen, but i am keeping them seperate for a while. there have been tiny pecks between them when they are out together, but it is curious instead of in a hurting way, and this new bird seems to stand up for him/herself better. i guess you just need to find birds with the right chemistry, hopefully this one will work out. thanks everyone for all of your help :)

[Janie]

Oh my, did you read all the above information about quarantine?????? You have now exposed your older bird to TWO birds that have not been vet checked or quarantined. And if you took your bird into a store with several other birds, you've exposed him/her to every single bird there. So, I hope that all works out well for you and your birds but what you've done is NOT the safe or correct way.

[Paulette]

Ok....I had a tame pair and accidentally killed the hen, Sara.....I found a breeder hen that had just lost her mate.....Jake my male was thrilled to see Hope the first evening because my hubby didn't know about quarantine....after quarantine I put the new Hen in a cage right next to Jake's and they played together during out of cage time for a couple of days......it was so cute. She began to eat immediately and I was releived....she'd quit eating at the loss of her previous mate....Jake had this whole coconut shell in his cage with a bird hole on each side of it....Hope would go into Jake's cage and would nap inside his coconut....He would have a fit every time she'd sit inside it.....and would sit on top of it fussing at her....(2 days in a row) it was too funny...every evening I would take it out with her inside and hang it into her own cage.....this went on for about 3 days....at bedtime I would transfer Hope in the coconut to her cage...Then at play time they started going behind the play cage and preening each other and he would feed her...it was like a couple of teenagers in love and inseperable. Jake is used to doing the swishy on his cozy tunnel and Sara would just ignore him....so I'm not sure Sara was a hen....because Hope after sleeping in Jake's cage for a few days bowed her head and raised her tail....she was so patient with him even though he didn't know how to swishy on another bird......and well, he got to swishying on his cozy again....my mom said take it away.....so I did.....and I expect eggs any day now. :2cents: Good Luck. Lovies are so much fun and so entertaining.