droppy
06-19-2016, 06:36 AM
Hi there,
As mentioned in my post under the the "I need help NOW" section, I wanted to open this topic in order to ask for your advice or any best practices with regards to adapting a new lovebird into an existing flock (of two).
As I've posted here, (http://www.lovebirdsplus.com/community/showthread.php?23884-Injured-lovebird-rescued-from-petshop&p=208805#post208805) we got Porto from a pet shop, where he was seriously injured by the other lovebirds he was sharing a cage with - after a couple of weeks treatment and rest, he is now a fully recovered, energetic and curious young lovebird. We've housed Porto in Ben & Bella's old (smaller) cage, which we sat right next to their current home - so they can adapt and chat to each other. They have now spent about 3 weeks together, cages side by side (picture here (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOr3lWMkI7MZXbDLPaA0J_tHQz_pkAXDwknKgWZc2x2pJ Z67kYv7hr0LyZ31NLjsQ/photo/AF1QipNNX2HDX3DDrrqUZ3yJIJR5XJh5-oAC-YVcZLh3?key=NzBrdGFCNjItTHg3dW5wai14VzM4bGZYR1Fudk VR)).
They've been chatting vigurously (especially Porto), although lately Ben and Bella have a tendency to ignore Porto. So this week-end we decided to let them fly together and see how they interact. Porto struggled a lot to decide whether he wants to come out and fly, going back and forth, but he finally decided to give it a go. He's just now learned how to fly, still a bit clumsy. Ben and Bella like to sit on our light fixture, in the middle of the room, above our bed, just to watch us from up there. Porto flied straight next to Bella (the light green one in the picture here (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOr3lWMkI7MZXbDLPaA0J_tHQz_pkAXDwknKgWZc2x2pJ Z67kYv7hr0LyZ31NLjsQ/photo/AF1QipNzrJ0DZkdrBVTEZVHbXkztR_z5hPPJPRE9SObK?key=N zBrdGFCNjItTHg3dW5wai14VzM4bGZYR1FudkVR)) on the light fixture (he seems to like her more?) - she would unfortunately reach out to him and try to bite. At this point, Porto will back off to a safe place in the room. Ben on the other hand (dark green one on my husband's shoulder), will get scared and run off :-)
Also, Porto discovered Ben & Bella's cage - which is indeed far bigger and (probably) more interesting than the one he's in now, so he will land on it and sit there - he's had a few tries at going in, but he will especially aim for the nest that Ben & Bella only use for sleeping or to run off from the morning sun when they like to lazy around and not be bothered. We didn't want to let him do that, just in case Ben & Bella become violent or territorial. Ben will fly over on the big cage and sit next to Porto, haven't seen any signs of violence from his side. Bella on the other hand, will ignore Porto if he's not bothering her. Yesterday we had an interesting episode: Ben and Bella went into their cage, we closed it and we left Porto last one to go back in his home. He immediately landed on their cage, on top of their nest. Not sure if he's so into the nest because he remembers one from when he was little (he should be about 3 months now according to the vet)? Again, Ben and Bella didn't react that well - video here. (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOr3lWMkI7MZXbDLPaA0J_tHQz_pkAXDwknKgWZc2x2pJ Z67kYv7hr0LyZ31NLjsQ/photo/AF1QipM16XYVA0H9fkXneAaOE47iz-KIoRbwxVajUQpf?key=NzBrdGFCNjItTHg3dW5wai14VzM4bGZ YR1FudkVR)
We're honestly trying to see if they'll get along together, Porto seems to want a friend although it's visible he's still scared he might get hurt. I'm not sure how we should proceed or how much time to let them spend together before concluding they will or will not get along together. I don't want to see Porto get hurt again, but would like for him to be happy and make friends. If we manage to put them into the same cage, it would be amazing, although my hopes are really low. If we establish they don't get along together at all, we will look into buying a bigger cage for Porto as well and maybe getting him a baby lovie friend. We'll see :-)
In the meantime, would you have any advice or recommendation to get them to bond? Bella (peach lovie, which we call "Princess" - because she's the lady of the house and will boss all of us around - i.e. yells at us to turn down the light or TV volume because she wants to sleep, makes Ben get her water and food and bring it to the nest every morning etc.) seems the one with somewhat aggressive tendencies towards Porto, maybe she'll adapt with time? We assume (90% I might say) Ben and Bella are in fact male lovies - never DNA tested them, but they've never laid eggs and they just turned 5 years old; also, sometimes Bella will hump a toy plush duck we have in the room). I can see from the video that Porto will not back off and tries to attack Bella as well - maybe he's a female and that's why Bella feels her position as flock leader threatened?
Thank you!
As mentioned in my post under the the "I need help NOW" section, I wanted to open this topic in order to ask for your advice or any best practices with regards to adapting a new lovebird into an existing flock (of two).
As I've posted here, (http://www.lovebirdsplus.com/community/showthread.php?23884-Injured-lovebird-rescued-from-petshop&p=208805#post208805) we got Porto from a pet shop, where he was seriously injured by the other lovebirds he was sharing a cage with - after a couple of weeks treatment and rest, he is now a fully recovered, energetic and curious young lovebird. We've housed Porto in Ben & Bella's old (smaller) cage, which we sat right next to their current home - so they can adapt and chat to each other. They have now spent about 3 weeks together, cages side by side (picture here (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOr3lWMkI7MZXbDLPaA0J_tHQz_pkAXDwknKgWZc2x2pJ Z67kYv7hr0LyZ31NLjsQ/photo/AF1QipNNX2HDX3DDrrqUZ3yJIJR5XJh5-oAC-YVcZLh3?key=NzBrdGFCNjItTHg3dW5wai14VzM4bGZYR1Fudk VR)).
They've been chatting vigurously (especially Porto), although lately Ben and Bella have a tendency to ignore Porto. So this week-end we decided to let them fly together and see how they interact. Porto struggled a lot to decide whether he wants to come out and fly, going back and forth, but he finally decided to give it a go. He's just now learned how to fly, still a bit clumsy. Ben and Bella like to sit on our light fixture, in the middle of the room, above our bed, just to watch us from up there. Porto flied straight next to Bella (the light green one in the picture here (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOr3lWMkI7MZXbDLPaA0J_tHQz_pkAXDwknKgWZc2x2pJ Z67kYv7hr0LyZ31NLjsQ/photo/AF1QipNzrJ0DZkdrBVTEZVHbXkztR_z5hPPJPRE9SObK?key=N zBrdGFCNjItTHg3dW5wai14VzM4bGZYR1FudkVR)) on the light fixture (he seems to like her more?) - she would unfortunately reach out to him and try to bite. At this point, Porto will back off to a safe place in the room. Ben on the other hand (dark green one on my husband's shoulder), will get scared and run off :-)
Also, Porto discovered Ben & Bella's cage - which is indeed far bigger and (probably) more interesting than the one he's in now, so he will land on it and sit there - he's had a few tries at going in, but he will especially aim for the nest that Ben & Bella only use for sleeping or to run off from the morning sun when they like to lazy around and not be bothered. We didn't want to let him do that, just in case Ben & Bella become violent or territorial. Ben will fly over on the big cage and sit next to Porto, haven't seen any signs of violence from his side. Bella on the other hand, will ignore Porto if he's not bothering her. Yesterday we had an interesting episode: Ben and Bella went into their cage, we closed it and we left Porto last one to go back in his home. He immediately landed on their cage, on top of their nest. Not sure if he's so into the nest because he remembers one from when he was little (he should be about 3 months now according to the vet)? Again, Ben and Bella didn't react that well - video here. (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOr3lWMkI7MZXbDLPaA0J_tHQz_pkAXDwknKgWZc2x2pJ Z67kYv7hr0LyZ31NLjsQ/photo/AF1QipM16XYVA0H9fkXneAaOE47iz-KIoRbwxVajUQpf?key=NzBrdGFCNjItTHg3dW5wai14VzM4bGZ YR1FudkVR)
We're honestly trying to see if they'll get along together, Porto seems to want a friend although it's visible he's still scared he might get hurt. I'm not sure how we should proceed or how much time to let them spend together before concluding they will or will not get along together. I don't want to see Porto get hurt again, but would like for him to be happy and make friends. If we manage to put them into the same cage, it would be amazing, although my hopes are really low. If we establish they don't get along together at all, we will look into buying a bigger cage for Porto as well and maybe getting him a baby lovie friend. We'll see :-)
In the meantime, would you have any advice or recommendation to get them to bond? Bella (peach lovie, which we call "Princess" - because she's the lady of the house and will boss all of us around - i.e. yells at us to turn down the light or TV volume because she wants to sleep, makes Ben get her water and food and bring it to the nest every morning etc.) seems the one with somewhat aggressive tendencies towards Porto, maybe she'll adapt with time? We assume (90% I might say) Ben and Bella are in fact male lovies - never DNA tested them, but they've never laid eggs and they just turned 5 years old; also, sometimes Bella will hump a toy plush duck we have in the room). I can see from the video that Porto will not back off and tries to attack Bella as well - maybe he's a female and that's why Bella feels her position as flock leader threatened?
Thank you!