getting a second lovie

[Ziggy]

I have made really big progress with Thanasis during the past month. When I take him out of the cage he always comes to my shoulder and sits there and maybe if I'm not moving he'll fall asleep. OK, he's not yet a friend with my fingers but it doesn't matter a lot for the time. I think he'll slowly get familiar. As I have mentioned in my other post, I am away from home most of the day. When I return it is usually dark and Thanasis is sleeping. That's why I have decided that as a Christmas present I will get him a new friend (it's more of a gift to myself I think!). And here come the questions! Should I select a similar color mutation with him so that they can familiarize faster? I saw a black masked and a cinammon and they were fantastic but I didn't get them before I get some advice. How should I introduce them and for how long? Note here that I am not interested in breeding (though if I get some eggs would be great!) and that if I see that they don't get along I don't mind keeping them in separate cages. I just want to have someone to keep him company when I'm away.

[sdgilley]

Hi,
Do you plan on putting them in the same cage? Do you know for sure what sex Thanasis is?
A second bird is exciting, but they may or may not be able to live in the same cage. Two hens are usually too territorial to live together, although it sometimes works out. If you have a male & female, be prepared for breeding if they share a cage. If you go with a different species (the black mask is an eye-ring species) then you don't want to breed them. Their offspring would be "mules" (sterile).
If you are sure Thanasis is a male, then maybe you could pair him happily with another male. I have two bonded males, and they are great company for each other and quite laid back.
Good luck!

[BarbieH]

Hi Ziggy;

I think that dealing with the same species would be a smart thing to do. They tend to have similar characteristics that makes it easier for them to socialize. Like you said, there also is the visual familiarity.

Like Suzanne said, I think you want to know the gender of Thanasis before you make a purchase. If Thanasis turns out to be a hen, you would want to make sure that the friend you get for her is *not* another hen. They tend to be more territorial than males, and probably would not be able to share a cage.

Even if you wind up with male-male or male-female, you will need a second cage to keep a new bird in during the 30-day (minimum) quarantine period. Your birds will have a nice long time to hear each other before they actually see each other.

[Mummieeva]

Like others said be sure of not only Thanasis gender but any new birds also. Just for safetys sake. I have a pair and they both interact with me and each other.They do not have to be same colors though just same speicies.Good luck on finding another bird.


Steph

[Ziggy]

Thanks a lot for the replies! So I see that it is important to be of the same species but not necessarily of the exact colours although this would help. Regarding the sex of the second lovie, I am aware that females probably won't get along well so the first thing that I will check is wheter I can find a sexed male lovebird. So, in a few days there will be a new member of the flock!

[Mummieeva]

Just remember the 30-90 day quarintine in another room for the new bird and your all set. Good luck and remember.:D We like pictures.lol.



Steph

[Ziggy]

Well, after a thourough search in pet shops around my area I bought Polly yesterday. Her body colour is olive and has a yellow face. Just a few months old and I hope she will keep good company with Thanasis. Unfortunately I could not find sexed birds so if it seems that they don't get along I will keep them seperately. They are not in visual contact as you advised me but from the moment that I brought Polly in the house Thanasis went nuts! They saw each other only for a minute or two when he found where I keep her and flew there. He turned to her and said "stupid" (which is the only word I have taught him, lol!). That was hilarious. For the moment she is really quiet and a bit scared of her new environment so I am trying not to annoy her for some time and see how she gets along.

PS. As for her name it comes from the Parrot Sketch by Monty Pythons. A brilliant example of black humour I believe :rofl:

[BarbieH]

"Wake up, Polly! Wake up Polly parrot!"

Is she pining for the fiords? :D

[Janie]

Congratulations Ziggy! Hope it turns out to be a match made in heaven but even if they can't eventually be caged together, they can still enjoy calling to each other and keeping each other company! :)

[Ziggy]

Well, after a few days of shyness on Polly's behalf she has started to adapt to her new environment. I'm keeping her in the same room as Thanasis but not in visual contact. I can say now that their noise is unbearable! It's even worse than I expected but I am getting used to it. The good thing is that Polly is not afraid getting out of the cage. I have let her twice already and she seems to get along quite good. On the other hand Thanasis seems to be pulling out quite a lot of fluffy feathers in the last days but I'm not worried much. It's probably because of the change of the environment or he just misses my father with whom he is as bonded as with me.

[bellarains]

Hey,

Glad to hear all is going well. Then contact calls are a bit loud, and even louder when caged seperately:omg:

If they are in the same room, I think I move the cages so that they can see each other. It might be a bit stressful for Thanasis to hear Polly, but not see her. The plucking may be a molt, but it may also be stress. If in the same room, there is no reason to keep them from seeing each other.

Day by day, move the cages a little closer, until one day they are side by side. After a few days or so, try a supervised play time out. The first few times may not go well, or they may hook right up. A little squabbling is normal, but if you see either of them become over aggressive, play time is over.

I hope all goes well in the coming introductions. Keep us updated.

Oops, about forgot. The one thing I did with Bela and Lacey before putting them in the same cage, was feed them both from a plate outside the cage. This taught them to sort of share the food dish. Lacey is still going to pick her own dish, and they do have seperate ones, but neither is overly territorial about it. Thought this might help down the road.

[Ziggy]

Thanks for the advice bellarains! Indeed moving them in order to see each other stopped Thanasis' plucking. Polly slowly but steadily seems to be getting familiar to her new environment. She's just still a bit scared and a bit messy but she's still very young.

I let them both fly around the house twice for about 10 minutes each time. Thanasis is a picking her a bit. Mostly he is pulling her legs. I think that it might be because Polly has an ID ring on her leg and Thanasis doesn't and he might find that strange. He is also going through her feathers but it does not seems like attacking her. It's like the way he does when he is scratching himself with his beak. The good thing is that both times I let them out they were together all the time without any one trying to avoid the other.

[Janie]

Ziggy, watch that leg band to be sure he doesn't attack it. I'm sure that Thanasis is very curious about it and especially since he/she doesn't have one. The last two that I got did have leg bands and I had them removed. I know the breeder and where they came from so I decided I'd be less stressed worrying about the bands getting caught on something or picked at by each other.

[butterfly1061]

My Olivia kept messing with her band too. Janie & I have bought birds from the same breeder and I removed Olivia's band. I was so afraid she was hurt herself messing with it too much. :2cents:

[Martha]

Pictures!!!:lol

[Yinvanilla]

Hi, I am new to this forum, My boyfriend and I now have 2 lovebirds. Bella, the oldest, I have had for aprox 3 1/2 yrs. Bella, has become completely bonded to my boyfriend Colin, no longer bonded to me. We just this week adopted a new baby lovebird, who is now showing preference to Colin.. I used to be the "bird lady" whats going on? I invest time and attention with them just as much but they seem to be drawn to him over me 10 fold. Also, any advice on stopping new baby from learning to bite? She is not yet biting hard, but she is testing the waters, and I would like to stop the bitig from getting bad before it starts. Any tricks???

[Janie]

Hi Yin,

You might try checking out threads in the "Biters Not So Anonymous" section of the forum and also in the Behavior & Taming section for tips on biting and taming.

I got two clutch mates a couple of years ago. Both hand fed and socialized males. One was a biter, the other never bit a single time. I think it has a lot to do with individual personalities and also the way a young bird uses his beak to explore. Sometimes they apply too much beak pressure while climbing and exploring on their human. My little bitter used his beak for everything and I did get bitten sometimes. When that happened I held him close to me, rubbing his head and beak and telling him in a firm voice, "No Bite, Big Boi!" Sometimes that worked and sometimes it didn't. In my case I think what helped most was that he figured out he was not going to be welcome, playing on me if he was going to bite. His biting phase passed after about 6 to 9 months. Come to think about it, I don't think he's given me a single nip in 6 months now. :D He was never mean or aggressive when he bit, just got a little carried away with that beak.

Sounds like your b/f has a way with the birds! :) It's the opposite in my house.....they all three want to be on me all the time and will only occasionally cozy up to one of my sons. They do like my hubby when I'm not around. :)

[LauraO]

I really don't believe most baby lovies bite in the way adult birds bite. A lot of it is exploration and tasting. In fact, a lot of younger lovies go through stages I liken to human babies who teeth. Redirection often works best in these situations and having a large button, bead, veggie tanned leather, plastic straw, etc. can be given to your lovie to chew on instead of you.

Birds are very particular about who they want to be with and when they want to be with them. They are also very social and I find most of our lovies take turns playing with either my husband or I. They often prefer him for a couple of reasons. The first being I am the one who spends the most time with them, I do most of the care and cleaning, I do the medication, vet runs, and discipline (ya, right) so seeing my husband is a treat for them. Plus, I'm sort of Elmira like and love to grab them (only the ones who aren't scared of hands) and kiss them all over and basically maul them. My husband is like a big play gym they can climb all over and while he sits pretty still I'm constantly on the move. Saying that, I sit her typing with......13 lovebirds on my keyboard, on my back, arms and chair all fighting and playing. Now my lovebirds Greenie and Chewy are biting my hands as I type. They are not being bitey mean, just playing. While it hurts a little I mostly take it and just move them away if they get too crazy.

So I suggest you check out how you boyfriend interacts with the birds and try something similiar. Another great thing I notice is if I have a shirt with a bunch of buttons, beads, or something else to beak I become a very popular playgym. So maybe you can try this. Some have also made play necklaces to hang around their necks for their birdies to chew on when they are on us. You can just get some veggie tanned leather and put different plastic buttons and beads along with chewing things on it and put it around your neck. It doesn't have to be pretty or fancy cause lovebirdies don't care about that, they just want to chew stuff. This would work great with the new baby.

Good Luck:)