i have a couple of problems with different birds. Please Help!

[slipknotgrl8193]

well, i have to 10 lovebirds. i keep on hearing if you put two related birds together, they will have birth defects...is that true because 1 pair of my birds are cousins and it looks like shes going to lay eggs.

my other problem is that the bird i recently bought is missing 3 fingernails and 1 toe. i didnt realize until i got home and i didnt want to return it because i wanted to give it an excellent life. he/she seems to fall off a couple of times and i wanted to see if i can do anything for my lovie.

The other prob. is that it seems like i have gay birds. they're both guys because they hump everything. the avian vet told me that they're males. But i tried putting them with girls and they freaked out. They ran to each other and began kissing. I had them get DNA tests and they're males. If you seperate them, they begin crying and screaming until they reunite...isn't that akward?

please help!:confused:

[Janie]

Bonded males are just fine. I would not separate them. I have two and had them DNA'd before I bought them to be sure they are males since I don't want babies knowing I could never find enough good homes for them. They are also brothers. Females can also bond with another female but it's not quite as common for two females to get along together as two males. Did your avian vet DNA them? Unless they are an eye ring species, it's only a guess as to what their sex is w/o DNAing them.

If you're planning to let your male/female pairs breed, keep in mine that a single pair can produce up to 15+ babies in one year. They are prolific breeders and don't stop at one clutch. You do have the option of boiling the eggs as soon as each is laid and putting it back in the nest, addling the eggs and putting them back or removing the eggs and replacing them with plastic eggs the same size. If you simply remove them, the hens will continue to lay, trying to replace them. That is hard on the hen and will deplete her little body. I can't help you with info. about breeding cousins since I don't breed any of my birds.

The only thing I can think of to help your little bird with the missing nails and toe would be to offer him a happy hut to sleep in at night and some kind of corner perch where he can rest comfortably during the day when he needs to take the weight off that foot.

[linda040899]

well, i have to 10 lovebirds. i keep on hearing if you put two related birds together, they will have birth defects...is that true because 1 pair of my birds are cousins and it looks like shes going to lay eggs.
While pairing up related birds is not the desirable thing to do, as long as their parents are not related, you should not have any problems as far as defects are concerned. You can get babies with defects even from unrelated parents. It all depends on the genetic make up of the parents.


my other problem is that the bird i recently bought is missing 3 fingernails and 1 toe. i didnt realize until i got home and i didnt want to return it because i wanted to give it an excellent life. he/she seems to fall off a couple of times and i wanted to see if i can do anything for my lovie.
Give this bird a bit of time to adapt to his environment. You might want to offer smaller or different kinds of perches to help, but he's capable of living a normal lovie life, even with the condition of the one foot.

There can be companionships formed between same gender birds and I usually just leave them alone. I've tried to split a couple of pairs and sometimes it works, while other times the attempt failed miserably. Their choice of partner is their own. I would leave it at that.

[LauraO]

I have a lot of lovies and they are individuals and some prefer to have relationships with the same sex. Ducky and Sage, my creamino and pied aussie are totally bonded and both males. It's funny because the breeder I got Sage from said that he was always the odd guy out and that she had several failed attempts at pairing him with a female. We actually brought him home for our female lovie Spike, but she was too rough for him. He ended hanging out with a young male who later paired up with Spike. After Bocephus left him, he and Ducky got together and they are totally happy. I tend to think that lovies are much more in tune with themselves, which includes pairing up with same sexes and masturbating freely. Breeder or not, I would never break up a pair unless they were a danger to themselves.

I would say your lovie should not be falling off the perches with just one toe missing unless the toes with the nails missing are effecting their perching. I would offer a bunch of different size perches and if the issue doesn't improve I would make a vet appointment as their might be something else going on.

[butterfly1061]

I have four lovies and they are paired with the same sex. Molly, my first lovebird, was handfed by me and is extremely bonded to me. He is 2 yrs old and I thought he would never go near a bird I brought into the house. Back in February he befriended Piper, my other male. They are playmates and have a great time feeding each other and playing with toys. My girls, Daisy & Olivia, are bonded and both, being hens, have VERY strong personalities. They do NOT like the boys and chase after them in attack mode. They also feed each other and play together. So you see, as Laura said, lovebirds seem to know more about themselves and each other better than we do as humans. I would never dream of separating my pairs for they are healthy & happy the way they are. Because of how our society perceives how male & female relationships should be, we tend to think animals should do the same. Let them be the wild animals they were meant to be and you'll have happy lovies. :)

[LauraO]

I have four lovies and they are paired with the same sex. Molly, my first lovebird, was handfed by me and is extremely bonded to me. He is 2 yrs old and I thought he would never go near a bird I brought into the house. Back in February he befriended Piper, my other male. They are playmates and have a great time feeding each other and playing with toys. My girls, Daisy & Olivia, are bonded and both, being hens, have VERY strong personalities. They do NOT like the boys and chase after them in attack mode. They also feed each other and play together.

Jackie: You are TOTALLY LUCKY with your lovie set-up. I've been wanting to say congrats on that for awhile. You get all the fun of having multiple lovies with NO Babies. I especially love Molly and Olivia. Of course, I feel like I know Molly and Olivia sounds like the epitamy of a lovie hen. I wish I had MORE same sex couples:lol :lol .

[Timmy]

well, i have to 10 lovebirds. i keep on hearing if you put two related birds together, they will have birth defects...is that true because 1 pair of my birds are cousins and it looks like shes going to lay eggs.

my other problem is that the bird i recently bought is missing 3 fingernails and 1 toe. i didnt realize until i got home and i didnt want to return it because i wanted to give it an excellent life. he/she seems to fall off a couple of times and i wanted to see if i can do anything for my lovie.

The other prob. is that it seems like i have gay birds. they're both guys because they hump everything. the avian vet told me that they're males. But i tried putting them with girls and they freaked out. They ran to each other and began kissing. I had them get DNA tests and they're males. If you seperate them, they begin crying and screaming until they reunite...isn't that akward?

please help!:confused:

Regarding the missing toe, i do believe it won't pose a problem since majority of our lovies usually perch utilizing one claw while the other is raised, this means they are accustomed to this and would not have any problems in perching even they had one toe missing. Although I understand your view since everyone of course expects to bring home a bird without any defect.

Hope everything turns out well, keep us posted. 8)

[butterfly1061]

Jackie: You are TOTALLY LUCKY with your lovie set-up. I've been wanting to say congrats on that for awhile. You get all the fun of having multiple lovies with NO Babies. I especially love Molly and Olivia. Of course, I feel like I know Molly and Olivia sounds like the epitamy of a lovie hen. I wish I had MORE same sex couples:lol :lol .
Thanks Laura! You are soooo sweet to say that. I spend so much time with my 4 that I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't have them. They are such a joy in my life. :D

[slipknotgrl8193]

Thank you very much for helping me!:happy: :) :D I'm so reileved that there wasn't a serious problem with my lovies!