Myrindia
06-23-2006, 01:05 PM
I got my first peachfaced lovebird, Tosha, about three years ago. I "decided" he is a boy, but I don't really know. I will refer to him as a he though. He has a history of feather picking, but he hadn't done it recently.
Lately, I hadn't been able to spend as much time with him as I knew he needed, so I decided it was time to get him a companion. We named the newest member of our family Moringa and "decided" she was a girl.
They have been together for a couple of months now, and she has always been the dominant one, but it seems to be getting worse. He eats when he gets a chance because she often chases him away from the food dishes. He often feeds her and it looks like he is getting a little skinny. He has also resumed picking out a large patch of feathers on his upper right breast. Other than her dominant behaviour, they get along well though.
What should I do with them? I have two cages, and I have tried separating them, but that just seems to create stress in both, but especially in Moringa. She spends the majority of her time calling him and trying to get out of the cage. Although I can place the cages so that they can't see each other, my house is not large enough that I can keep them from hearing each other.
Also, what is the normal weight for a lovebird? I am considering getting a scale so that I can monitor Tosha's weight. I said above that he looks a little skinny, but the fact that he is missing a patch of feathers might just be making him look skinny.
Finally, this isn't really important, but can anyone identify my birds' true genders by their behaviour? It would be nice to know.
Sorry this is so long, but I would appreciate any advice anyone can provide. I am worried about Tosha.
Lately, I hadn't been able to spend as much time with him as I knew he needed, so I decided it was time to get him a companion. We named the newest member of our family Moringa and "decided" she was a girl.
They have been together for a couple of months now, and she has always been the dominant one, but it seems to be getting worse. He eats when he gets a chance because she often chases him away from the food dishes. He often feeds her and it looks like he is getting a little skinny. He has also resumed picking out a large patch of feathers on his upper right breast. Other than her dominant behaviour, they get along well though.
What should I do with them? I have two cages, and I have tried separating them, but that just seems to create stress in both, but especially in Moringa. She spends the majority of her time calling him and trying to get out of the cage. Although I can place the cages so that they can't see each other, my house is not large enough that I can keep them from hearing each other.
Also, what is the normal weight for a lovebird? I am considering getting a scale so that I can monitor Tosha's weight. I said above that he looks a little skinny, but the fact that he is missing a patch of feathers might just be making him look skinny.
Finally, this isn't really important, but can anyone identify my birds' true genders by their behaviour? It would be nice to know.
Sorry this is so long, but I would appreciate any advice anyone can provide. I am worried about Tosha.