Introducing new bird to aviary?

[mzmercury]

I had two pairs and one extra male (Tuggles) Lovebird in my aviary but Tuggles seemed so lonely that I finally got him a mate. I removed him from the aviary and put him in a cage and then placed her cage up next to his for a day and they seemed to hit it off. I then placed the cages with open doors into each other so they could visit IF they wanted to or remain neutral. They immediately seemed to bond and are already grooming each other. I now have the cage, with the two of them, sitting next to the aviary. The other birds are very interested of course. But my question is, now that Tuggles has bonded with her, is it safe to add her to the aviary? Or do I need to bring the birds from the aviary, one at a time, out to meet her?

We had a bad experience here once when we were newer to Lovebirds when my son transferred an immature bird into a cage with 3 sibling Lovebirds while he was cleaning the other birds cage...when he came back to get the bird, the others had killed it. We were horrified. We didn't, at that time, know that they would do such a thing. So you can see why I'm wanting to be REALLY careful about how I add our new lovely lady to the mix.

Thanks for any help.

Theresa

[Cathy]

Hi, have you already put your new lovebird through a quarantine period? If you haven't, I definately wouldn't expose the other birds until you are sure that she is healthy.

I would also wait at least a few weeks before even leaving the two birds together unchaperoned until you see how they are going to act over a longer period of time.

Accidents can happen so quickly and you might never know what would set one off. Do they willingly share a food dish? I really would observe the new bird for a while longer before letting her in with any of your birds.

[mzmercury]

Yes, I quarantined her long before I started introducing the two of them. Also, although they seemed to be interested in each other after the first day, it was over a two week period that they were introduced and then finally were allowed to be in a cage with each other. They easily share a food bowl, groom each other and act like my other bonded pairs.

As for being unsupervised, the aviary and their cage are located on my rear upper deck which is off of my home office, where I am most of the day and also off of my bedroom. They are within my sight and just a few steps away day and night so I've been able to really keep an eye on their behavior.

My concern is that even though they seem to be bonded, how will the other birds feel about her? They see her and they seem to be "talking" to her but I don't know that they'll accept her just because he is bonded to her.

[Janie]

Theresa, welcome! :) I have no experience with introducing birds in an aviary but there are some members here who do and hopefully they will see your post and reply. I only have three who just happen to get along together....all three are males.

[LauraO]

Welcome Aboard!

I don't have an aviary though my birds live in an aviary type set-up. They have their own room and each pair have their own cage they sleep in at night but are let out to roam in the room all day. We've had several lovies hatch in the room as well as adding others over the years. Any bird hatched has their parents to take care of them as they fledge, but those that our new to our flock are introduced a lot slower. We usually keep them downstairs (after Quarantine) and let them play with the birds during their evening flight around the house. As soon as we feel they can take care of themselves or hook up with another bird we put them in the room......If you feel Tuggles and his mate have bonded and you can see the aviary I would introduce them, but I wouldn't move them in there full-time until you feel they'll be okay with the other two pairs. They can visit during the day and stay in their cage at night or if there's a problem you can remove them immediately.

Hope this helps. I look forward to hearing how it goes:D