Weird size and confusing behaviour.

[Dezami]

I too have a question about my lovebirds. I?ve got two peach faced lovebirds ?Isadora and Benjamin? but none have the average size. One is too big and the other one too small. Can somebody tell me why that?s the case? Both are around 6months old. Another thing is that female lovebirds are usually a little bigger than male lovebirds- around 2mm bigger- it?s very unnoticeable. Based on that I thought that the bigger one was female and the smaller one male, but their size difference is huge. I?ve also been observing their behaviour. Isa was very mean to Ben at first- it was like a love-hate relationship and I read that female are like that with males that are younger than 2 years. So I really thought she was the female. She is also much more shy than Ben. But now, I am confused because now Ben is more or less behaving like a female. He literally sleeps like one. They sleep on a branch but his position is like a female?s position in a nest?If I can I?ll put a foto. And even though they are not mature yet I once saw Isa trying to get on Benjamin. However, my Brother told me once he saw Benjamin trying to get on Isa. I am so confused now.
I have two more questions. I know that each lovebird has its personality- I can clearly see that with my lovebirds but why does Ben like hay so much? He likes hay much more than Isa and even puts it between his feathers, which Isa doesn?t.
Last question is about their feather growth. I made a beginner?s mistake and I cut their wings when I first got them because I was afraid they would get hurt flying around the house without knowing the house first. I am ashamed for that and I will never cut their wings again. But there is a problem. Isa?s wing feathers have already grown back but Ben?s have not. I am starting to be concerned about that. Can somebody tell me why his feathers are not growing back?

How can I insert a picture?

[linda040899]

Hi and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community! I'm going to answer your last question first. To share photos here, you need to upload your picture/pictures to an online storage site such as Photobucket or one of the other popular ones. Once you do that, copy/paste the image link here and we will be able to see your pictures. Lovebirds are sexually mature at around 6 months old so some of what you are seeing is sexual. Some males are larger than their female counterparts but that's not always the case. Lovebird size is dependent on the size of the parents. Large size parents will produce babies that will be bigger as adults. You mentioned one thing in their personalities that suggests to me that Ben is most likely a female, while Isadora is the male. Female lovebirds build nests and collect nesting material. To carry that material to the nest, females tuck the material in their rump feathering. Females Peachfaced Lovebirds are expert at shredding and tucking. Males may try but most attempts are not successful. I, personally, don't offer opinions about wing/flight feather clipping, as each bird is an individual and each lovebird slave needs to decide how to handle this. Once the feathers have been clipped, how quickly they grow back depends on the bird's own molting cycle. Isa is probably further along in a molting cycle, while Ben is a bit later than Isa. His will also grow back, just not quite as quickly. With my own flock of parrots, some are fully flighted while others are partially clipped for their own safety. If you want to clip feathers for just safety, usually 3-4 of the outside flights are enough for that. Hope this information is helpful.

[Dezami]

Thank you for your reply, I?ll try that with the pictures later. I really love my lovebirds but they really don?t look like normal peach faced lovebirds, I could recognise those two in the middle of a whole flocking, so individual they are 😊. Anyway, I was going to say that many years ago, when my family got our first lovebird - ?we took him in after convincing his former owner to give him to us? I?ve read somewhere that females are 2-3mm bigger than males. Another reason why I thought Isa was the female is because of her shyness. She always hides behind Ben. Ben is a very curious and brave bird, he doesn?t mind my hand in the cage ?unless he?s bothered by me? but Isa keeps hiding behind Ben. Ben doesn?t really like me petting him- he?s not afraid of my hand he just doesn?t like it- but sometimes when he?s tired he kinda gives in and lets me pet his belly😊. But Isa- she doesn?t interact with me at all- the only thing I get her to do is getting on my finger when she wants me to bring her to Ben who is somewhere else around the house where she/he I don?t really know anymore-didn?t follow. Due to her frightened personality, she?s always been so difficult to tame, since the day I?ve got her. So, I?ve really thought she was the female- also because all other females I?ve had were frightened while the males were easygoing and brave. However, I must say that most females I?ve had were fisheries. Yoshi -who was a latino peach faced lovebird- was the only female I?ve ever had that was brave and easygoing. I know it may also just be their personality but still, I ended up thinking that females are shyer than males. I guess I?ll only know their genders for sure when they start doing courtship rituals. The female will most probably do that ?plane position ?. The saddest thing about all of this is that I?ve already given them their names 😭.

[linda040899]

It's quite possible that your lovebirds are hybrids, a cross between 2 different species. Lovebird personalities pretty much vary with each bird, as does size. I'm a retired lovebird breeder and I've bred 5 of the 9 different species. Of all the species I've bred, only Peachfaced hens will shred paper and stuff it in their rump feathering to carry it to their nests. Eye-ring species, Personata, Fischeri, and Black Cheeks, all carry the material to the nest in their beaks. That trait is what makes me think that Ben is actually the female, although I could be wrong. One identifying trait in hybrids (Peachfaced/eye-ring cross) is beak coloring. Adult Peachfaced have horn colored beaks. Green series eye-rings have red beaks. If the beak is orange colored, the lovebird is a hybrid. Many parrots will tolerate human hands. Hands can be seen as threatening, while arms or closed hands are more readily accepted. Sometimes using perches instead of fingers will get better results. All of my larger parrots are perch trained and I've also taught all of them to return to their cages on command. In case of an emergency where time is critical, the last thing I need to do is have to catch all of them to put them in a safe place. Hope this is helpful.

[Dezami]

I?ve already had a ficheri hen and it's true that she carried the hay to the nest in her beak and never put it in her feathers. However, Yoshi, the peach-faced Latin hen, did it all the time. Now I know why😊.
I don't think my lovebirds are hybrids. I know what hybrids look like, I?ve once looked it up out of curiosity. The problem (well it?s not a problem, I am just curious why that?s the case) is that they don't have that normal colour that green peach-faced lovebirds have. Ben is like a khaki green whereas Isa?s feathers are a lighter and, I would say, brighter green than other green peach-faced lovebirds. Plus, their tail feathers are a different shade of blue from all the other green lovebirds. Ben's are a greyish blue and Isa's are a brighter, very beautiful blue. And the shape of their faces is a little different from the other lovebirds. Ben's face shape is rounder than Isa's. When I went to the shop to buy them, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to tell them apart, because all the green peach-faced lovebirds seem to look the same, but not mine.

About the taming- I don?t think I can get Isa to like me or trust me more. It really seems impossible to me. And Ben -when he?s free around the house- he does whatever he wants and doesn?t quite listen to me.
I really think I can?t tame them more. I think I?ve done everything I can- They eat from my hands, Ben gets on my finger when I put it in front of him and he lets me help him get in an out of his cage. And I think Ben likes me. I really want to tame them more but it seems impossible.

[linda040899]

How tame Isa and Ben become depends on how much attention they get from you and how long it takes to build a trust relationship with them. Isa will watch you interact with Ben and she may mellow over time. I don't like the word "taming," as it's more a matter of trust. It sounds like you have a very good start with Ben and Isa will either follow his lead or just watch him interact with you. It's a matter of time, patience and love.

[Dezami]

Why do my lovebirds move their tail back and forth as if they were having some kind of contractions?

[linda040899]

When do you see this happening? Sometimes they are just re-arranging tail feathering.

[Dezami]

Ben does it when he is peacefully sitting on a branch. Sometimes also when he is half asleep.

[linda040899]

If the tail feather movement is side to side, it's most likely something that Ben is doing when he's relaxed. However, if the tail feather movement is up and down, it could be an indicator of a respiratory problem. Is there any breathing noise that you hear when this happens? When I say noise, I mean a wheezing sound.