Dilemma: Could 3 be a crowd?

Hello,

I have recently become an accidental newbie breeder and have really been enjoying it. I need some advice, here's a bit of background:-

I originally had a pair of lovebirds. The hen laid eggs a few times, but none hatched. I have had these birds for 2 years now but I am unsure of their age. They were mature birds when I got them, that's all I know.

Around a month ago, much to my surprise, a little baby chick appeared in the nest! We named her Rexie (instinct is telling me it's a girl, but I haven't got a clue). Rexie's egg was the only one to hatch.

Since hatching, Rexie has done really well and she really has been a pleasure. The parents have been bringing her up faultlessly and she is lovely and tame, getting handled everyday.

I have put some extra perches in the cage and Rexie has been out and about for the last 3 days, but still spends a lot of time in the nest. She has today begun to feed herself, but the parents are still feeding her too. I have just been watching mum lovebird giving Rexie a little flying lesson inside the cage

So my dilemma is, do I have to separate the birds? I know if I do have to, it will be soon. The family appear to be doing well and I would love them to stay together. I have bought a massive cage to put them in (but haven't done it yet). I would be heartbroken if Rexie came to any harm, but I also don't want her to be lonely. What should I do????

Hi and welcome to the forum!! Hope you have a wonderful time here!

I would say if they get along really well, then you can put them together, but if you notice the parents been aggressive to Rexie, then it will be safer to put her in anther cage. What kind of lovebird do you have? I've never had lovebirds before but I have heard that peach face sometimes is more aggressive compares to the other species.

Hi LoveMyParrots,

Thanks for your reply. I think my lovebirds are of the peach faced species, but I'm not even sure! One is green with a red face, and the other is green with a yellow face. Rexie has a little peach face though, being a mix of the two. I have found the mum to be aggressive towards me and her mate, but never the baby. I think I might risk putting them all in the new cage in a week or so and remove the nest all together. At least that way the parents won't feel the need to mate again. Oh gosh. Could the chick end up mating with one of the parents?

Do they look something like this? If so, then they are peach face sorry I couldn't find a better quality photo



And there is possibilities that they might mate with Rexie when she's older

Yes they sure do look like that. It's official, I have peach faced love birds. Thank you.

Hmmm I don't want them to breed with Rexie. Will have to think about this one x

Are the parents beak the same/similar color? If one birds beak is red, this would indicate a different species.

Lovebird - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yes, it's possible for the offspring to mate with his/her parents. Some males may be so hormonal that they'll force another bird to accept being mounted/mated with, even if it's one of their own offspring.


Keep both cages in case the parents ever do become aggressive to their chick or to each other too much and you need to separate one of them to the other cage.

what concerns me is that it only takes one swift bite from a parent lovebird to inflict harm on any baby.
If they are all doing fine, then why upset the apple cart?
please do not transfer them into the new cage, until the baby is well on his way,and is self reliant, eating, drinking etc...for minimum a week.
then remove the parents and put them in the new cage, and leave the baby in the existing cage.
transferring parents with the baby into a new environment, in this case a new cage, might trigger upset amongst the three, and I fear the baby may take the brunt of it.
better safe than sorry.