(: Lovebird or lovebirds?

[KaraLeann92]

So, two days ago, after many weeks of research and hanging out at pet shops to see which kind of bird would be the best for me, i settled on a lovebird. I really wanted a lutino peach-face, because their coloring is so beautiful, but i wasn't about to pick a bird based on color, i did it based on personality. I was searching online, and came across a lady selling lovebirds a few miles away from me, and she let me come by and meet all her birds, breeders, pets, and babies.

She had 6 peach-face babies, all hand fed and weaned, and i fell in love with one in particular. The only thing: he is a green peach-face. He is beautiful but i had my heart set on a lutino :/.

The next day, she brought him over and he is the sweetest little thing.
He is absolutely quiet, except for the occasional chirp when I'm watching t.v. and he knows I'm not paying attention to him, or when i go to pick him up out of his cage he chirps with excitement and rushes over to my hand to be picked up.

He loves to snuggle and he already flies to me if i set him down. And he never, ever bites, he only uses his beak to pull himself up on things.

(is it normal that he loves my hair? he likes to play peek-a-boo under my hair, and he flies to my head a lot)

OK, so here is my question; the lady i got him from just pulled a clutch of 7 lutinos from their parents, she said in late august or early September, they would be ready for their new homes, and while they are young she said i could come help her hand feed them and take care of them until they are weaned.

My current lovebird is very sweet and good natured, and with my going back to school soon, and having to work at nights, my time with him will be limited. Should i get him a companion? Would he still be bonded to me since i will have him for a while alone, before i get another? I was going to get another male so that i wouldn't have to worry about babies.

Do any of you have lovebirds that are kept together that are still very tame and bonded to you?

Sorry for the length!
Thanks for any responses

 

[apatrimo94]

Welcome to the forum! Lots of friendly people here to help.
Well, there's two things you can do:

1)You can leave him alone by himself, just be sure he has a LOT of toys to keep him company that way he'll still be bonded to you

2)You can get a cage partner for him, but with the first one, spend some time with it. Have bond and get really close with you. Then when you get the second one, put it in quarantine for 30 days (keep him in a separate cage in another room). During that time, bond and get close with the second one. When you're really close to both of them and ready to introduce them, slowly get them together into one cage. Just be sure there's two of each so they don't fight. Then they should be good to go. But this might not always be successful, they might stay bonded with you or they might cut you out of the picture, it depends. Good luck!

 

[KaraLeann92]

Thank you for your advise.

I don't think i've ever seen my bird touch his toys. If i'm in the room, he is either watching me, watching t.v., or out playing with me. I've only seen him touch his spray millet. I don't know if this will change, but it makes me wonder if just toys will be able to keep him happy. I want him happy, not just barely satisfied .

I just really don't want to lose this bond me and him have; right now he's sitting quietly on my shoulder and every time i talk to him he makes little peeping noises (he's probably saying something along the lines of "aww you think im being cute, but im just getting ready to poop on you!"

Would it make a difference if i got two, had them both in the same cage, but handled them separately while they're out (after quarantining, and after they've been settled down together) I know some love birds get very jealous, so i don't know if that would make things worse.

Thanks again for your time and response

 

[SharonC]

It sounds like you have a nice relationship with your little one....I wouldn't get another, as you may lose that. You're going to have less time, once you are back to school, and two will require more time than one. That's when the birds will choose each other, over someone who has little time to spend. Commit to spending as much time as you possibly can with the bird you have now....and see how it works out.

 

[KaraLeann92]

Yes, i believe that is what i will do. I'll just stick with him for now, and if he starts to show any signs that he is unhappy, then i'll consider getting him a companion. I'd rather sacrifice this closeness than his mental health and happiness. Although it does feel pretty good when he sits on my shoulder and preens my hair I am a senior in high school, so after this year i'll have more time for him. (good thing about working with horses,don't need the same colleges to get desk jobs )

 

[leomacaw]

Well, it's good to get him a friend. However, he may not be as close to you as before since he has a friend to play with then. I also have a green and lutino lovebird. They are so so so lovely.

 

[KaraLeann92]

Yea, i fell in love with the lutino peachface, but the only one she had that wasn't a breeder was a bird that had been in a car and nearly died when their car was t-boned on the way home from a bird show, so the bird was very jumpy and snappy,
then she brought out this;

and i fell in love

 

[Birdamor]

Personally, I would never have a single lovebird. I have 23 of them and let me tell you that there are no birds more loving to their mates than lovies. NONE! They are always together, and I do mean ALWAYS. They eat side by side, they perch side by side, they preen and kiss each other all the time they are not eating or flying or bathing or whatever and they always go to sleep cuddling next to each other. They are, literally, never more than a couple of inches away from each other and that's why they are called 'love' birds! So, in my mind, if a species is so very pair-oriented, it's not good for them to be by themselves. No parrot really is but I think that lovies need a mate more than other species.

So, my advice to you would be to get a female for him (has yours been DNA'd a male? do you have the certificate?). I won't lie to you, this might mean that they will not be as loving as a single one but the only tame lovie I have (an Australian cinammon hen) is still very friendly even though she has a mate (he is a Fischer and not tame at all) and not only steps up for me, she actually comes when I call her (even if she is inside the nest -her name is Mathilda) and flies to my shoulder and kisses me when I am walking around the room.

You are going to be gone a lot and he will be by himself all day long, the poor thing, and that is not good for lovies (you are right, they are not much into playing with toys) so get yourself a pretty little lutino girl and, even if they are not as loving as you would want them to be toward you, at least you will know that they are happy with each other.

 

[KaraLeann92]

Aww, yeah i can see how lovebirds got their name. Mine gets very excited when i go to take him out of his cage, he preens my hair, and he loves to snuggle up inside my shirt. I think he thinks i'm his mate, because whenever my boyfriend even touches me, Daiquiri starts chirping and won't stop.

He doesn't seem to be suffering any right now, he's out of his cage for hours with me, but you're right, when i'm gone for school and stuff, i don't think he'll be too happy.

Is it normal that he sleeps alot? I though birds only sleep at night, but when im gone and come home, he is always asleep, and when i'm home at night he is wide awake wanting to play and snuggle.

No i haven't had him DNA'd. The breeder said he was a male, but they just said that from looking at his tail since it isn't squared, its more pointed, but i know there's a 50/50 chance that he is a girl. But i call him a he lol.

I don't really want to get a female because i dont want to deal with a female's hormonalness, or babies. Lovebirds can bond to the same sex, so whats wrong with getting another little boy?

 

[leomacaw]

Personally, I would never have a single lovebird. I have 23 of them and let me tell you that there are no birds more loving to their mates than lovies. NONE! They are always together, and I do mean ALWAYS. They eat side by side, they perch side by side, they preen and kiss each other all the time they are not eating or flying or bathing or whatever and they always go to sleep cuddling next to each other. They are, literally, never more than a couple of inches away from each other and that's why they are called 'love' birds! So, in my mind, if a species is so very pair-oriented, it's not good for them to be by themselves. No parrot really is but I think that lovies need a mate more than other species.

So, my advice to you would be to get a female for him (has yours been DNA'd a male? do you have the certificate?). I won't lie to you, this might mean that they will not be as loving as a single one but the only tame lovie I have (an Australian cinammon hen) is still very friendly even though she has a mate (he is a Fischer and not tame at all) and not only steps up for me, she actually comes when I call her (even if she is inside the nest -her name is Mathilda) and flies to my shoulder and kisses me when I am walking around the room.

You are going to be gone a lot and he will be by himself all day long, the poor thing, and that is not good for lovies (you are right, they are not much into playing with toys) so get yourself a pretty little lutino girl and, even if they are not as loving as you would want them to be toward you, at least you will know that they are happy with each other.

Would you mind posting some photos? Please?

 

[KaraLeann92]

Wait, if you have 23, doesn't that mean that you have one without a mate?

 

[Birdamor]

Actually, I have a male that 'takes care' of two females (his name is Baxter but they should have named him Casanova -LOL- he is a black mask and his wives are one of them a black mask, Rachel, and the other one a Dutch blue) and that might have balanced things out but I also have a 14 year old one with red suffusion who used to be a breeder bird and fed breeding food all year round for the first 9 years of his life so his liver is shot and needs not only a special diet but also medication daily so he lives in a cage - and I also have a very light olive peach face girl (Rita) who has not found anybody to love yet and tends to be too much of a loner for my taste but they all live in a flock (well, I also have a pair of handicapped ones that live in a cage by themselves because they cannot fly -he had a stroke and ended up with a head tilt and we could never figure out what is wrong with the hen but she can't fly either) so I hope they don't feel the lack (the one with the red suffusion is too weak to fly well and feels vulnerable among the healthy ones so he prefers been in a cage -he shares it with a budgie hen who also has liver problems).

I am not very good at taking pictures. I don't know how to use digital cameras (I have three of them) or cell phones (I have one) so what I do is I take pictures with disposable cameras and have them put in digital form so I can load them into the computer but I am in the middle of packing right now (I am moving) and supervising repairs and remodeling of the new place (the birdroom been the most important one) so I am very short of time but I promise to take pictures once we are all moved in and settled down. You will like my lovies because I have a large variety of types: regular peach face, longfeather peach face, lutino longfeather, pied peach face, lutino peach face, lutino orange face, dutch blue, pied dutch blue, Australian cinammon, fischer, fischer/peach face hybrids, black masks and two that I cannot figure out what kind of hybrid they are but look to be a cross of dutch with something else, possibly fischer.