Ask Lafeber

Introducing lovebirds

Hi I have taken in a female lovebird from a couple, who said it previously had a mate but it died. So I have just got two baby lovebirds who have been DNA tested & are males. My female does not sleep in a cage she sleeps on top of it. So they won’t all be in one cage . I am hoping that they can get on. However I’m worried that they won’t after reading several articles
At the moment the two babies are in a cage together and have not been properly introduced yet to the female
Am I best to keep the two males in separate cages so they don’t bond as much ?
I am worried that one of them will be left out & bullied
Or is it better if I find another male for my female so they can both be in a pair & if so what age is best , my female is about 5 years old
If I get another mate for it am I best to keep the 2 pairs completely separate in my house, is it ok for them to have supervised time together ?
If so does a neutral space mean a space non of the birds normally sleep or stay in ?
Thanks

Hi,

I would keep the young birds away from the female. A 5 year old female lovebird has no use for two immature males. She is very likely to attack them, especially if these are peach faced. As for the two young males, if you want them to remain pets that you can handle, they should each be in their own cage. When birds are caged together, they tend to bond with each other, even if they are the same sex, and they lose interest in being handled. You definitely would not want to have an odd number of birds in a cage, again, especially lovebirds. You can try to find a 2 year or older male to pair with the female, but they may not bond. Some birds are simply not compatible. They choose their own mate in the wild and do not always like the mate we choose for them. As for being out together, a playgym works great.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda