Lovebirds (and cockatiels) help please!

[nikiwildman]

Hi there, any advice will be appreciated.

I already have 2 cockatiels, kensei and luna, who live together in a cage, they are super tame and very cuddley birds, they get lots of attention and time out of the cage and are basically spoilt little birdies!

Now, i have been thinking about getting a lovebird for sometime, and me and my boyfriend saw a pair the other day and he fell in love with them, so now we both would love to get one, but its not a decision we would ever make hastily, so im doing my research first, and i thought this would be the best place to start - people with real experience with these birds! haha

Now could anyone give me any sort of advice (anything at all) of having both lovebirds and cockatiels, i do not plan to house them in the same cage, but i would like to be able to get them out all together (i know it may be a slow intergration, but i have time and patients for that) Do these 2 bird species mix well with supervision? What could the possible problems could there be?
Could anyone gives me some like, pro's and cons for this. I have heard Lovebirds can be noisey - but with kensei and luna we are very much used to noise! and mess!

Also if anyone can tell me anything at all about what its like having lovebirds - just anything at all that would be good/nice to know before getting one, or anything i would need to know. Or anything special i would need know about their dietry requirements, kensei and luna already get loads of variety - fresh fruit/vegs/seeds/pellets ect...but do lovebirds need anything different?

Sorry for the long post - thanks for your time reading - absolutley any comments on this would be highly appreciated!

[expressmailtome]

Lovebirds are a bit different. First if you want two that is fine but they also do very well singly. As for mixing the cockatiels with the lovebirds this is a hard question. Lovebirds can be aggressive to other birds, especially peach faces. Having two lovebirds can be hard as they frequently bond to each other more than to you (especially if they are housed together). The diet is pretty similair.

Matt

[Jwhear]

I have 2 tiels and a peach faced lovebird. The lovebird is great and she is the ruler. She generally does not bother the tiels and they are out at the same time, she does however get in their cage and eat their food. The tiels just leave her be and she them.

I love the lovebird, because she is a riot. She will sing to her toys, talk to them and then the next minute she is yelling at them. She is not loud or annoying and has a pretty song. She does a great imitation of flipper the dolphin and I just love her to death.

She is a little cage aggressive and tis the season so once she is out of the cage she can be a lover, but a tiger when she is in her cage.

She was a rescue and not overly socialized but she will let us handle her. She will not step up but is easy to pick up and will ride around with us.

I also have the other birds that are pictured in my Sig, but they all have out time, but some need to be seperated.

Hope this helps.

[nikiwildman]

Originally Posted by Jwhear

I have 2 tiels and a peach faced lovebird. The lovebird is great and she is the ruler. She generally does not bother the tiels and they are out at the same time, she does however get in their cage and eat their food. The tiels just leave her be and she them.

I love the lovebird, because she is a riot. She will sing to her toys, talk to them and then the next minute she is yelling at them. She is not loud or annoying and has a pretty song. She does a great imitation of flipper the dolphin and I just love her to death.

She is a little cage aggressive and tis the season so once she is out of the cage she can be a lover, but a tiger when she is in her cage.

She was a rescue and not overly socialized but she will let us handle her. She will not step up but is easy to pick up and will ride around with us.

I also have the other birds that are pictured in my Sig, but they all have out time, but some need to be seperated.

Hope this helps.

Thanks alot! How do you find having just 1 lovebird? I have heard alot that you should only keep them in pairs, but i would think as long as they get plenty of love and attention from us then 1 on its own will be fine, and if we do get one it will be spoilt like mad with kensei and luna! Am i right in thinking this?

Are they good talkers? Luna wont even pick up any wolf whistles, but kensei can do some brilliant ones, and kinda says hello and hiya, not that im too bothered about talking as thats not what i would get one for! Are their differences between the males and females kinda like with cockatiels?

[Jwhear]

Not sure if there is any difference as far as singing/talking goes with the different sexes, but I do know that one love bird kept alone is fine. She doesn't talk or whistle but she does imitate sounds. Neither one of my tiels whistles. They are both female and don't do anything but call (kind of annoying at times), but my daughters male whistles. I love having my lovebird because she is a big clown and I think one is better than two, because she bonds with me and not another bird. I know that is kind of selfish, but all my birds get one on one attention and have the company of each other in the same room when I am not home.

[expressmailtome]

There is a difference between sexes. The females are much more aggressive than the males. The males tend to be much more laid back.

Matt

[nikiwildman]

Originally Posted by Jwhear

Not sure if there is any difference as far as singing/talking goes with the different sexes, but I do know that one love bird kept alone is fine. She doesn't talk or whistle but she does imitate sounds. Neither one of my tiels whistles. They are both female and don't do anything but call (kind of annoying at times), but my daughters male whistles. I love having my lovebird because she is a big clown and I think one is better than two, because she bonds with me and not another bird. I know that is kind of selfish, but all my birds get one on one attention and have the company of each other in the same room when I am not home.

Yeah, the tiel's female call can be rather annoying - Luna does it to me the second i walk out the room till im back in, which drives my boyfriend bonkers! Although i find it kinda cute. Kensei loves to whistle when we have lots of vistors, to show off all he can do, and he 'dances' and does the heart wings thing too - he's just a big show off and entertainer! haha He also does sound effects like door creeking and my alarm!

My birds get 1 on 1 attention too, plus time out together - they are barely in their cage when we are home - only when cook/eating, or we are doing something that could be dangerous to them! So a lovebird on its own would also get plenty of attention, it would be in its own cage and eventually in the same room as the tiels, so wont get lonely during the day when we arent home either.

Originally Posted by expressmailtome

There is a difference between sexes. The females are much more aggressive than the males. The males tend to be much more laid back.

Matt

Good to know! With the males being the less agressive in lovebirds - how does this compare to the 'aggressivness' of cockatiels? Luna has never shown any signs off agression - she has never ever biten me! But kensei can sometimes be agressive, when he's in one of his moods but he just needs a time out and he soon calms back down!

[Jwhear]

Both of my girls are laid back. With my lovebird, I have never had a male so I don't know, but yes my female gets cage aggressive this time of the year, but like I said when I take her out she is fine.

Nikiwildman - when you are cooking, yes your babies should be safe in their cage, but when you are eating they could be with you. My birds always eat with us and that is how I have gotten them to try all kinds of new things. Just as long as you reserve their food to no salt, sugar, etc. They are very social flock animals and would love to be with you when you are at the table. I don't know what their diet is like but it really is a great way to feed them all the good stuff.

[nikiwildman]

Originally Posted by Jwhear

Both of my girls are laid back. With my lovebird, I have never had a male so I don't know, but yes my female gets cage aggressive this time of the year, but like I said when I take her out she is fine.

Nikiwildman - when you are cooking, yes your babies should be safe in their cage, but when you are eating they could be with you. My birds always eat with us and that is how I have gotten them to try all kinds of new things. Just as long as you reserve their food to no salt, sugar, etc. They are very social flock animals and would love to be with you when you are at the table. I don't know what their diet is like but it really is a great way to feed them all the good stuff.

We used to do this - but it became near impossible to try to eat our own food - they would try and nick stuff they aren't allowed to eat, Luna used to try and jump onto my plate and she'd get covered in food, i ended up having to stop them both being out when we are eating as they scared me too much - thought they would either eat something that would do them harm, or that they would burn themselves by either eating something too hot, or jumping into food that was too hot and burn their feet! Also, im not too keen on feathers in my food! haha.

But they do already get a really good diet, they are not fussy eaters at all and will pretty much eat anything i give to them(and things i dont give to them)! They espescially like cucumber, chillies and mango! And this 'porridge' mix i have for them which is supposed to help during molting, but they both eat out of my hands so anything i offer to them they always try it, and more often than not they like it!