HELP!! is this a sign of stress?

[misty83]

i noticed my love bird (sunshine) who arrived in my care (new owner) 2 weeks ago friday i noticed he's pulling his nails off :( there is only tiny bit of blood on the nails, and also when he comes out of his cage he curls his one foot..

is it a sign of stress? should i remove the female out of his cage? she seems just fine, nothing wrong with her at all.

i have a vet appt for both birds sept 18th

[Emmilyy]

Are you sure he's pulling his own nails off, or is it the female doing it? You shouldn't have put them in the same cage to begin with. First of all, the new bird should have been in quarantine for at *least* 30 days, and then if you should have taken it slow with introducing them, not just throw them in the same cage. You've only had your new bird for 2 weeks, and thats way too soon to have been put in the same cage as the bird you already had, IMO.

I would put them in separate cages ASAP.

[LovelySydney]

I am agreeing with Emily on this 120%. You should NOT have put them in the same cage already, this is WAY too soon. They are not even used to their new home let alone one another. His toenails were probably chewed off by the female which is a sign if aggression which is a sign that they should NOT be in the same cage with one another. You are placing this bird in danger. It is too late now to do a proper quarantine but I fully suggest you get these birds to a vet and have them looked at and completely checked out.


You have posted more than one thread now asking advice on various situations regarding your birds. In most situations people who have been through it before have given wonderful advice. I cant help but notice you are not listening to anything people are saying. I am not saying you need to take the advice written here but most of the things posted are in regards to the safety of your birds. The first questions were about breeding, the second about bringing home your second lovebird and now about putting them in a cage together. I suggest you start taking what people are writing seriously because I would hate to see something happen to your birds. No offense, but you are being careless with them right now. Please think about their well being and their safety before you continue to try & force them to breed. It is not right.

[misty83]

she went in by herself, i never threw them in together. and he did it to himself (ripped toenails off)

[misty83]

they have a appt sept 18th

[misty83]

there sitting next to each other

[LovelySydney]

Regardless if she went in on her own, if you arent watching them constantly something can happen. Have you SEEN him take his toenails out? If he really is doing it all on his own then YES he is stressed out. The female needs to be taken out of the cage and he needs to have time to settle in and get used to his new surroundings. If you choose to keep these two together I would separate them when you aren't around. It is too soon to tell if they are getting along or WILL get along and you dont want something to happen when you arent there to stop it.

[misty83]

ok thank-you, i'll go and try to get her out, but i'm sure it wont be easy lol, she thinks he is her new mate, but he wants nothing to do with her :(

[saz]

im new to this site.
and don't know how often i will be on as i have various animals all rescues including budgie/cockatiels/kakariki's/conures/blue fronted amazons.
iguanas ect.i know laura from facebook and a few other sites.
and i have been helping her regarding her birds,she forgot to mention in her post that the lovebird concerned pulled its claws off.and she wondered why,the bird in question had claws that were littraly upside down.obviously annoyed him so he removed them.i also breed birds.also laura didn't put them in together straight away they had seperate cages.and when out of the cages with her they both went into the same cage several times.And slept in the same cage for the first time last night.without any problems.im only saying this as she feels people have judged ect saying they were put together straight away.They were not.sorry just wanted to have my say on this as i have spoken to her about these birds before and after she bought them.

[LovelySydney]

Are both of the lovebirds from you Saz? Have they been vet checked before and come back with clean bills of health? I only ask because my main concern is the health of the birds. If they are not quarantined you and I both know they could potentially make one another very sick.