on average, how long does it take?

[Sparkette65]

for two lovebirds to accept each other? I have a cage with a divider in the center, I want to put a male and a female in this cage, (one on each side of course) about how long does it normaly take for them to accept each other and start to bond. Will they usually become fast friends?
How soon after they do accept each other can you put a nest box up for them to use? Will they usually go to nest right away?
thanks for any info....
Lori

[bellarains]

Lori,

I think it works best to put two cages side by side rather than a divider cage. They can still get to tosies in the divider cage, or so my experience was anyway. Start them side by side, then out time together, then short periods together in the same cage, working towards longer periods of time. When you can be available to monitor their time together at night, you can try leaving them in the same cage overnight as long as they are getting along pretty well. It took me about three weeks for Bela and Lacey, but I have heard of some taking as long as 6 months to a year.

Good Luck!!!!

[Jezz]

with my lovies, i just put them in a cage together with a nest box and they bond in about 2 days and they have fertile eggs in about 2-3 weeks, it is usually best to bond them first but i have found with my Peachies that they will bond very quickly to a new bird

[Sparkette65]

I have heard this from another source also....kept them in a divided cage for about a week, took out the divider and presto....eggies in the nest!
no problems...and this person has over 60 pair and does this all the time....
Lori

[Jezz]

I have a friend who has about 40 pairs of Masks, he puts the Lovebirds together in a very small cage and they bond quite easily, he leaves them in there for about 2 days and then releases them into a large aviary with a nest box and he has no troubles with breeding them

[Buy A Paper Doll]

How long does it take for 2 lovebirds to accept each other? My pair still squabble too much to share a cage full time, and I've been working on introducing them since March-April.

[BarbieH]

Like everything else, it depends on the personalities of the birds. Watch and wait, and separate them when necessary. Like most everyone here, I would rather take it slow than have an injured bird.

[Sparkette65]

The female, in my opinion is quite aggressive....at least to me. I dont know how she will be with another lovebird, but I think it would be different than she is with me......as I am human and not birdy!
I will try different things when I am ready to put them together, and I will let you know how it goes, If they seem to be aggressive to each other, I will seperate them and try again another day.
I am finding out that no matter what it is your trying to do, not every method is right for every lovebird, what works with one lovie will not always work with another.
I will watch them for a while before I attempt anything, and get to know their body language, so I can try to read them when they are together.....
Thanks again, and take care,
Lori

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Here's how introductions have been going in my house. I started by letting my pair play together in a neutral location for brief periods. When the bickering turns serious, I separate them. The playtime got progressively longer as they learned to work out their "differences." The next step was to let them play together in each other's cages, again, for brief periods and only until the bickering looks like it's getting serious, letting them play together longer and longer each time.

Today, I was able to leave them together in Melody's cage for several hours. They even snuggled up together and had themselves a little bit of beak-grinding and napping.

This method is working for me, but like you said, what works for one lovebird or pair of lovebirds will not necessarily work for another.

[Joanie Noel]

I used the divided cage method. It worked well for me. I can't remember exactly how long I kept Kirby and Maple separated in it, but they barely bit each others toes, because I think they have a mutual respect for one another. Kirby has always been too aggressive with other birds, and Maple is a year older and female, so my idea worked --- their temperaments clicked. And the best part? Kirby doesn't pluck head feathers from Maple! I'm getting off topic now, lol, but my point is that the divided cage worked for me. I think they were in there 2-1/2 weeks and then I tried them in the big cage monitored. They still bicker, as do Squeaks and Aruba, but they have been fine together ever since.

As for the nesting thing, I can't get my birds to nest for the life of me. Maybe Kirby and Maple haven't made that kind of a bond yet, but they've been in the same cage with a nestbox up for... 3 weeks or more I think? They go into the nestbox for fun, but I never see any attempts to "nest". They shred their pinatas to pieces, but....nothing else. Maybe my birds are duds in the love department.

~ Joanie