Help - Love birds

[lulu_bucket]

I have had two love birds for just over 3 years. Tonight I have found one dead on the bottom of the cage. She had been laying a lot of eggs but they were either both female or the other wasnt fertilising them. What I am worried about is the one that is left about fretting with the loss of her/his mate? Any ideas ? Do I go and buy another one or another pair so I have three or what? Thanks

[lankeela]

Just found this, so looks like if you got a couple more they would all get on.

"Lovebirds are not solitary birds by nature, so will always prefer the company of their own kind. They can be kept in pairs (hens with cocks) although if just keeping a few birds together, either sex should be fine. For larger aviaries it’s usually best to keep more hens than cocks – otherwise the *** birds may fight over the hens. You can also mix pairs of Lovebirds with other small parakeets such as budgerigars although if kept in a breeding aviary you shouldn’t mix more than 2 species."

[wildwood]

If you catch the remaining one and place your finger on the vent you should feel the end of two little bones. If there is half inch or so space between them you have a sure hen. Cocks, and hens that are not laying, have the bones close together, almost touching. This is one of the rare occasions when you can sex the lovebirds. With adult birds it is possible to get a fair idea of the gender by catching and letting the bird bite your finger, the girls always bite harder than the boys, you need some experience to compare though.

They don't fret for long but. If you add another bird now, the present one will almost certainly kill it, no matter what the gender is - you need to give it a week or so to settle down. They are vicious little brutes, dispite their name. The easiest way of introduction to one in a cage is to put the new one in another cage next to it. Some take to their new partner very quick, other are more fussy. You'll see by their behaviour how suited they are.

In an aviary it is ok to add a new one straight away if there is enough room for them to get out of each other way. Never put three adult lovebirds together, the odd one will not survive long. In a roomy aviery you can put three or more 'pairs' together but two boxes for each pair should be provided.