We have put the lovebirds in to the one cage – something that I didn’t think we’d be doing this early on. It can take weeks or months for a lovebird who was bonded to another to accept a new friend – and part of the reason we got Harry from the same person we’d got Barry and Gary from originally is because we could return Harry to him if they didn’t get on.
We had put their cages next to each other and it was quickly apparent that they accepted each other. They seemed curious and interested in each other with no signs of fluffing up and getting aggressive or defensive.
So I thought that we’d put them in together and see what happened. While they don’t sit on the same perch or groom each other like Barry and Gary used to do and I haven’t heard them cheeping together having a conversation like B&G used to do, but they do seem content and there’s been no ruffled feathers. Neither of them seems intimidated or nervous – or aggressive or protective. They just get on with their own thing quite happily.
I wonder if it’s been relatively easy because they have such a large cage – they have plenty of space to get away from each other. I’ve put some orange branches in the middle – so they can even pretend the other isn’t there if they want. Perhaps it would have been a different story if they were in a small cage.
I have also put in several food bowls and water supply – so they don’t need need to become protective. As a result they have both decided to sleep in the food bowls!
It will be nice to think they do become a pair – Barry and Gary used to work as a team to shred cardboard – or anything really that was put in their cage. And while science says otherwise, I am convinced they used to have conversations while sat together on their perch.
We go to the vet today hopefully to have Daisy’s stitches out and her lampshade removed. We are both covered with bruises from where she charges into us with the lampshade. For a dog with sight – she is amazingly clumsy and to have her without a weapon on her head will be a major improvement to our wellbeing!
Early days – but so far so good!