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Re: Is this true?

Posted by Mickie on 7/12/06
(6) Comments
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    On 7/11/06, Jessica wrote:
    > Aly,
    >
    > Don't believe what you're being told! I am a breeder of
    > lovebirds, and the greater majority of our babies go into
    pet
    > homes. I also have three pet lovebirds of my own.
    >
    > Lovebirds do often have a dominant streak, but this is
    > something that you can control and even prevent to begin
    > with. Establish with your baby, while it is young, that you
    > are the leader of the flock. Practice step-up training
    > routinely, as this is a way that you give a command that the
    > bird must follow, placing you in the position of
    leadership.
    > Also, establish the ground rules that you would want long
    > term (what your bird is and is not allowed to do), and stick
    > with this consistently. Punish bad behaviors by verbally
    > scolding or putting the bird in a time-out cage. As you
    > establish your leadership in the flock, your bird is much
    > less likely to challenge your authority later in life.
    >
    > Mood swings do sometimes occur once a lovebird reaches
    sexual
    > maturity (10 - 12 months of age). If your bird indicates an
    > unwillingness to come out of their cage on a certain day,
    > respect that. But don't fear sexual maturity! The hormone
    > swings will generally occur once or twice a year, and they
    > pass.
    >
    > Many people will say that male lovebirds make better pets
    > than females. It is interesting to me that most of these
    > breeders are not DNA or surgically sexing their babies
    before
    > selling them into pet homes.
    >
    > Personally, I think that females make just as good pets as
    > males. They are just a little different. Females are more
    > likely to challenge authority (in a pair bond, the female is
    > more often than not the dominant bird) and owners should
    > focus more on establishing their leadership in the
    owner/bird
    > relationship. My own pet birds consist of one male
    > peachfaced lovebird and two female masked lovebirds. All
    are
    > individuals, have their own personalities, likes & dislikes.
    >
    > Don't fear that your bird will become mean! There are many
    > lovebird owners that have their birds as pets for a long
    > number of years. Do what you can now to prevent any
    problems
    > in the future, and enjoy your bird. :)
    >
    >
    > On 7/10/06, Aly wrote:
    >> Greetings,
    >> I keep hearing this about my beloved baby lovebird and
    >> I'm not sure if these bird people are telling the truth or
    >> have just heard it as a rumor. I've got a lovely little
    >> green-violet baby, handfed and very nice. But, a lot of
    >> people keep acting surprised that he's still so nice. (not
    >> sure if "he" really is a he, just guessing). Everyone says
    >> as my baby gets older, regardless make or female that he
    >> will get aggressive and nippy. He'll get dominant and
    >> demanding and I'll no longer be able to hold him without
    >> bleeding everytime. Is this true? I couldn't think all
    >> lovebirds do this but I was just curious as to what our
    >> future holds.
    >> THANKS in advance

    Jessica, I'm no expert on lovebirds but I have had babies and
    this is what's happened with mine, I had a loving tamed lovie
    and when I went in the hospital for 10 days, she kind of
    forgot me so when I came back she didnt love me anymore. She
    would bite me at every chance and became impossible to handle.
    I felt she was lonely and I went and bought a companion lovie
    for her. After a while we found out she was a girl(she laid an
    egg) the companion was very tame and loving, he ended up being
    a boy and you guessed it, they had babies. One of her first
    four is very nippy and agressive, gets blood out of me all the
    time, she still young but has all the charesteristic of her
    mother so I think she is a female. Out of that clutch I kept
    another baby that acts just like the father, calm, relaxed,
    loving and playful, I thinks he's a male.
    From their second clutch, they only had one baby and I handfed
    her and spoil her with attention, she's starting to get nippy
    but I'm trying to turn her around to not bite. I love her and
    want her to stay tame. My opinion, based on what i've seen
    with my own is that biting is a behavior inherited from one of
    the parents and I think my females inherit the biting from the
    mother and my males have inherited the calmness from the
    father. Just my opinion, I'm no expert. Just keep loving and
    pampering your baby if he is not into biting yet chances are
    he's going to stay calm and tame. How old is your baby, my
    biters started biting around the time they are 8 to 9 weeks.
    They play bite at the beginning and get worse as they get
    older. Good luck on your baby and just keep on loving him.

    Mickie