# Cockatiel and Lovebird?



## Nayrose (Jul 17, 2012)

Hi you guys are probably going to thing im crazy for even asking this but i was just wondering what your opinon would be on housing a cockatiel and a lovebird together. I have a very shy little girl in my avairy with 5 others and she doesn't really fit in and shes getting a bit stressed and has been plucking herself a bit, i think it may be because they are breeding and fighting. She is very shy and i will never breed her because she was born with a deformed beak... the bottom part of her beak is a bit longer than usual so the top part is in her mouth most of the time. I know, it sounds painful and very weird but she is fine it doesnt bother her at all and she can eat perfectly fine. So I want to put her in a cage and maybe try to tame her but i really dont want her by herself so i want to get a lovebird/peach face. I dont know alot about them but i only have just had this thought now. What do you guys think? Thanks!


----------



## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

You should not cage a cockatiel with any other species of bird. Cockatiels are pushovers and do not do well with other bird species (even budgies --1/2 their size-- bully them). Lovebirds can do A LOT of damage to a cockatiel. They can bite their toes off, crack their beak in half..etc. they can probably kill them. If you want her to have a friend then your best bet is to get another cockatiel to house her with.


----------



## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

No. never. never. never. lovebirds are EXTREMELY territorial and aggressive and if the tiel does something the lovebird dont like the lovebird can kill the cockatiel.


if you dont believe the damage a lovebird can do, take a look here... warning these photos in the links are graphic.


leg bite from one lovebird to another, this was over a bowl of veggies. this caused this bird irritation in the leg for weeks.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa409/TsukaDally/birdy/101_0696.jpg


cockatiel broken toe with wound...

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa409/TsukaDally/birdy/313_0084.jpg


and second incident of a more severe broken toe injury from a lovebird

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa409/TsukaDally/bird health/toetimeline.jpg


and one of my own collages ive made about mixing species...

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa409/TsukaDally/Photo Gallery Project/MixingSpeciesInjuries.png



these were mostly incidents from OUT of the cage, with the exception of the leg bite. the lovebirds are notorious foot and toe biters and will chomp toes through the bars even from outside the cage! if you allow out of cage time together, watch VERY carefully as a lovebird CAN kill a cockatiel, easily. but NEVER house them together even if they seem to get along.

the lovebirds i have seem to get along, they lasted one month together in a cage. but the female refused to share veggies no matter how many bowls i placed in the cage or anything. one day i heard lots of screeching and seen the poor male limping away with the female chasing him away from every bowl. his poor leg got chomped hard in the joint and he took awhile to heal from it. they have not been caged together since and never will and they get along fairly well, being a brother and sister couple.


so no, not a safe mix. ive learned the hard way and now my tiels live in a whole different room than the lovebirds.



this is what a lovebird did to a member's budgie

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=18701&highlight=harper's+beak


----------



## xNx (Jun 6, 2012)

Just look at my photo, explains it all, this was when i first got them out together and it's still the same


----------



## sangs_becky (Jun 25, 2012)

hi there as others have said above, love birds are extremely territorial and it is not a good idea to cage them with other birds.


----------



## Nayrose (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks everyone thats what i thought, There arent any other birds that arent territorial by any chance? lol just kidding... I think i might just be looking for another cockatiel... Do you think its best I get a baby or a oldish one. Dodgy (the cockatiel) is around 2 and a half years old.


----------



## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

baby or adult is up to you. both can bond to your bird just as well  another cockatiel is the better idea.

mixing other birds with cockatiels is not a good idea, as cockatiels are pushovers and budgies even will bully them and can injure them too and cockatiels COULD hurt a budgie as well... they can also bully the tiel away from food bowls and the tiel could starve.

however i think you should think this over very carefully. do YOU want another bird? i mean are you prepared to have two birds to give attention to and take care of, are you prepared for two cages to clean? because if they DONT get along, you now have two birds to give equal attention to... one should not get a bird for their bird, they should get a bird if they want to and if theyre able to give the same care for both  

just saying because it doesnt always work out. i learned that the hard way. dally was a constant screamer as a baby. we thought she would like a friend. while tsuka DID give her a companion and she stopped screaming if he was with her, they are not good friends and generally dally could care less for tsuka. they bicker and once a year tsuka has to be separated from dally because he gets aggressive with her. so getting her a friend for HER backfired on her. im lucky they can share a cage and such for the most part, but i often have minor dispute between the two of them.


----------



## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Try to get a bird the same age (if you decide to get another). I only say this because older birds are very set in their ways and young birds don't yet know how to give other birds their own space because they're used to sitting together with their clutchmates. So getting one that's not old or young is a good idea in my opinion.


----------



## Nayrose (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks guys. I dont know about getting another bird for her I may not be allowed anyway I just dont want her to be lonely but I can just put her out with the other birds when i'm not home. Thanks for the advice, do you know any tips for handling an untame bird. Can it be done?, im prepared to be VERY paitent haha.


----------



## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

If you look under the training and bonding section there are some good suggestions for taming tiels. Just try to take things at your tiel's pace as each progresses differently. Good luck.


----------



## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

put her out with other birds when you are not home? i would not do this. leaving a bird outside even in a cage unsupervised is dangerous and many members lose their birds to hawks and cats this way


----------



## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

DallyTsuka said:


> put her out with other birds when you are not home? i would not do this. leaving a bird outside even in a cage unsupervised is dangerous and many members lose their birds to hawks and cats this way


Lol, Casey, the OP means they would put her in the aviary with her flockmates when they're not home..and keeping her inside when they're home.


----------



## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

oooooh ok i missed something thanks for correcting me, i feel so stupid LOL


----------



## Nayrose (Jul 17, 2012)

Okay thanks  I will but fingercrossed I can do it.


----------

