Lovebird How Old? (Lifespan as Pets, Wild, Living Together)


Have you just bought your first lovebird from a pet store or bumped into one in the wild? If so, one of your concerns may be not knowing your birds’ age. Since it may be tricky to tell birds’ ages, this guide will help you determine your lovebird’s age.

So, how old is my lovebird? You can tell your lovebird’s age by looking at its eyes, beak, feeding habits, and feathers. It will have incomplete and mostly grey feathers if it is a chick or less than six weeks. Secondly, if you notice that the eyes are dark, it is probably younger than ten months. Alternatively, if there is a black blemish on the beak, your pet is likely less than six months. Lastly, if you notice any problems with breaking and eating regular bird food, then your bird may be still weaning at less than ten weeks.

If you are lucky to own a lovebird, it is advisable to know its age to help you provide the best care. However, it can be challenging to guess birds’ ages, unlike with other pets, but the following are some handy tips you can use.

You can easily guess your lovebird’s age by looking at its beak, eyes, feeding, and feather distribution and colors. Therefore, it is likely to be over six weeks old if it has fully grown and colorful feathers. Alternatively, your lovebird is probably ten to twelve months or older if it has brown or red eyes.

You will also tell that your pet is less than six months old if it has a black stain around its beak, and, lastly, if your bird is still weaning, at less than ten weeks, it will have issues with eating regular older birds’ foods.

The following is a detailed look at the observable ways to help calculate your lovebird’s age.

  • Feather Distribution

One straightforward way to tell the age of your lovebird is by checking whether it has fully-grown or incomplete feathers. By looking at the face and the neck, you can tell that your pet is some weeks old if the plumage in those areas is incomplete.

In their natural setup, mothers tend to pluck out their young ones’ feathers when they are too old for the nest and want to send them away. However, the lovebirds usually have complete feathers when they attain six weeks when they start weaning.

  • Colors on the Feathers

In most cases, lovebird chicks’ faces mostly have grey feathers, gradually disappearing as they get older, especially when they molt. Molting first occurs at approximately five months, and their signature colorful feathers will have replaced most of the grey at this stage. Therefore, you will tell if your pet is five months or older, if there are no grey feathers on the face, and if the plumage is more vivid.

  • Eye Color

Dark eyes are typical among most lovebird chicks, especially when less than a year. Therefore, your pet is likely to be a few months old if it has darker eyes. On the contrary, this color changes to brown or red if at least ten months or a year. Therefore, it will be apparent that your parrot is over a year if you see that their eyes are a bright red or brown.

  • Beak

Looking keenly at chick lovebirds, you will notice that each has various degrees of black stains on the beak. It only gradually disappears as they get older, although the spot fades when they reach six months. Therefore, if your bird still has black stains around its beak, then it is likely less than half a year old.

  • Feeding

Since chicks’ beaks do not fully form until they are older than ten weeks, you can quickly tell your bird’s age based on its feeding tendencies. At six to ten weeks, your pet will have just recently weaned, meaning that it will find it challenging to break seeds or any other grown lovebirds’ food. Thus, if it is tasking for it to eat the traditional food you provide, it means that it is only a few months old.

The above are effective ways to determine the age of a lovebird when it is less than a year old. However, some reputable retailers usually have bands on the birds to indicate their ages. Otherwise, telling your pet’s exact age will be challenging, especially after their first year.

It is common to find a well-cared-for-aged lovebird looking like a year old. Fortunately, there are ways to estimate birds that are months old even without the bands, although the age indication band will be the surest way to tell.

What Is the Lifespan of a Lovebird?

If you are a bird enthusiast and have rescued abandoned lovebirds or acquired an unbanded one from a retailer, you may be worried about your new pet’s age. Since your pet’s lifespan is critical in making particular decisions like diet, here is the life expectancy of your new pet.

Generally, Lovebirds can live for five to twenty-five years depending on factors such as species, health, and living state. For instance, birds in captivity get all the necessary attention, food, and quality vet services. Therefore, they usually live longer than their counterparts in the wild.

Also, each lovebird species has unique characteristics, although the differences are not very significant. Therefore, if you have a great breed and offer a comfortable living environment, your pet may surpass the standard age limit.

The life expectancy of lovebirds living in nature is approximately ten to fifteen years, while pets can live for more than twenty years. Wild lovebirds’ major threats include predators, but these risks significantly reduce when in captivity as long as they receive everything they need from their owners.

Different lovebirds’ species portray contrasting life expectancies. For example, the Grey-headed parrot, native to Madagascar, has a lifespan of sixteen years in captivity but is lower in the forests.

A caged Black Collared or a Black Winged species, on the other hand, can live to 15 or 15 and a half years, respectively. Additionally, Lilian’s lovebird has a lifespan of about 12 years, which is slightly lower than the Black Cheeked lovebirds at 14 years.

Other lovebird species that live longer include the Red-Faced, Masked, Fischer’s, and Peach-Faced lovebirds. The Red-Faced parrot has the least life expectancy in this list at around more than nineteen years. The rest of the birds can live for over two decades, but research confirms that Fischer’s and Peach-Faced lovebirds stand at a record 32 and 34 years respectively in captivity.

How To Improve the Life Expectancy of a Lovebird

Once you get attached to your parrot, you may want to keep enjoying its company for as long as possible. Besides, once you know its life expectancy, it is understandable to look for ways to make your pet live an entire life. The following are some methods to achieve this.

Most importantly, your pet needs a constant supply of clean and healthy food and water; thus, avoid serving meals on unsafe or unsanitary utensils that risk diseases. According to your vet’s directives, treatment and immunization are also essential, and remember that lovebirds thrive better in pairs.

Therefore, getting a partner for your new pet is advisable, preferably of the opposite sex. Moreover, parrots also need some exercise to keep them in good shape. You can consider providing a sizable enclosure and installing enough accessories inside to allow the birds to roam.

These tips are only practical if you have a young bird; otherwise, they will not apply to excessively aged lovebirds. Preferably, you can do this for a young parrot that is less than a year old but already weaned. Healthy and well-prescribed food will ensure that your pet has all the nutrients it needs. Give the bird a balanced meal and a lot of water.

This way, it will have enough energy to exercise. Also, experiment with toys in their cages. Lastly, note that lovebirds are not solitary animals, and since they love socializing, it is ideal to find them a companion. However, avoid having two mature male birds in the same cage because they can get hostile with each other. Interestingly, male and female lovebirds can stay together amicably for life.

How many lovebirds can live together?

Dealing with lovebirds is different from other bird species because they can bond and become lifelong partners. However, you may want to bring in another pair or a single one, but you are concerned about what would happen. Read on for a detailed answer.

The best arrangement is to house only two lovebirds in the same enclosure. Lovebirds are territorial creatures, meaning they will consider another bird or pair as intruders. Although they are cute, these birds can be hostile and can have bloody fights to defend their interests. If you have to keep more lovebirds, it is advisable to place them in different enclosures to stop them from clashes for space and property.

It is understandable to want more lovebirds given how exquisite they are, but you need to be careful not to disrupt the prevailing peace. To help you, we investigated all the possible outcomes when housing more than one pair of lovebirds; take a look at what we discovered.

Factors to Consider Before You Keep Lovebirds

Of all the creatures in the animal world, no two mates are as intriguing as lovebirds. Experts and scientists have failed to give a detailed account of what happens between the two striking birds. The following are some fascinating facts about the lovebirds that you might not have known about their mating life.

Lovebirds can start mating when they become sexually mature, which happens when they are approximately ten months. The period begins with courtship, which may proceed for up to fifteen years of the bird’s life.

They are considered monogamous, able to maintain one partner for the rest of their life. With this lifestyle lies the social traits of all the lovebirds you will come across. If a partner dies, the remaining one will suffer from depression-related illnesses and can die from a broken heart.

When you obtain a single pet from the wild, they will seem lonely and depressed. They prefer being in pairs, especially when they have bonded with each other. If you reunite the lovebirds, they will take some time to regain their bond.

They hasten the processes by feeding each other through their mouths, which resembles kissing in humans. Due to the deep connection with their mates, pet parents would rather have them in pairs. Living together makes them happier and healthier than owning a single one.

Can I Put Three or Four Lovebirds Together?

You would want to expand your bird family by adding another lovebird or two to your previous lovebirds’ enclosure. The main worry is what happens to the already bonded pair when you bring in another to share the cage with them; will things change?

The only concern when keeping more than two lovebirds together, like three or four lovebirds, there is a chance there will be frequent fighting. It gets hard for them to get along because birds are generally territorial; any stranger in their home always finds it rough. A bonded pair, for one, is said to be very hostile when you add another bird in the enclosure, even when they are of the same species.

If you have had the lovebirds for a long time, they will get used to their space and declare it their territory. As a result, any other bird is a mere stranger, which will lead to anxiety, battles, and even death. The only way to go about it is to place the other bird(s) in a separate enclosure, away from the aggressive lovebirds.

It is not a good idea to let more than two lovebirds live together in the same enclosure. Even if you have a flock, the best way to go is to keep them separately. The longer you keep your lovebirds, the more territorial they will get.

It may end up fatal for the new bird to be enclosed with them, with nowhere to retreat to when overpowered. Other bird keepers give accounts of the lovebirds being withdrawn and attacking the other bird if it tries to socialize.

If you must have more than two lovebirds, some owners suggest having the same gender or more females than males. If you have two males and one female, the two will fight for the mate, but two females and one male is better.

Do Lovebirds Kill Each Other?

Lovebirds prefer to live in pairs and are active in showing how they love each other. However, not all lovebirds belong to the same subspecies; therefore, you need to be extra careful when pairing them up. Since many stories surround the love affair between the two creatures, you wouldn’t expect them to clash, with one of them dying in the process.

Most paired lovebirds live in harmony, but their relationship may go south and lead to death in certain situations. Lovebirds tend to be aggressive and show hostility to other birds, even if the other is their partner. Bonded lovebirds can also fight an intruder in their cage, and, sometimes, the fight can be bloody, resulting in severe injuries and even death.

Lovebirds are particular about their territory and will fight to retain it. The birds have strong and sharp beaks that they can pierce into flesh, and, if repeated, the victim may bleed to death unless it receives medical attention.

Lovebirds are a delightful sight but can be ruthless if they have to; they show no fear when it comes to defending their property and loved ones, regardless of the infiltrator’s size. The fight for territories can even transfer to their children.

If you leave the birds in a cage with their grown offspring, the chances are high that a war will ensue. Thus, it is best to avoid crowding lovebirds’ homes, and if their hatchlings are grown, you can keep them in separate enclosures for their safety.

Female lovebirds are also known to starve their young ones to death during food scarcity. It may be difficult to tell the lovebirds’ sex, and, without caution, you may place two males together, which is risky for both of them. One may die, and both may harbor serious injuries.

Why Do My Two Lovebirds Fight?

Lovebirds exhibit a solid connection to each other such that their separation can cause emotional problems to both of them. Due to their undying affection, many new owners believe that they will not pick a fight. The truth is even great lovers can argue and be hostile to each other.

Whether bonded or not, your love birds can fight for space inside the cage once it gets crowded, given how they love their territories. Female lovebirds can also pick a fight in defense of their hatchlings or due to hormonal changes. Similarly, the birds can fight when they feel threatened by another bird, especially if you bring home a new member to share the cage.

The fight may go unnoticed because, sometimes, they are friendly and loving. Otherwise, it may still go on right under your nose. If you are keen, you will notice one pecking the others feet in aggression. You can also closely monitor their feet for bite marks or wounds.

Before anything serious like death or incapacitation happens, it is best to be alert at all times and take the necessary precautions. Look out for hissing sounds from the birds, which is their aggression signal to show that a fierce fight will ensue.

Also, be keen on scrambling and defending the perch since it mostly leads to battles. Besides, other birds would show hostility by being greedy and possessive of the shared amenities.

In contrast, birds living in peace will be generally social and loving to each other. You will find them bill rubbing, and they will have no qualms with sharing the perch and other shared resources. Lovebirds can also be kind and coexist peacefully, and the cage will not always be a battlefield.

If your birds relentlessly fight, then there is a need to deal with the issue that causes the conflict. One primary remedy to save your birds is to separate them by placing them in different cages and limiting their interaction. Even when you let them socialize, it is best to supervise while being keen on any aggression form.

Finally

If you previously had concerns about your lovebird’s age, hopefully, this article has provided some insights to help in your estimation. You can always look at the beak, eyes, feathers, and feeding tendencies to guess a bird’s age. The only challenge is that these methods are effective on less than a year old lovebirds.

They will only estimate the weeks or months. If your bird is older than a year, you will have the best answers from banding, which is fortunately compulsory in some regions. You can also consider asking your retailer or vet to help. Still, remember to take good care of your pet by providing clean water and balanced food for it to live an entire life.

It is undeniable how pretty and intelligent lovebirds are, but they can be lethal creatures beneath the surface. They are famous for being territorial when in the wild and as pets. Therefore, it is best to have them as pairs. If you place another bird with them, there are high chances that fights will erupt. The paired birds will keep to themselves and get hostile to the lone bird. Similarly, if you place another pair with them, they will fight for space and the shared amenities.

However, the hostility is not only towards the intruder since they also get violent with each other. It is normal for lovebirds to fight when solving their issues as long as it does not get extreme. If you must grow your lovebird family, it is best to keep each pair separately. Otherwise, you will be risking their lives.

Bal Kang

Bal Kang is an owner of several pets including reptiles, cats and dogs. An avid writer, who loves to share her insights into caring for pets.

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