Housing lovebirds together

Question
Hi, Once my baby lovie is weaned I would really really like to house him and the lutino 8 week olds together or  to keep the four together. I was wondering how to get them to live together? I saw a nice large cage the other day it was  3 feet long 3 feet high and 2 feet deep...would this be good enough for three or four of them provided i do let them out daily for at lest an hour outside of the cage.

Answer
Hi, Tara.

Each bird has its own individual personality.  Some birds can live together and some can't.  Some birds who've lived together for years sometimes stop getting along for whatever reason and need to be separated.  The only way you will know if they can live together is to put them together and see what happens.  If they don't get along, then you can separate them.  That size cage would be fine for 4 lovies and all their "stuff" (depending on how much "stuff" they have)!

With that said, understand that whenever you house birds together, a pecking order will be established among the birds.  In addition, whenever birds are housed together, they will argue and squabble over little things all the time...this is normal.  It becomes a problem when blood is drawn or someone gets hurt or one doesn't get enough food or water, etc., etc.  This is another time when you might have to intervene and separate some birds.  

It would be best if you could put them together when they are young...as older birds tend to be more "protective" of their territory (their own cage).  Putting them together when young seems to minimize this problem.  I wouldn't put any unweaned birds together with weaned birds on a permanent basis until the unweaned birds are able to eat the same as the weaned babies.  However, putting the unweaned babies with the weaned babies when you feed any soft food might help unweaned babies learn to eat soft food.  Whenever I have reluctant-to-wean babies, I will often put a young, weaned baby with them so they learn from the older bird (or vice versa).

About letting birds out and cage size...if a cage is large enough so the birds housed in the cage can get the exercise they need every day, you don't have to let the birds out every day if you are cramped for time or something.  In other words, birds who are allowed out of their cages all the time, only need a cage large enough for them to sleep, eat, rest in.  Birds who are not allowed out of their cages need large, roomy cages to make up for not being allowed out.  If you work and your birds stay caged all day, but you let them out when you get home (for really more than an hour), then they need a cage in-between a small and large/roomy cage.  Of course, when determining cage size, you have to take into consideration all the stuff you put in it, as well as the birds (perches, dishes, toys, etc.).   

If I haven't explained this very well, let me know.

Chrys