Lovebirds Not So Lovey

Question
We have a pair of lovebirds that we rescued from a shelter a year ago.  The
shelter informed us the previous owners didn't have the time to spend with
them.  I had them checked by a vet and they appeared to be between a year
or two old and in good health.  They were fine together until about 3 months
ago.  The female is plucking the feathers from the male around his beak and
eyes.  I personally think she has grown somewhat territorial.  I've separated
them several times until his feathers have grown back.  Once I've put them
back together in the same cage they seem happy and within a week she's
"hen pecking" him again.  Why does she have this behavior and what will
make her stop?   I really don't want to separate them for good, they chirp so
much louder when they are in separate cages - nor do I want twice the mess
to clean up.  The more I think about it, the more I'm wondering if they are
fighting over an item in the cage.  We bought them a "hut", about 6 months
ago, they can both fit in but the female doesn't look like she wants to share.

These are technically my 8 year old daughters birds but I am the primary
caregiver.  We were hoping for more interaction with the birds but they just
hide in their cage when we try to pet them or get them out.  I've had them
out a few times held in a washcloth to try and bond with them.  They act like
they don't want to bond.  Any suggestions for making them lovey?

Answer
Hi, Jennifer,

First of all, how are you sure of their sexes?  Lovies have to be DNA sexed...they cannot be sexed visually.  Do you have any paperwork/documentation proving these birds are male/female?  

Seems the "female" is overpreening the male around the eyes/beak.  Preening is normal behavior for a pair of birds...one bird preens where the other bird can't reach.  No need to separate the birds unless you don't like the looks of the bird that has been overpreened.  The feathers will grow back, unless the feather folicles are damaged beyond repair.  There is nothing you can do to stop this behavior short of keeping them separate.  It's normal behavior.

The female may want to use the hut as a nesting site and/or she just may like it so much she doesn't want the male near it.  Be aware though if this bird is a female she may lay eggs in the hut (or think she's laying them in the hut, but they may fall out the back of it, depending on the type of hut you have).  You may want to consider removing this hut in order to avoid behavior issues, etc.

These birds are not tame.  This is why they are not more friendly towards you/your family.  Since birds prefer other birds to humans, they may never become friendly.  They have each other; they don't need human companionship.  This is likely why you found them at the shelter.  The best pet bird is a single bird in the home.  You will have to spend a lot of time working with these birds in order to tame them, if it is possible with this pair.  You may have to work with each bird separately and independently in order to tame them.  There's a lot of work involved/patience required in taming parrots.  Visit my website to start:  www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo.index.html.  www.birdchannel.com is also a good website.

You cannot hold a parrot in a washcloth to try to bond with them.  Doing this is only scaring them more.  The process takes much time and patience and must be done on a daily basis.

Come back with any questions.

Chrys