To add to DonHo's excellent comment- are the bird's wings clipped. If not - clip the male's wings shorter and leave the younger bird's wing longer so that she can really get away if aggressive play becomes to rough. I did this when introducing a young female to my very old male as he was aggressive in the first 2 face-to-face incounters. It worked like a charm as whenever he went "after her toes" - she could fly off th a near perch and he couldn't (one try and he knew where his place was!) It too about a month of every day play for them to become really good friends.

Good luck! 

thanks for your reply. my male is 1 year & 3 months. he was "bird raised" and not a hand fed baby, but has become very tame and extremely affectionate (other than he does not like it when you touch his food / treats). will the fact that he was raised by his parents allow him to be more accepting of his new friend? my female was hand fed but she wasn't handled for a few months and wasn't taken care of very well (i took her from a lady that didn't want her) for the first week i had her i thought she was mean as the lady said she bites and boy did she ever! but after a week, no more biting!  3 weeks later and she is the sweetest little bird and very gentle! she hadn't been around other birds for those 3 months the lady had her & she has been "quarantined" from my male for 3 weeks now. is that long enough? i did have her examined by an avian vet as well. i will wait to see if they can "live together" until she is a year old. my male has a very large cage, with flight room. would it be ok to introduce her to HIS cage when she is a year old then?

RE: THE WING CLIPPING IDEA.

sounds like a great idea but i have a problem! my male is fully flighted and has always been. and, unfortunately, the lady that owned my female had her wings SEVERELY clipped. as a result, she has poor balance and is not very confident! i'm waitng for them to grow out so she can get some flying lessons!

I really don't like it when someone touches MY food/treats either!  Anyway, I have not noticed much difference in bird-to-bird bonding between hand raised pet LBs and parent raised birds.  I have one bird that was raised for almost seven years as a pet in a one bird household - I can't seem to get him interested in a female.  I think he thinks he's human.  Otherwise I have a good mix of hand raised pets and parent- raised not so friendly birds that seem to have no problem pairing up.

 

Glad to hear that your new hen has become tame again.  They usually do if originally hand raised and given sufficient time and attention.

 

I quarantine for a minimum of 30 days and have heard of people that go for 45 up to 90 days.  I think 30 to 45 days is sufficient.

 

You should always introduce a hen to a male in HIS or a neutral cage.  Hens (especially mature ones) tend to become very possessive about their cages and want to fight off any intruders.  Introduce in his cage or a neutral one - definitely not hers.  Also the bigger the cage the better, so it sounds like his ideal. 

 

DonHo

 

 

thanks for your help. i will keep her apart from my male for another 2 weeks. then they will be cage by cage for awhile with supervised play time. seeing as my male is fully flighted, should i keep my female's wings clipped? so if they start to fight, only one of them can take off and not be chased by the other? i was hoping to let her wings grow in so she can gain more balance and confidence.... ahhhhhh, i really hope they will get along......time will tell.....they would make such a cute lil' pair!

Hi,

I have introduced two females to a couple using the method

donho suggests. I was very successful. Make sure that

there is enough room and always several routes for

escape. Females are generally thought to be the more assertive

of the two.

I find it is rare for them to go like killer bees after the new one if she can get away at a good distance.

Eventually, how is it said...familiarity leads to acceptance?

:)