Replies

"Love Birds do better in pairs. Get your friend a friend."

With great respect, that is a common myth. It's true that lovebirds need companionship. But so long as their human owner pays them a lot of attention, the lovebird bonds with him and considers him his/her mate. If you get two lovebirds, they bond with each other and tend to ignore their human owners.

I give Tukki tons of love and affection. He is most definitely bonded with me, as I am with him. One sure sign of his bonding - he even tries to feed me! He does his little regurgitation routine - normal for parrots - and tries to put it in his mouth. Sounds gross but is actually very touching. That is the classic behavior of a lovebird toward its mate.

Here's a link about to an authoritative book on lovebirds:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764118277/002-3880507-7129634?v=glance&n=283155

You'll note that the very first item in the 'description' section is: "Lovebirds are social birds, but it is a myth that they must always be kept in pairs as a tame single bird can make a wonderul companion."

I am very glad to see you pay this much attention to your pet. The reason I suggested a friend for your friend is because my experience with people is that they buy pets because they think they are "neat", quickly tire of them and then basically ignore them.

Of course if you get another bird you could then have 2 to love and they would have each other when you are not around. I don't think they would shut you out at all and the new one would quickly learn from the older one.