Can Lovebirds And Parakeets Live Together?

There is such variety and difference between different species of parrot that it can be natural to want to own all of them, and have a menagerie of colorful birds flying around your house.

I’ve always been very fond of lovebirds and have had several throughout my life.

A friend of mine (who has always had parakeets) told me he wanted to add a lovebird or two to his parakeet family, so I decided to look into the question.

Can lovebirds and parakeets live together?

The answer, unfortunately, is a firm no. Lovebirds do not get along well with other species and even sometimes with members of their own species. Parakeets and lovebirds have very different temperaments, and lovebirds are likely to display aggression against which the parakeet has no defense.

In some cases, if the birds are raised together from the youngest possible age, owners have reported they can get along.

In general, though, lovebirds don’t get along with parakeets.

Lovebirds live in very small groups in the wild, usually just pairs who may sometimes feed with other pairs.

Parakeets, on the other hand, live in very large flocks, and so are much less aggressive.

Parakeets also have very small beaks compared to lovebirds, and so have no way of defending themselves in the event of an attack.

One other important thing to remember with a question like this is how much the personalities of individual birds can differ.

You may have heard anecdotes about lovebirds and parakeets getting on like wildfire despite the reputation, but this is an exception to the rule.

Some lovebirds just happen to be more docile, and people get lucky. It’s always very risky to put them together.

 

Do lovebirds get along with any species?

In general, no, lovebirds really don’t get along with any other species.

In fact, they often won’t even tolerate a third member of their own species.

A bonded pair are likely to get along very well, but may be aggressive towards a third member introduced later on.

That gives you a good idea, then. Lovebirds don’t really like other parrots.

There are exceptions to this rule, however.

As I said, in cases where the birds are all reared together from a very, very young age, the lovebirds may become acclimatized to a parakeet.

There really is no guarantee of this happening at all, however, and even if they do seem to bond early on, the lovebird’s temperament could change as it reaches sexual maturity.

This in particular can be a grave concern, as you may get accustomed to your birds getting along, only for their relationship to turn sour one day.

The simple fact is, then, that it is safest and most responsible not to keep parakeets and lovebirds together.

If you do own both parakeets and lovebirds, the situation is not impossible.

You’ll just have to give them separate cages to sleep in, and never leave them alone unsupervised.

Don’t allow the parakeet to perch on or even really get near the lovebird’s cage.

It is primarily the issue of being territorial that can cause arguments.

 

Can lovebirds kill parakeets?

Lovebirds, as I’ve said, can be very territorial.

Birds in general are too, though parakeets certainly much less so than lovebirds.

So, they should never be kept in the same cage as it will lead to aggression.

You can, with supervision, have lovebirds and parakeets in the same house, in separate cages.

But, is there any real danger of the lovebird killing your parakeet?

Well, again, if you supervise them carefully if they are ever interacting (which, really, they probably shouldn’t be), then there is really no chance of this happening.

However, lovebirds are more than capable of killing parakeets and other small parrots.

They have large, strong, powerful beaks capable of tearing leather.

So, if you live in a household with lovebirds and parakeets, you must keep them separate at all times.

 

Can parakeets live with other birds?

In the unfriendly relationship between parakeets and lovebirds, it unfortunately has to be said that the lovebirds are the problem.

Parakeets, on the other hand, will get along very nicely with other small species.

Cockatiels make a great companion to your parakeet.

Both species are generally quite friendly and docile towards one another, given enough space.

Parakeets, as I mentioned, are flock birds, as are cockatiels, though they tend to live in smaller flocks.

All birds can be territorial, so it’s still important to make sure they all have enough food and space.

Keep a close eye on them if you are introducing them to one another later on.

In a large aviary they would be fine together, but if your birds are spending their sleeping hours in a small cage, best practice would still be to give them separate space to sleep.

While parakeets and cockatiels like company, they also like to have somewhere to call their own.

Size, of course, is an important consideration.

It’s never a good idea to keep a very large parrot with a very small one.

Budgies are very small relatively speaking, and so it almost goes without saying that they should not be left with macaws or similar sized parrots.

Parakeets, then, are just more friendly, social and docile than lovebirds, especially to other species.

All parrots need their own space in order to thrive, and will usually get along better with members of their own species, but provided this, parakeets can make great friends for other small parrots.

So, in all, there is a very clear answer to the question of whether or not parakeets and lovebirds can live together.

They can’t. They can live in the same house, as long as their cages are far apart, and any time they are both out of their cages they must be strictly supervised.

They cannot live in the same cage or even the same large aviary, as lovebirds are too aggressive.

It’s a very good rule of thumb to assume that two members of a different species will not get along, and work backwards from there.


How Can We Improve This Article?