peach faced or masked lovebird???

[Annne]

Hi was wanting to buy a second bird and wanted a masked lovebird. Everywhere on the net says that they are less noisy and less aggressive than the peach faced. However the bird breeder keeps saying the peach faced is better and really stern about it and trying to sell us a peach faced. I'd prefer to go with the lesser aggressive but confused on the conflicting information Peach faced don't really appeal to me for some reason.. i prefer the look of the masked lovebird. Can anyone with these birds give their opinions please and any advice they may like to share.

[marie83]

I hate to say it but there are a hell of alot of breeders out there who are just breeding for money and will tell you whatever you want to hear to make a sale. If your breeders trying to push a bird onto you that you don't want then it sounds like this is likely to be the case.

This is not true of all breeders and there are some good ones out there who will be 100% honest about the species they breed. I was researching caiques and quakers for my next parrot and visited a few, when I asked about the noise level after explaining we live in a flat the response was 'oooh you wont have a problem, they are much much quieter than green cheek conures'. I then e-mailed my green cheeks breeder and asked his opinion as he breeds both species, he basicly told me not to bother with either species as there would be a risk of the neighbours complaining. I also read lots of posts that had already been answered on various forums and the general idea was both are too noisy although there were a few people who had quiet birds.

If your not happy with your breeder, find another one. In the meantime do more independant research, post on forums asking people who actually own the species for their opinions but bear in mind every birds different and may go against the general trend of the species. Also bare in mind that each owner will treat their bird differently and that will impact the birds behaviour. E-mail or call several breeders and ask for their advice. Read as many articles as you can on the species. Eventually you will be able to decide which is more likely to fit in with your life.

[Annne]

Thanks that's exactly what i thought. Problem is they are a bird store that gets eggs from breeders and hand raise the chicks. There is no way to get into contact with their breeders because they go through these companies.. there is only one other place that does the same but are a lot more expensive.. $220 AUD for a hand raised masked .. only other places are like pet stores that sell aviary breed masked lovebirds for $70 (i went and saw some and they had toes missing and bleeding and looked miserable) and the only breeders i can get into contact are all aviary breeders (seem a bit dodgy ie dirty cages). Where i live really sucks for getting anything!

I feel like my only choice is to go to the expensive bird store. But seems like a lot of money for a lovebird?

[marie83]

Ah right, it didn't occur to me that it might be a store. How serious are you about getting a lovebird? Just it might be worth considering another species to get a bird thats been well bought up. A petshop that buys eggs in doesn't sound repuatable to me, I'm not even sure if it's legal TBH but it may be where you are. Keep looking for your lovebird though, a breeder may come out of the woodwork. I had a hard time finding my conure because I couldn't find a breeder that seemed to bring them up well but Ollie turned out to be well worth the wait

[Mashleyaay]

I have just got a black masked lovebird about a week ago and he is very timed, can be loud but in a happy way, not screaming. I donk think there is much difference between the two, it depends on the bird and how well it is looked after/trained. In regards to the bird coming from a store, mine came from a store. He is very healthy and seems to be taking the taming process very well. In my opinion It doesn't matter if it is from a store or a reputable breeder, with the right care and training they can be brilliant companion birds. Please don't take my advise as fact although I have done a lot of research I am still new to the bird scene. Just to finish off though, the main reason I went for black masked was due to there stunning looks!