Relative gave me a love bird! What do you think about these birds?

[SillyChick]

Hello

Some relatives came to visit us today, and one of them, who knows about my interest in chickens, brought me a lovebird! I'm very thankful! I got quite interested and searched the web and found out that the lovebird is a Peach-faced Lovebird. I'm quite scared that I might make a mistake on this new and exciting responsibility, especially she only gave one(lovebirds need a partner or more). Based on your experience, what do you think of lovebirds? Are they easy to take care of and are very fun pets? Do you have some tips?

Your opinion is extremely appreciated!

 

[d.k]

* Did the lovey have a mate when your relative owned it, or was it from a pet store?? While young, it's can be a good idea not to have a partner so that the bird focuses on you. However, in my experience, a parrot will eventually need a partner as they can tend to get very grouchy & testy. . . .

 

[GAhen]

My sister in law had a pair of Love-Birds and many baby love Birds that.
I think they do need a partner......
I have heard mixed stories about keeping the birds....some love them some did not.
But I think they are moderately easy to keep. Baically if my sister in law could do it most anybody can...LOL

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I would not suggest buying another lovebird, as many times they will become impossible to handle! Just having one will be enough work anyways. As long as you keep her/him in a high traffic area of your house, she will not be lonely.

Is she friendly? Many lovebirds I have come across over the years have NOT been friendly, but taming them is very do-able, especially if you only have one. Spend time with her every day. Talk to her when you pass the cage. Eventually she will learn to trust you. They CAN be quite friendly!

They are also kind of loud, but not that bad if you are a bird lover. Definitely not as bad as a conure.

At the sanctuary, we feed ours little round pellets (I can get the name of it if you want it) with lots of extra fruit and veggies on the side. They love scrambled eggs, broccoli, and oatmeal. Ours also LOVES taking baths in a little bucket we put at the bottom of the cage.

Make sure she has enough toys to keep her busy, but don't over crowd the cage either. It's best if you have extra toys so that you can switch them out every now and then so she doesn't get bored.

The larger the cage the better. We use newspaper at the bottom of our cages and clean them every day or every other day. You'll also have to wipe down the cage every now and then as they produce a white dust from their feathers and it tends to build up on the bars (That's the worst part about birds! They are MESSY! LOL)

You can cover the cage if you want to at night. However, if your family is usually in bed early, I wouldn't worry about it. Birds like to go to sleep anywhere from like 8-10 o'clock. Any later and they tend to get cranky!

Please feel free to ask any other questions! They are pretty basic as far as care goes. The main thing I advise against is getting a second lovebird. The problem with that is you never know what will happen. You could have the friendliest lovebird in the world, but as soon as you introduce a mate they could care less about you and some actually become nasty.

Good luck! And post pictures if you can!

 

[Crazy4Chicks]

I have a 2 year old Peach faced lovey - named Cupid who was hatched on Valentien's day !

She has never had a mate - and until she was 1 year old was very sweet, than she started laying eggs ( not fertile of course ) and got very mean and nasty - to the point I can no longer hold her and have to be careful with feeding and changeing water or she will bite HARD.

When I fisrt got her I had no idea if she was even a she - so I read up on how to sex the birds at home - if you are able to hold your lovey on her back take your pinke finger and starting at the breast plate run the tip of your pinky down her body when you get near her pelvis area and fill a dip that is big enough for the tip of your finger to rest in with pushing - you have a girl -- if there is no dip and the body feels solid all the way down you have a little boy.

Be ready to buy your lovey lots of toys, mirrors, treats to keep him/her happy and entertained - and watch out for seed throwing they are mesyy little devils I have Cupid in the kitchen so it is easier to sweep up her mess without having to drag the vaccum out all the time !!

lovebirds can not talk - but the can mimic sounds very well - I have a quaker parrot who can talk and Cupid can mimic the sounds of words so good that it sounds like she is talking- you can understand what she is " saying " very well.

I never had any luck hand training Cupid but I know lots of people have and say they make great pets and are funny to have them be able to play with you --

I feed Cupid Parakeet food - they seeds are smaller and there are no big sunflower seeds or anything like that in it - she also gets people food - bread, pasta ( with no sauce, pancakes, popcorn )

also during the hot summer months I give her a dish filled with water and let her take a bath - she loves it - and soon after that I have to clean her cage LOL

good luck with your new baby


Julie

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

If you want it to bond to you do not get it a partner or a mirror(or anything that can reflect its image) other wise they will bond to the other love bird(not matter if real or reflection) and will not want anything to do with you.

As long as you are all the companion ship they know a lovebird wont be lonely(you do have to handle it lots tho).

I have 5 lovebirds at the moment, a pair of Masked blues and 2 seagreen peachfaced and a Mauve white faced.
All of them were parent raised so they never warmed up to people much.

Nice thing is they keep themselfs busy with eachother and I don't have to be there all day and entertain them.

 

[mangled]

I had a peachy that was also very sweet until about a year. Then she began laying eggs, and became NASTY. I changes her name from Keen to The Evil One, LOL. She bit me to the bone on my index finger.

I got her another peachy, a male, and while they never had a fertile clutch together, they were very contented with each other.

Good luck! I think the peachies are so beautiful!
Em

 

[JANDRFIRE]

we had one by itself for a long time it was very loving but watch out for the bite. they belong in the parrot family so they have very strong beaks. make sure that it is kept out of drafty area they can get sick easily.

 

[pdsavage]

Love birds have the wrong name.I hade mine in the aviary in a cage some how the male love bird got out and attacked my cockatiels.The love birds i have had where all mean but 2 hybrids.They can be very picky on who they partner with be carful cause they will attack another love bird if they dont like it.

 

[birdnutz]

Female lovies become cage dominant over a course of time. The males can stay fairly friendly. My niece has a female black cheek that I hand raised that is still a fairly sweet girl and she does talk. Quite a few words. They are little clowns and a joy to watch. Female lovies love to clip up paper and tuck into their wings,nest building behavior. If it wasn't hand raised you'll find it almost impossable to gentle it down,if at all. I fed mine a high grade cockatiel seed with pellet mixed in,plus plenty of veggies and green leaf(romaine,lettuce,cabbage,etc.) they really don't need another bird if you spend time with it. If you do decide to get it a friend intraduce it threw another cage and let them get to know each other. They can and will kill an invador if they don't like them.