Questions on lovebird care!

2043 Views 12 Replies 6 Participants Last post by SnowHedgehog, Jan 1, 2016

SnowHedgehog

Discussion Starter · Dec 31, 2015

Hello!

Hopefully it's ok I'm posting here, I figured you all would give the best advice

I picked up two lovebirds this afternoon for foster! (They're now sleeping after being cleaned, fed, toes coconut-oiled, and weighed) This is the first time I'm taking care of lovebirds so I'm looking for some general advice and things I should know/look out for.

There is one male and one female, the male is green with a red face and the female is green with a light peachy almost yellow face. Both fairly young but bonded to each other.

Are they very similar to budgies? Aside from beak strength, I'm not sure too, too much about them. The male is very territorial

But the female is an absolute sweetheart so that's ok

We have them on a cockatiel size seed as well as two kinds of pellet, fresh and frozen/thawed veg daily, and fruit will be given a few days of the week. They also have millet in their cage constantly as they are both under weight and having weight issues, the poor things

Is there anything else I should know about them? Attitude? Proper ways of getting them more used to hands (is it much like budgies)? Other kinds of things to provide? They do have a cuttle-bone in their cage at all times, as well.

Thank you all in advance for any tips or advice you provide! Me and these lovies appreciate it!

Just a side note: These birds are on a fairly strict quarantine from my budgies as they had some health issues so they are not together and never will be!

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FaeryBee

· #2 · Dec 31, 2015

Hi, Brit!

Lovebirds are very smart and playful and quite delightful little creatures. I'm sure you will enjoy having them during the time you are fostering them.
I'm glad you are being wise, both with quarantine and with not allowing them to interact with your budgies even once the quarantine period is over. :thumbsup:

My first experience with lovebirds was when I rescued a bonded pair (which I've now had for 4 1/2 years) so I'm sure my experiences at that time were much the same as what you are going through now.

It sounds as though you have two Peach-faced lovebirds in your care presently. My green lovie, Pedro and my lutino lovie, Peachy are both Peach-faced lovebirds - you can see them in my current signature. My other lovebird, Poppy, is a Fischer's Lovebird as are the lovebirds aluz owns.

I feed my lovebirds the same foods I feed my budgies. If you are able to handle both birds, it is advisable to do so on a regular basis.
Lovebirds are sometimes territorial and some become aggressive.
Single lovebirds will bond closely with their human and sometimes become extremely protective of that bond.

Give the lovebirds safe shredding toys and lots of natural wood toys to play with and chew.

If you end up with specific questions, please be sure to ask.

I'd love to see pictures of them and you are welcome to post about the Lovies in the "Lovebird Lovers" section of the forum.

Thanks for being a kind individual and fostering them while they are waiting for a forever home.

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aluz

· #3 · Dec 31, 2015 (Edited)

Hello Brit and welcome to our little lovebird corner here at Talk Budgies, this is certainly the right place to post!

First of all I would like to thank you for taking care of these lovebirds and making sure all of their needs are being catered well! :thumbsup:

The current diet you have them on is appropriate for them and since they have come to you with with weight issues, you can supplement their diet with egg food, you can buy ready-made egg food at any specialized pet store or make your own by hard boiling an egg and mashing it all up, you can also add some finely chopped up veggies into the mix if you'd like.
Honeyed treat sticks are also a good option for underweight birds.
Besides the cuttlebone you can also get them a mineral block.

They are similar to budgies to a certain extent, you will soon realize this as your lovebirds settle into your home and start to show their personalities.

Lovebirds are funny and energetic just like budgies are, you will find their singing/chirping louder in volume, but still manageable. They are incredibly intelligent birds. The training methods are the same for budgies and lovebirds, it's important to read their body languages, respect the safe boundaries set by them and use positive reinforcement and praising when they respond well to the training.

It's important to give them lots of chew toys (wooden ones) in order to keep them busy while in the cage or else they may end up chewing food/water bowls and other accessories on the cage.

It's good to know that for your flock's overall health and safety, the lovebirds will have their own space away from the budgies.

You are doing great so far and I hope your lovebird couple will thrive under your excellent care. Best of luck with everything and feel free to update on them and post some pics when you have the time!

If you'd like some extra info, you can take a look at this link.
http://talkbudgies.com/lovebird-lovers/275449-my-take-lovebirds.html

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StarlingWings

· #4 · Dec 31, 2015

As I (unfortunately) don't have any lovebirds, I can't really add anything, not to mention it's already covered by two of our most experienced lovebird owners, Deborah and Ana

Many congratulations and it's great you're able to foster them while they wait for a new home

Hope to see pictures soon!

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MineOfBudgies

· #5 · Dec 31, 2015

I don't have lovebirds either, but aluz and Deborah have covered a big chunk of lovebird ownership!

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SnowHedgehog

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 1, 2016

Thank you all for your kind and very helpful replies!

After taking another look at the vet sheet, looks like the red faced, more aggressive one is actually the female, and the peach faced, sweeter one is the male! I never would've guessed the female would be more territorial than a male.

According to the sheet their also around 25ish days old, but I'm clueless on how to age lovebirds so I'm not sure if that is true. They definitely seem older than that. They have all of their feathers, can fly, no iris rings (do lovebirds get those?), both are vocal, and both are eating quite well now that they're in a home setting. (Hopefully that's a good sign!

)

FaeryBee said:
Lovebirds are very smart and playful and quite delightful little creatures. I'm sure you will enjoy having them during the time you are fostering them.
I'm glad you are being wise, both with quarantine and with not allowing them to interact with your budgies even once the quarantine period is over. :thumbsup:

If you end up with specific questions, please be sure to ask.

I'd love to see pictures of them and you are welcome to post about the Lovies in the "Lovebird Lovers" section of the forum.

Thank you so much for your reply, Deborah!

I am definitely enjoying having these lovies around, having a new type of bird to learn about is very fun.

I was wondering if there's a good weight range to aim for, as I mention higher I'm not sure how old they are but they were rather under-weight when they first came into the shelter. They're both sitting at about 48-50 grams as of now.

I promise to get some good photos and post them as soon as these cuties are up for adoption!

They're already starting to look healthier and healthier.

Thanks again!

aluz said:
First of all I would like to thank you for taking care of these lovebirds and making sure all of their needs are being catered well! :thumbsup:

Lovebirds are funny and energetic just like budgies are, you will find their singing/chirping louder in volume, but still manageable. They are incredibly intelligent birds. The training methods are the same for budgies and lovebirds, it's important to read their body languages, respect the safe boundaries set by them and use positive reinforcement and praising when they respond well to the training.

It's important to give them lots of chew toys (wooden ones) in order to keep them busy while in the cage or else they may end up chewing food/water bowls and other accessories on the cage.

You are doing great so far and I hope your lovebird couple will thrive under your excellent care. Best of luck with everything and feel free to update on them and post some pics when you have the time!

Thank you very much for your reply, Aluz

Oh, thank you, I'm so happy to be able to help provide these animals homes in their times of need. We take a lot of the "exotic" animals that come through the shelter so every animal is a learning experience

I have noticed they communicate more in higher pitched peeps rather than the budgies which communicate in a lot of chirrups and whistles. It's adorable to hear my budgies chatting with the lovies, even though they're far away from each other (literally a floor down

).

I made sure to grab lots of wood chews and shredding toys to fill their cage, I also noticed they need larger perches than budgies so I'll have to get another thicker natural perch.

Thanks again! I'll be sure to take pictures and post an update of them soon

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Niamhf

· #7 · Jan 1, 2016 (Edited)

Hi Brit,

Unfortunately I have no experience with love birds other than the very cute stories I read on here

so I will leave the advice to the experts however I did want to drop by and say how wonderful a person I think you are for taking them in

I'm sure they will do brilliantly in your care and I look forward to seeing some pictures and hearing all about them

(and their little oiled toes

- I think perhaps Noah (my kakariki) might have to start getting his toes coconut oiled now too!

)

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aluz

· #8 · Jan 1, 2016

I would really love it if you could take a photo of both of your lovebirds as this could be very helpful in terms of determining age.

At 25 days old, a lovebird chick is still not fully weaned and independent nor is it fully feathered nor grown yet, lovebirds don't develop white irises while growing up, their eyes remain dark in colour.

Lovebirds take even more time in growing up/developing and weaning when compared to budgies. Even budgies at 25 days old are still in the early stages of weaning, so the information on the sheet must be incorrect.
Parent raised lovebirds can wean as soon as they are about 1.5 months old and hand fed lovebirds can wean by the time they are 2 to 2.5 months old.
My baby Khaleesi, who I had to hand feed, weaned just as he was about to reach 2 months old.

If you don't want to post the photo of your lovebirds here, please sent it to me via Private Message, so I can better help you out in case you do have weaning chicks in your care and supplemental feedings are needed in order to help them thrive.

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SnowHedgehog

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 1, 2016

Niamhf said:
Hi Brit,

Unfortunately I have no experience with love birds other than the very cute stories I read on here so I will leave the advice to the experts however I did want to drop by and say how wonderful a person I think you are for taking them in
I'm sure they will do brilliantly in your care and I look forward to seeing some pictures and hearing all about them (and their little oiled toes - I think perhaps Noah (my kakariki) might have to start getting his toes coconut oiled now too! )

Thank you so much for your kind words, Niamh

It's an amazing experience, being able to give these animals a chance at a better life. It's not always easy but I love it none the less

Both my girls and the lovies really enjoy having their toes coconut oiled, it must make those dry feet feel so much better especially in the winter! I'm sure Noah will love it, too

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FaeryBee

· #10 · Jan 1, 2016

My little Poppy (which I believe is female although she's never been DNA tested) is much more aggressive and territorial than Pedro and would just as soon bite you as look at you!

Poppy is just as cute as a button and will eat millet when I'm holding it in my fingers for her, but if there is no millet - watch out!

I tell her she is as mean as a little striped spider. :laughing1: She chases Pedro around the cage trying to bite his toes and then 2 minutes later will be begging him to feed her -- which he always does!

I don't know why Pedro is so smitten with Poppy, but he loves her to death. :lovers:

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SnowHedgehog

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 1, 2016

aluz said:
I would really love it if you could take a photo of both of your lovebirds as this could be very helpful in terms of determining age.

At 25 days old, a lovebird chick is still not fully weaned and independent nor is it fully feathered nor grown yet, lovebirds don't develop white irises while growing up, their eyes remain dark in colour.

Lovebirds take even more time in growing up/developing and weaning when compared to budgies. Even budgies at 25 days old are still in the early stages of weaning, so the information on the sheet must be incorrect.
Parent raised lovebirds can wean as soon as they are about 1.5 months old and hand fed lovebirds can wean by the time they are 2 to 2.5 months old.
My baby Khaleesi, who I had to hand feed, weaned just as he was about to reach 2 months old.

If you don't want to post the photo of your lovebirds here, please sent it to me via Private Message, so I can better help you out in case you do have weaning chicks in your care and supplemental feedings are needed in order to help them thrive.

Hmm, they must be older than the sheet says then. Maybe the admission date was put in where the birth date should go? That's what I'm thinking, at least.

Technically speaking, I'm not supposed to post photos until they are up for adoption (which I promise I will take a bunch of pictures to post when the time comes), but I will absolutely send you some through PM as I want to make sure these lovies are getting the best care I can provide. I'm just about to prep and disperse everyone's vegetables so when I'm down with them I'll grab some pics of them both.

Thank you so much for your help!

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aluz

· #12 · Jan 1, 2016

You're welcome and you can rest assured that if you do send me those photos, after our private conversation I will delete them and of course I won't share the photos publicly.

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SnowHedgehog

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 1, 2016

FaeryBee said:
My little Poppy (which I believe is female although she's never been DNA tested) is much more aggressive and territorial than Pedro and would just as soon bite you as look at you!

Poppy is just as cute as a button and will eat millet when I'm holding it in my fingers for her, but if there is no millet - watch out!

I tell her she is as mean as a little striped spider. :laughing1: She chases Pedro around the cage trying to bite his toes and then 2 minutes later will be begging him to feed her -- which he always does!

I don't know why Pedro is so smitten with Poppy, but he loves her to death. :lovers:

:laughing: Poppy seems like quite the feisty one! Izzy (the female lovie) is totally the same way. I got a nice nip from her last night while moving some perches around, thankfully I don't mind

(or at least that's what I tell them

)

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