About Love Birds
Lovebirds resemble parrots. They can sing, and some can even imitate the human voice. They are energetic, flamboyant, social and intriguing. They're easy to take care of and make for entertaining pets that adore affection and attention from the owner. This article contains valuable information gathered from animal-world.com, parrotparrot.com and avianweb.com for lovebird owners or those interested in raising lovebirds.
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Description
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Lovebirds are like mini-parrots. They are just smaller and stockier, measuring about 6 inches tall. Their bill is rather large, and they have short blunt tails. Lovebirds live to be about 10 years old, although some can live longer. According to animal-world.com, the oldest recorded lovebird lived to be 17 years old. Their coloration becomes brighter the older they get. All lovebirds are native to Africa except the grey-headed lovebird which is from Madagascar. There are nine distinct species.
Care and Feeding
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Caring for a lovebird can be easy and fun for you and the bird. Most adore the attention and process of getting clean. They like bathing in dishes or getting a light spray bath. Lovebirds will maintain their beaks and nails by climbing and chewing. Buy either formulated food, seeds or small parrot mixes. Some owners do supplement and offer their lovebirds fresh veggies (e.g., peas and spinach), fruit (e.g., berries and kiwi) and millet spray. Lovebirds need about 50 grams of feed daily. animal-world.com advises people not to feel their lovebirds avocado because it's toxic to birds.
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Housing
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When choosing housing for your lovebirds, be aware that these are active birds. The best-sized cage for a pair of lovebirds is 32 x 20 x 20 inches with four perches, feed and water dishes and an area for a bath. According to animal-world.com, if you have a smaller cage you must let them fly around daily. It's best not to mix different kinds of lovebirds because they may fight each other. In the cage, be sure to include a resting place. A nice-sized resting place measures 8 x 8 x 8 inches. Clean and disinfect the cage weekly, including the perches and toys.
Social Behaviors
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A healthy lovebird is a social lovebird. To ensure this you should buy two lovebirds. If you only get one, you must give it lots of attention. When lovebirds aren't paired up, their loyalty to their owner can be fierce. A pair will develop a fierce loyalty to one another. As social as these birds are, this doesn't mean they'll get along with their intended partner or owner. The relationship can grow, but it make take some trial and error. When a pair does get along, it's obvious: they'll constantly groom and feed one another. When a bird likes its owner it will eat from her hand, fly to her and sing to her.
Handling/Training
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If you want an easygoing lovebird, you will likely have to get a baby lovebird. Also just buy one. This will ensure a loyalty to and dependency on you. But you will still have to ensure its health and happiness. Another advantage to buying a young lovebird it that you can teach the bird tricks (e.g., laughing and whistling). However, training a bird to do tricks or be loyal takes patience, trust and time. You will have to interact with your lovebird a lot, or that relationship won't develop.
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