Guide you know more about Lovebird FAQ,etc.

Lovebirds are among the most fascinating birds. The many species and mutations mean that there are literally thousands of different lovebirds in the world. They are a joy to watch, fun to play with, and relatively easy to breed. Contrary to popular belief, lovebirds need not be kept in pairs. A single lovebird makes a wonderful pet, and a faithful friend.

This FAQ attempts to cover the basics of Lovebird ownership and breeding. It is by no means a complete guide to everything you need to know about Lovebirds. There are many generalizations in this FAQ, and as with any bird FAQ, there are exceptions to eve rything. If your Lovebird doesn't fit the generalizations, it simply means that they are their own bird, and their personality is unique. If you wish more information, there are some recommendations for books within this FAQ.

Lovebirds are small, active, happy birds. They can also be loud and nippy. A single Lovebird can be a great pet, while a pair of Lovebirds will often bond to each other and not care to spend time with you. A Lovebird will not sing, and few Lovebirds will learn human speech. But they are a lot of personality packed into a tiny and relatively inexpensive bird. If you are looking for a small buddy, who will be thrilled to play with you and snuggle with you, a Lovebird may be exactly right for you. But be p repared for some shrill chirps, a few nips on the finger, and very inquisitive shadow.

A young hand-fed Lovebird is the best bet for an inexperienced bird-owner. Parent-raised lovebirds are tamable, but it requires a lot of love, patience, and tolerance to bites.

Lovebirds are fairly cheap in comparison to most of their parrot cousins. Hand-raised Lovebirds can range in price from $40 to $130 for the more common species and mutations. Parent-fed Lovebirds are generally less expensive. The rarer species and mutati ons will cost quite a bit more.

Lovebirds require more than just seed. A pelleted diet, supplemented with fresh fruits, vegetables, boiled eggs, cereals, pasta, rice, and lentils will produce a heathly, beautifully feathered Lovebird. Many Lovebird breeders also feed a seed-based diet, with most of the other foods as supplements. A seed-based diet must consist of a mixture of seeds and grains. Canary seed, millet, rice, oats, safflower and a small amount of sunflower are the most popular parts of these seed mixes. Corn is often a big hit with Lovebirds, as is sprouted seed. Lovebirds also tend to drink a lot of water, and must have fresh water available at all times.

The minimum cage size for a single pair of Lovebirds is 30 X 30 X 18. As with all birds, the bigger the cage the better. Provide your Lovebirds with the biggest cage that you can afford, and have space for. Bar spacing is also important, and should be no more than 3/4 inch.

Lovebirds are very active birds and need a cage large enough to accommodate this need. Square cages that are roughly 20" x 20" x 20" (50.8 cm x 50.8 cm x 50.8 cm)or larger are good for lovebirds. Since lovebirds tend to fly horizontally rather than vertically, rectangular long cages are a better choice than rectangular tall. Bar spacing needs to be 1/2" or 5/8" (1.27 cm or 1.60 cm). Round cages are unsuitable for Lovebirds due to the placement of their eyes. Round cages appear as solid walls and have no safe corners where the lovebirds can hide. This is actually true to for all birds.

Lovebirds are hookbills and shell their food. The purpose of grit and gravel is to remove the outer shells of whole seeds, so only birds that consume intact seeds, such as doves, need grit in their diet. Once the outer covering is gone, the Lovebird's digestive system is capable of breaking down the seed.

When choosing a perch for your Lovebird, minimum size would be one where the foot does not wrap completely around the perch. This should be the determining factor when selecting perches for your Lovebird.

Natural perches are best, as they provide comfort plus a good source for chewing. Lovebirds enjoy removing bark and demolishing perches, so you will find that these have to be replaced on a regular basis. When selecting branches from trees, try to find those that have not been sprayed with insecticides or pesticides. Perches can be cleaned with 10% bleach solution and rinsed very well. Safe wood for natural perches includes apple, ash, beech, birch, cactus wood, cottonwood, crabapple, dogwood, elm, fir, mulberry, manzanita, pine, poplar and willow.

Cement perches can be used to help keep nails trimmed. Since these can be very hard on the feet of a Lovebird, put them only in places where your Lovebird goes everyday but does not spend a lot of time there. Placing them in front of food and water dishes is one possibility, but you will find that your Lovebird will also use these as an area to wipe its beak so they will have to be cleaned frequently. In order to be effective, select a size that only allows the foot to go 3/4 of the way around the perch.

Lovebirds do have the ability to talk, but very few do. They also do not sing. Lovebirds have a variety of peeps, cheeps, chirps, and squeaks. An attentive Lovebird-parent will learn what many of these sounds mean to their birds. Lovebirds can have very shrill voices however, and should not be expected to be quiet at all times.

Lovebirds can be trained to do little tricks. However, it is much more likely that they will train you. You will quickly learn their likes and dislikes, what they want and when they want it, and you will love every minute of it.

There are 9 different Lovebird Species, which are broken up into three groups: the White Eye Ring group, the Intermediate group, and the Sexually Dimorphic group.

The White Eye Ring Group includes:

Masked Lovebirds:Length: 6 inches.The Black Masked and Blue Masked are the most common of this species, with many mutations including violet, lutinos, albinos and pieds, The parYellow and parWhite are are much more rare. All of these bird have a black mask. They have a red beak, yellow collar, green body, bluish rump, and black and red band on the tail. The Blue Masked also has a horn colored beak, white collar, blue body and tail.

Fischer's Lovebirds:Length: 4 inches.Normal Fischer's have an orange face and throat, red forehead, red beak, green body, and green tail with blue tips. There are also blue, yellow, seagreen, lutino, pied, and spangle mutations.

Black-Cheeked Lovebirds:Length: 4 inches.The overall color of these birds is green, with brown/black cheeks and forehead. The back of the head is yellow/green, and the throat is orange. They have a red beak, and green body. While no color mutations are known, many of these birds have been hybri dized with Maskeds, Nyasas, and Fischer's.

Nyasa Lovebirds:Length: 4 inches.Mainly green birds, with a red beak, red forehead, and orange/red throat and cheeks. The tail has a dark band near the tip. There is a Lutino mutation of the Nyasa Lovebird, which has a red head and yellow body. These Lutinos are smaller in size.

The Intermediate group consists of only:

Peach-Face Lovebirds:Length: 6-7 inches.The normal Peach-Face is primarily green, with a red face and throat and horn colored beak. They have blue rumps and a green tail with some black, rust, and red colors in it. There are more than 75 mutations of the Peach-Face. The most popular being the Lutinos with the same red head face, but with a yellow body, and the Blues who have a pale blue body and a softer peach colored face.

The Sexually Dimorphic groups includes:

Abyssinian or Black-Winged Lovebirds:Length: 6 inches.Both males and females are green, with the male having a red brow. The eye ring in males is more red, while the females is green. Tails are black tipped, and beaks are red. The underneath of the wings is black on a male, and either greenish or black/brow n on a female. There are a few rare mutations of these birds, including Olives and Cinnamons.

Madagascar or Gray-Headed Lovebirds.Length: 5 inches.The male birds have a gray upper body and head, the female has a lighter green where the male is gray. The rest of the body is varing shades of green with black feather tips, and a hazy yellowish color on the chest. The beak is a grayish color. There hav e been a few pied mutations, but they are rare.

Red-Face Lovebirds:Length: 6 inches.Primarily a green bird, the males have a bright red face, blue rump, and blacktips on the primary wing feathers, with some blue and black on the other wing feathers. The tail is green with red on the side feathers, and a blck band before the tip. The fem ales a paler orange face, with a smaller amount of color in the face then the male, and green wing feathers. Both have red beaks. There is a rare recessive blue mutation of the Red-Face Lovebirds.

Swindern's Black-Collared Lovebirds:Length: 5 inches.Swindern's are very rare birds. Little is known of them. They have a green head, yellowish throat, blue rump, red and black in the tail, a black band that runs across the back of the head, and a gray beak.

Breeding Lovebirds require a healthy diet consisting of a lot of greens as well as their regular diet. A bird on a seed-only diet will not be in top condition for breeding. The area that the breeding birds live in should be about 60F with the humidity at 40-50%. A nestbox is also required, and the standard parakeet size boxes sold in stores are fine for Lovebirds as well. Provide the Lovebirds with newspaper, palm fronds, branches of willow and fruit trees, or pine shaving for nesting materials. Usually a combination of these are best. Determined Lovebirds can build their nest in 4 or 5 days. The first egg is laid about 10 days after mating, and another egg is laid every other day until the clutch is 4 to 6 eggs. After 6 or 7 days, you should be able t o tell if the eggs are fertile by "candling" them. Hold the eggs gently near a bright light. If you can clearly see a dark spot surrounded by blood vessels, the egg is fertile. The incubation period for Lovebirds is 21 to 26 days.

Once the chicks hatch , make sure to provide a lot of good foods for the parents. They will be feeding the chicks, and should have corn, egg, greens, fruit and other foods available at all times. Fresh water is very important also, so be sure to replace their water often. Be sure to check that all the babies are being fed. Occasionally, you may have to handfeed a baby immediately. If the parents are feeding the babies properly, should continue to check them periodically anyway. If you plan on hand-feeding the babies, the bes t time to pull them is from 10 - 14 days old. If you don't pull them, the parents will kick the babies out of the nest at 5 to 6 weeks, and they should be eating on their own by then. The male Lovebird helps teach his chicks to eat regular foods.

Baby Lovebirds that are being hand-fed should be placed in a "hospital box". A small aquarium works well. Cover the bottom with soft towels, and place a heating pad under half the aquarium. Be sure to keep the birds warm. Hand-feeding can be done with a syrin ge or a spoon, although a syringe is the most popular choice. Hand-feeding formulas must be kept at the proper temperature, or the babies will either not eat, or develop crop problems. I won't go into too much detail here about hand-feeding, because it r equires a great deal of care and knowledge. Please ask your Avian Vet or local breeder to teach you how to do this. There are also a lot of books on this subject. Look at the Book Recommendation section of this FAQ.

Lovebirds usually wean around 8 week s old. Provide your babies with a lot of different foods, including soft food, small pieces of fruit and vegetables, seed, pellets and millet.

One of the most important things you can do when you purchase a bird is find an avian vet or one who specializes in birds. Birds are experts at hiding the symptoms of illness/disease because to appear sickly in their natural habitat is allow themselves to be vulnerable to attack by predators. By the time you see real signs of illness, you usually have a medical emergency that will require immediate medical attention. It's far better to have an avian vet and not need one than to need one and not have one. Since many medical emergencies seem to happen after normal veterinarian office hours, I make sure I have a phone number for any emergency clinic that can care for a sick bird. Those numbers are posted next to my phone so I never have to look for those them. Remember, seconds count when you have a sick bird.

Any behavior out of the ordinary for your bird can be a valid reason for seeking medical attention. Fluffed feathering, overly quiet, or change in eating habits can all be early signs of a problem. A Gram Stain is an easy, inexpensive test that can be used to determine the presence of bacteria or fungus. These are much easier to treat in the early stages than they are once the gram negative (bad bacteria) count or the yeast count become very high. When you suspect that your bird is sick, instead of asking a friend what might be wrong or trying over the counter medications that are available at your local pet shop, call your avian vet. Many illnesses have similar symptoms and tests are needed to determine the real problem. No medications should ever be given unless you know what you are treating. The wrong medication will not work and can alter results of any testing that might need to be done.

Lovebirds: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual. Author: Vriends

Breeding Lovebirds.Author: Silva & Kotlar

The Handbook Of Lovebirds.Author: Bielfeld & Heidenreich

The World Of Lovebirds.Author: Lantermann

All About Lovebirds.Author: Soderburg

The Professional's Book Of Lovebirds.Author: Coborn

Nutrition is the most commonly neglected element of owning a pet bird. Too often owners assume they are feeding a proper diet to their Lovebird when in fact they are not. Poor nutrition is a common source of many health problems.

It is important to continually strive to improve your bird's diet. This will involve reading, carefully interpreting and integrating the information along with a certain degree of 'common sense'. Above all, discuss nutrition with your veterinarian.

It is not enough to feed a Lovebird just to keep it alive. Proper nutrition will help it thrive and flourish. Your bird's entire health will depend on how well it is fed.

Lovebirds eat a variety of seeds, fruits, berries and vegetation such as leaf buds. Some species have been known to attack farmers' crops and are recognized as pests in their natural environment. A well balanced and varied diet must be maintained at all times.

Seeds are available everywhere, remain fresh when stored properly and are very convenient to feed. Although Lovebirds do eat seeds, they would naturally consume a far greater variety of seed types in the wild as different plants come into season than they do in captivity. An all-seed diet tends to be high in fat and provides an imbalanced source of nutrients that will lead to ill health and potentially shorten the life expectancy of your Lovebird.

Commercial seed mixes may contain from 4 - 10 different kinds of seeds and nuts. The problem that exists when offering a large container of seed to a Lovebird, is that the bird proceeds to selectively eat 1 or 2 of its 'favourite' types of seed only. Millet and sunflower seeds are often chosen preferentially. This, of course, leads to further malnutrition. If a smaller amount of a good quality seed mix is offered then it is likely the bird will eat a greater variety of seed. Offer less and they will eat better.

As a guideline, most Lovebirds can be maintained on 1 - 1.5 level 'measure' teaspoons of seed per bird, per day in a shallow dish depending on the size of the bird. If there is more than one Lovebird in the cage, separate dishes should be used for each bird to ensure those birds at the bottom of the 'pecking order' have a chance to eat. This may not be possible in a flock situation.

Any seeds left over in the dish at the end of the day could suggest that too many seeds were offered originally. Seeds should only be a small part of a balanced diet.

Pellets, crumble and hand-feeding mashes have been developed to meet all your bird's nutritional needs. Different formulations are available for different life stages and for the management of certain diseases. Hand raised babies are the easiest to start on a pelleted diet. Pellets are the ideal diet, therefore you are encouraged to slowly train 'seed-eating' birds to a pelleted diet.

Converting seed-eating birds ('seed-aholics') onto a formulated diet is not always easy. Being a new item in the cage, pellets are not identified immediately as food. Slowly wean the bird off seeds over a period of weeks while having pellets constantly available in a separate dish. Some people mix the pellets in a reduced amount of seed which may aid its acceptance in the cage but be aware that the bird will not accidentally eat a pellet.

It may take days, weeks or months to modify a bird's diet. NEVER withdraw seeds entirely without first being certain the bird is eating the formulated foods plus some fruits and vegetables. Birds are stubborn, but can be trained. Remember, you train the bird, do not let it train you.

This can be a stressful time for you and your Lovebird. Consult your veterinarian if encountering any problems with this adaptation or the health of the bird.

As a general rule regarding food offered to a bird, any wholesome, nutritious food that you and your family eat, your bird can eat. Fruits, vegetables and greens should account for approximately 20 - 25% of the diet. Pale vegetables, with a high water composition (i.e. Iceberg or Head lettuce, celery) offer very little nutritional value. Avocado is reported to be potentially toxic.

Fruits and vegetables must be washed thoroughly to remove chemicals and cut into manageable pieces depending on the size of the bird. It is not necessary to take the skin off. They should be offered in a separate dish.

Here is a tip to help get your bird to eat fruits and vegetables. Treat your bird like a small child; offer a large variety of food items daily and never stop trying.

Fresh clean water must be available at all times. Dishes must be cleaned thoroughly every day, especially the tube or gravity water containers.

Follow the general rule discussed above and your 'common sense'. Some birds even enjoy a small amount of lean meat, cheese or egg occasionally. Dairy products should be consumed in moderation. It would only be common sense that 'junk food' and alcoholic beverages be avoided.

Birds that are extremely young, stressed, injured, laying eggs or raising young may have certain special requirements. Consult your veterinarian with regard to these situations.

If your bird is on a great diet, does it need extra vitamins, minerals or amino-acids? There is much written about supplementation. The powdered supplements are often regarded as more stable. Mix these products with water or preferably apply directly onto moist food. Placing these powders on seeds or dried foods is of little value since it will ultimately end up on the bottom of the food dish.

One opinion suggests that a bird eating 75 - 80% of its diet in the form of pelleted or formulated food may not need supplements. Specific vitamins or minerals may be more important at various times during a bird's life (e.g. egg laying - requires calcium supplementation). Your veterinarian can help you assess your bird's diet and it's particular needs.

In the wild, a bird would naturally consume small stones, gravel or grit whenever it wishes to. This is to aid in the mechanical digestion of seeds and nuts. Controversy exists over its need in captivity especially with formulated diets. Offering a small amount in a separate dish will allow the bird to decide if it needs or wants it.

Never place gravel on the bottom of the cage as the bird is then forced to eat it out of its 'toilet', the dirtiest part of the cage. Gravel with charcoal in it is reported to absorb certain vitamins from the digestive tract making them unavailable to the bird. White oyster shell may be part of some gravel mixes. Some sick birds will eat inappropriate amounts of grit. If irregular or excessive consumption is witnessed, consult your veterinarian.

Always monitor the amount of food eaten every day by each bird
Offer fresh water every day
Offer fresh food every day
Offer fresh fruits and vegetables every day
Clean all food and water dishes daily
'No' to a food item one day does not mean 'no' forever - KEEP TRYING!

Apple Cherries (no pits) Pear

Apricots Chinese Greens (Bok Choy) Peas

Asparagus Capsicum (red, green) Pineapple

Banana Coconut Plum

Beans (cooked) eg. Corn Pomegranate

chick pea Cucumber Potato

kidney Dandelion Leaves Pumpkin

lentils Endive Rappini

lima Fig Raspberry

mung Grapes Rice (brown)

navy Grapefruit Romaine lettuce

soy Kale Spinach

Beet Kiwi Sprouted seeds

Blueberry Melons Squash

Broccoli Mango Strawberry

Brussel Sprout Nectarines Sweet Potato

Cabbage Orange Tomato

Cantaloupe Papaya Zucchini

Carrot Parsnip

Carrot tops Peaches