Promising You Brighter Days When You Take One Of Our Babies Home!
Taking Care of Lovebirds:
Cage:
The BIGGER the better!
Lovebirds especially need a flight cage. Their home needs to provide them with enough room to exercise and spread their wings, they also need extra space for their toys, branches, food, and water. Their cage should be no smaller than a 30 x 18 x 18 and should be wider than it is taller (or 24 x 24 x 24).
Absolutely NO round cages! I also recommend, if you can afford it, an outdoor aviary. The best environment for any bird during the day is outdoors, so building an aviary will provide your bird with lots of room to play.
If you can't afford an outdoor aviary then I recommend buying a play area for your bird when he/she is outside the cage.
Exercise:
Lovebirds love to fly!
A flight cage is perfect for getting some much-needed exercise. They can fly from perch to perch and they also love hopping around. This, of course, doesn't cut it when it comes to exercise requirements for Lovebirds so they will need time outside of their cage daily. When a lovebird is out of the cage you will need to make sure there are no windows or doors open, no fans on, and no other pets, like dogs or cats, in the room. Some people choose to clip their Lovebird's wings for safety reasons. This is understandable, however, wing clipping should be used as a last resort. It is like you living your life without hands, it would be uncomfortable and hard to do basic things. Do not try and clip their feathers at home, go to a licensed AVIAN veterinarian to show you how. Also, do not clip more than 3 feathers on each wing. Most of the feathers on a lovebird aren't used for flight but used for every day balancing.
A flighted parrot is a happier and healthier parrot! There are also bird harnesses available if you want your bird to go outside when flighted.
Diet:
Variety is the spice of life!
"All seed" diets are absolutely horrible for any species of bird, especially lovebirds. A bird's quality of life and health is compromised on just an "all seed" diet. The best diet for a lovebird is pellets, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. Seeds should not make more than 10% of a lovebird's daily diet. Pellets should make 35%, veggies make 35%, fruits make 10%, grains make 10% and seeds should make 10%. An all pelleted diet is also equally as detrimental to Lovebirds as all seed diets. There is simply too much protein content in pellets which in turn can cause kidney and liver issues.
Products with sugar and salt are not suitable for parrot consumption. It is important to avoid the following products, as they can be toxic and dangerous if consumed by your pet parrot; Chocolate, Avocado, caffeine, alcohol, rhubarb, fruit seeds, and onions.
Acceptable Vegetables: Lettuce (not iceberg), green peas, spinach, endive, mango leaves, strips of kohlrabi, carrots, carrot tops, fresh corn, tomatoes, radish, red beets, parsley, dandelion, clover, chickweed, sprouts, watercress, broccoli, cucumber, dried peppers, and kale.
Wheatgrass is a wonderful food for lovebirds as it is high in
chlorophyll and a number of vitamins and minerals.
Acceptable Fruits: Apples, pears, bananas, grapes, strawberry, raspberry, rose hips, pitted cherries, oranges, tangerines, kiwi, figs, melon. If you get dried fruits, be certain they are sulfite free.
Enrichment & Mental Stimulation:
Lovebirds love to chew and forage!
In the wild, you will see them foraging and chewing branches, flowers, grass, and nuts all day long, so it is an essential part of a bird's day to foraging and chew! Branches and bark perches are essential enrichment tools that help to keep lovebirds busy and healthy! Toys are also a big part of keeping lovebirds busy mentally and physically. Remember, lovebirds in the wild fly miles a day, visit up to 10 to 20 spots a day and forage, chew and destroy trees that they land in. Lovebirds are intelligent, inquisitive and messy. It is vital that you keep your lovebirds busy, so as to prevent your parrot from becoming bored and developing behavioral issues. Obviously, we cannot provide them in captivity what they would receive from the wild, but we can at least make their lives exciting and fun.
Foraging toys and puzzle toys are great for lovebirds. I recommend at least one puzzle/foraging toy in their cage at all times and 2-3 different toys in their cage as well. Toys should be rotated minimum weekly and new toys should be added at minimum monthly.
Sunlight & Bathing:
Lovebirds are wild at heart!
Lovebirds need to bath at least once or twice a week and receive a daily dose of direct sunlight. Bathing and sunlight help to keep their feathers in good condition. Sunlight provides the essential vitamin D3, which helps keeps lovebirds healthy. Having a bird near a window does not provide the essential sunlight a lovebird requires, as the window blocks out the UV rays. Remember, lovebirds are designed to live in the wild, just because we keep them in captivity does not mean that they do not require what is naturally essential to keep them healthy.
Companionship:
In the wild, lovebirds live in flocks!
You will never see a lovebird by their self in the wild, they are always with their mate or with a flock of other lovebirds. It is an essential survival tool for lovebirds in the wild to always be around other birds. Since this behavior is a natural inbuilt instinct, it is important to a bird in their mind to always have a mate or family. This is why lovebirds become such loved companions because they normally choose one of us to be their mate. Your lovebird MUST be let out of their cage at least for two hours a day, especially my babies because they are used to daily human interaction and play! If you find yourself not spending time with your lovebird the best and right thing to do is to get him/her a friend. Lovebirds are like bright and demanding children that never grow up. They require lots of mental and physical stimulation with double the amount of love and attention.
Avian Vet:
Lovebirds are wild animals and have special needs!
It is vital that you find a qualified avian vet, who is an expert in keeping birds happy and healthy. When you purchase a new lovebird it is important that you take him/her to the vet to clear them of disease, bacteria, and worms. Remember lovebirds natural instinct is that they are prey in the wild, therefore to protect themselves from predators they hide their sickness, so in captivity, their instinct will still be to not show signs of illness until it is too late.