Hygiene in lovebirds cage

If you keep and breed birds, hygiene is of utmost importance. That is why cages and aviaries need to be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis. Just how often this needs to happen depends on the size of the cage or aviary, the number of birds living in it, the season, and the amount of droppings, waste food etc. To save costs, some people decide to sieve the ground cover of the cage or aviary, so that droppings and waste food are removed. Any invisible waste cannot, however, be removed by sieving, so that the risk of contamination remains. When you clean the ground cover of the cage, shed, or night house, you should remove the entire layer and replace it with a completely new one. The type of ground cover you should use will depend on the species of bird you keep. The best-known and most frequently used type of ground cover is shell sand, but wood chips, clean river sand and even pebbles are sometimes also used as a ground cover.

The walls, bars, and the floor of the cage or aviary should be disinfected on a regular basis. You can buy safe-cleaning agents from the pet shops. Perches, troughs, and baths should also be scrubbed out regularly with a disinfectant. The more hygienically you set about this, the less likely you are to be confronted with problems.

Closed Ring in Lovebirds

Congratulations!!! At last you have purchased a healthy lovebird. The next thing you should look at is their closed ring. All young birds born in captivity at a breeder’s wear a closed ring showing, among other things the year in which they were born.

A closed rings hold not be confused with a tag, which can be put on the leg of an adult bird to help identify it among other similar birds of the same species. If the bird is not wearing a closed ring, then it might have been imported (illegally) or caught illegally.

You should be particularly wary if the bird you are being offered belongs to a protected species or a species that is subjected to legal restrictions with respect to how the bird should be kept and ownership transferred to others and is not wearing a closed ring.

A missing closed ring does not always automatically means that something illegal is going on. If the breeder is not a member of a bird association, ten he will not be able to get these rings for his lovebirds. In such cases, it usually means that the bird was bred by a hobbyist or by accident.

In exceptional cases, it sometimes happens that the young birds have grown too fast, as a result of which it is no longer possible to fit them closed rings without actually hurting them. You should nevertheless be particularly careful if the bird is not wearing a closed ring.

Why do lovebirds pull out there feathers?

f you do perform lovebirds care really, you should know why do lovebirds pull out there feathers. Pulling feathers, one by one, and watching them float to the bottom of the cage can be fun to do if there is nothing. The reasons for feather plucking varies from maturity, abuse and neglect, dietary deficiency, boredom or lack of stimulus, changes or emotional upset, over grooming by mate, habit or medical problems (fungal or mold growths).

Lovebirds are playful by nature and it loves to follow you around on your shoulder. So it your duty to take care of your lovebirds perfectly. The most possible remedy to correct this anomaly is to determine the cause for feather plucking. The best way to prevent feather-plucking and to keep those beautiful feathers on your bird, is to provide your pet with plenty of exercise, entertainment and companionship. If it is a habit, it is mandatory to provide a mate to over coming this behavior. If it is due to hormonal change, which will be usually noticed during maturity. If the skin plucking is progressive and the skin started showing open pores, this is the high time to seek an appointment form your avian vet.

What to do when my incubating lovebird died?

This is a rare occasion. But the owners who are performing lovebirds care should know what to do when their incubating lovebird died due to any disease or any untoward incident. Sometimes, the lovebirds won’t sit on the clutch due to some external influence like noise from construction, etc.

You can switch the eggs from one nest to another nest within the cage to get young ones. Even you can place the lovebirds egg in cockatiels nest until both birds feed their young the same way, it should work. Just take the eggs from the lovebirds and quickly switch them with the cockatiels, then leave the room so you don't scare them. If not, it was worth a try.

Photo courtesy: http://www.kariyerdunyam.com: 

Will canary pox affects Lovebird?

Canary pox is a dreadful disease because the affected lovebirds will show 80% mortality. Some may get escaped from the disease but may act as carrier during lifetime.

The symptoms of canary pox in lovebirds include skin lesions around featherless areas of the head, particularly the eyelids. Small nodules and scabs may be seen which in severe cases may result in a lot of swelling and inflammation.

The virus needs a break in healthy skin to start an infection; this may be a small wound or the result of some insect bite where the insect can transmit the infection from bird to bird. Insect transmission is probably a major factor for birds in outdoor aviaries.

In most cases, these cutaneous forms of pox are self-limiting and the birds will recover with only some residual scarring. There is also a more aggressive form of the disease which involves the upper respiratory tract; in these cases the infection may result in the death of the bird due to swelling and inflammation of the breathing passages.

Treatment can be performed by vaccination against pox, which is readily available in the open market.