Lovebirds Droppings- The Secrets Revealed

Most of the pet bird lovers are confused with the normal droppings of lovebirds with that of abnormal one. Generally the lovebirds pass watery droppings. As a lovebird owner you should know the constituents of normal droppings.

Lovebird's droppings consist of three separate components including feces, urine and urates. Since the bird pushes the droppings out of one orifice, the vent, all three portions of the droppings are mixed in the cloaca before being passed out of the body.

The Feces

The feces of the lovebirds are solid and worm-like, may be dark green in color. In addition to this, the color of the feces varies mostly what the bird has recently consumed. It can be alarming to the owner if he sees reddish color feces, as this may be interpreted as blood. Hence it is utmost important for the lovebirds breeder to see what their lovebirds are consuming, so that color changes can be correctly evaluated.

If the fecal portion of the droppings is very sticky, tarry, dark, and dark green, then the lovebird doesn't eat any solid food for the past 24 hours. Usually the lovebird breeders often mistaken for digested blood in the droppings, but it is really a kind of bile (biliverdin) from the liver.

The Urine
You can notice the watery droppings in case the feces portion is missing in the droppings, which is an indicative of increase in the urine level. Most of the lovebirds breeders will consider that their bird is passing diarrhea, but it is not so. If the feces is solid with no urine at all, it is not diarrhea.

Missing of brown or green solid fecal portion with watery droppings is an indicative of diarrhea. Some types of diarrhea will show gas bubbles in the droppings, which is an indicative of presence of anerobic bacteria.

Urates

The last part of the lovebirds dropping is urates. It is the end product of protein metabolism in the avian system. This product is filtered in kidney and evacuated in droppings. If your lovebird is showing yellow and green urates, then the avian patients are suffering from liver problem and chlamydophila infection respectively.

As bottom line, the lovebird breeders should aware that when birds consume greens or fruits, it would lead to diarrhea. Some of the breeders are having false opinion about this fact.

Moreover, if your lovebird is nervous, the droppings would be more watery, which is due to high blood pressure than normal.

Any deviation in the lovebirds dropping should brought to the notice of your avian vet immediately to save your valuable lovebirds life.

What do you Feed For the Peach-faced Lovebirds?

Peach-faced lovebirds are voracious feeders. Give these birds a seed mixture suitable for lovebirds which you can supplement with small amounts of fruit, berries, green food and Italian millet.

During the breeding season, they like to eat small quantities of supplements and egg food and they should also have access to a grit mixture.

In my aviary I feed my birds frozen mixed veggies- any variety is fair. Do serve the vegetables after boiling it in a pot (place the veggies in a pot, bring to a boil) and cool them by running cold water.

Some of the lovebirds owner place broccoli stems in a food processor or cabbage and carrot together- most of the lovebirds love it like anything.

The main prerequisites to make your bird hale and healthy is be patient and do provide your lovebirds a good variety of fresh veggies for at least three weeks or until your lovebird eats the treat.

Even you can use good cockatiel seed mixture with added raw sunflower seeds, 12 grain cereal mix, and wheat germ for the lovebirds feed. Even you can add about 2-3 teaspoons of oyster shells to each batch of seed mixture.

Housing Tips for Peach Faced Lovebirds

Peach-faced lovebirds , which during recent years have become one of the most popular sorts of cage birds, can be kept whether in a cage or an indoor or outdoor aviary. It does not matter much if the cage or aviary is higher than it is long or vice-versa.

However, the cage or aviary must be made of sturdy materials and be resistant to the birds powerful beaks. There is not much point putting plants in the aviary because the lovebirds will gnaw them to pieces in no time.

Peach-faced lovebirds are strong birds which do not require any heating if kept in an outdoor aviary during the winter. However, they should have access to a frost-free night house. You should also provide them with a (roosting) box in which they will use on cold nights.

Social Characteristics of Peach Faced Lovebirds

As you know already peach faced lovebirds are native of Southwest Africa. At first glance, there appears to be no difference between sexes. An experienced breeder can feel the difference between the pelvic bones which are wider apart in the case of the females of the species.

These lovebirds usually get on well together. They occasionally squabble but these confrontations are rarely serious. They can be kept together with other, spirited species of parakeet. Delicate and smaller birds should not be kept in the same aviary or cage.

Single birds can also be kept provided they are given sufficient attention. You can keep two birds, of whatever sex, in a cage in the living room without any problems arising. However, you should never simply introduce a new bird into a cage containing an existing single bird. The new bird will often be regarded as an intruder and will also be treated as such.

It is better to keep both birds in different accommodation or let them get used to each other for quite a long time by placing the cages close together.

Peach-Faced Lovebirds Breeding

Peach-Faced Lovebirds are quite easy to breed when compared to other species. However, pairing the birds can be quite difficult since the two sexes are very similar. It is best not to try breeding lovebirds younger than a year.

Lovebirds can be called as "pitbull of birds" and for good reason. Generally the hen can show aggression towards on its mate with no warning. You can find one dead bird in the cage once you return from office. Hence getting a suitable pair is really difficult. If you're successful in finding a suitable pair, then you will be rewarded with few clutches of cute little baby lovebirds.

A nest box with a surface area of approximately 10 sq. inches (25 sq. cm) is sufficient. In contrast to most other parakeets, these birds do make nests, usually using coarse twigs that they gnaw into strips.

Between 3 and 5 eggs are laid which the female incubates for between approximately 18 and 20 days. Fledging occurs at least a month or one and a half months after hatching. The very young birds of this species are recognizable due to their partially black beaks. Peach-Faced Lovebirds may well produce a number of clutches per year.