Feeding Lovebirds During Breeding Season

Birds have slightly different dietary requirements during the breeding season. Some mainly seed-eating birds (Lovebirds) raise their young purely on insects, which will therefore have to be in ample supply.

Egg food has proven to be valuable, too. It is a perfect supplement to the diet of most seed-eating birds during the breeding season. A great many of the problems that a bird breeder may experience are either directly or indirectly related too incorrect feeding.

It could be the case that the birds are being given too much food, but it could also be the case that a certain ingredient, which is absolutely essential for a particular species of bird, is not being given.

The types of problems that are likely to occur include:

• Eggs not hatching
• Parent not taking proper care of their young one
• Birds starting on new brood too soon
• Before the young that came out of the first eggs are able to fend for themselves
• Mortality among the young and
• A complete lack of breeding results

Mistakes relating to the type of food given are often made long before the birds start breeding. If birds that are going to be used for breeding purposes have not had a good basis, they will start thee breeding season in a mediocre condition.

Even when the young have already left the nest, it is still necessary to give the parents some extra food. They have exerted themselves and need some extra nutrient to regain their strength. This is why the importance of good food should never be underestimated.

Suitable Plants and shrubs in Your Lovebirds Aviary

Before placing beautiful plants in your lovebird’s aviary, you should ascertain is it really necessary to have plants in aviary. Don’t think your aviary is beautiful and natural look if you plant some ornamental plants. These plants will act as a hide outs and also act as place for building nests.

You should always plant shrubs, ivy, and other plants in such a way that the birds can still use the full length of the aviary as a flight area.

In practice, you should plant bigger shrubs and plants against the back of the aviary and smaller, broadly flaring shrubs in the center of the aviary. No aviary should be without climbers. You can guide the climbers along the underside of the roof to create some shade.

Although lovebirds are very destructive and plants are wasted on them, they do like to climb. Hence a fair-sized tree without any leaves on it can be placed in your lovebirds aviary.

Don’t think that perches are not necessary if you provide trees and shrubs inside the aviary. PERCHES are necessary to put in the aviary.

Suitable plants and shrubs should be identified before placing it inside the lovebird’s aviary. Some of the plants are poisonous to bird’s viz., Laburnum. The common plants and shrubs used in the aviary includes Pyracantha, hornbeam, thistle, rose, lilac, juniper, broom, ivy, spruce, privet, conifer, and elder.

Tips for Introducing New Lovebirds in the Cages of Lovebirds

If you have bought one or couple of new lovebirds and want to introduce them to an existing group in an aviary, it is best if you keep your latest acquisitions away from the other birds, either in a spacious cage or in a separate aviary for a couple of weeks.

If the birds turn out tube ill, they will then in any case not be able to infect the others. This period of quarantine may not be enough, however. If you have any doubts you can seek a veterinary surgeon- preferably one that is specialized in birds- to take a look at the birds, so that you can treat them before you put them in with the other birds.

In this way you can also find out whether the birds are eating enough and what type of feed they prefer. Once a bird has been released into a big aviary with other birds, it becomes almost impossible to do this.

Do not forget to ask the breeder what kind of and which brand the bird is used to. The move to a different environment is in itself already quite a dramatic experience for a bird and if you then also change its diet there is a great risk that the bird will become ill.

Later on, when the bird has got used to its new living environment, you can gradually introduce the new feed if you so wish. It is better to keep a bird that has been used to living in a (breeding) cage in a small cage inside the aviary. This will allow the bird to gradually get used to its environment and reduces the risk of the bird flying against the wire mesh in a panic.

After you have released the bird, you will have to keep a close eye on it during the first couple of days, as it might not be accepted by the other birds in the aviary. If you are aware of the fact that this might happen, you will be able to take the appropriate action if and when it does.

Lovebirds Transport

Birds can be transported in many different ways depending on the species and size of the bird. Small and medium-sized birds are generally transported in small cardboard boxes, which is fine if the trip to their new home is not going to take very long.

In addition, it is possible to buy or borrow special carrying cages to transport several birds at the same time or to transport birds with sharp beaks. Please bear in mind that birds may experience being moved from one place to another as something very stressful and this will certainly be the case if they are exposed to too many different impressions.

It is best to keep birds in a dark place during transport as birds generally keep very quiet when they cannot se much. You should place the carrying cage in a box. It goes without saying that fluctuations in temperature should be avoided during transportation. Happy Journey!!!

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 ring should 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 alwaays 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 those closed rings without actually hurting them. You should nevertheless be particularly careful if the bird is not wearing a closed ring.

Lovebirds Cage Hygiene made easy...

If you keep and breed lovebirds, lovebirds cage hygiene is of utmost importance. That is why cages and aviaries need to be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis.

Lovebirds cage hygiene needs to be maintained regularly and mostly 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.

If you want to save labor costs, you can decide to seive the ground cover of the cage or aviary. In this method, the droppings and waste food can be removed easily.

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 best-known and most frequently used type of ground cover for lovebirds 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 lovebird's cage or aviary should be disinfected on a regular basis. You can buy safe-cleaning agents from the pet shops for maintaining lovebirds cage hygiene. 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.

Points to be Considered while Buying a New Lovebird

Regardless of whether you are buying your new birds from a pet breeder or a shop, you will always have to be alert to any possible underlying problems. You should first of all pay attention to the lovebird’s behavior; you’re better off not buying a bird that shows stereotypical or apathetic behavior or a bird that is very nervous.

The birds feather should be shiny and should be neatly aligned. The bird should furthermore not show any signs of ailments or itchiness. This may be an indication of a parasite.

Make sure you pay attention to its beak; it should have the right shape. The beaks of the some birds don’t grow correctly and as a result they do not wear down very evenly.

Make sure you count the number of toes as well. If one or more toes are missing this may have been caused by aggressive birds living in the same cage or otherwise by frost. Even though this can do little harm in slight cases, such as mutilation is nevertheless a flaw.

Make sure you do not buy birds that are clearly gasping for air or that keep closing eyes or keep their eyes half-open.

Hold the lovebird in your hand and study the area around its anus. It should be clean and should not contain any sticky or wet feathers or even bits of droppings.

Feel the lovebird’s breastbone. You would better off not buying a bird with a protruding breastbone and the same applies to birds with swollen stomach or bluish skin color.

Get to now the diseases of lovebirds before you choose a specimen for you. Once you’re familiarized with the disease symptoms, you can easily recognize them in the birds. Some of the diseases can’t be identified by a layman. Hence it is highly advisable to buy your lovebird from someone reliable or seek the help of an experienced bird-keeper.

If you’re going to breed the lovebirds, it is not entertained to procure the birds from a same nest. In addition to this a faithful or good breeder won’t try to fob you off with lovebirds that are related when you explain what you intend to use them for.

Thinks to Think Before Buying a Lovebird

If you want to buy a lovebird please make sure that the bird is a young one. Older birds are also occasionally offered for sale as family pets but if they are not used to living in a family there is a serious risk that they will never become the tame bird you have always looked for.

In the case of lovebirds it is possible to determine the age of a bird by its beak., which is partially black when the bird is still young. In these species the fact that the birds have eyes that are uniformly dark, i.e/ do not have a white or russet iris., also often points to the birds being young.

If you do not know a great deal about lovebirds, take someone with you who can advise you or buy your bird from someone who is reliable, for example, a breeder who is known for his or her knowledge.

A lot of lovebirds are hand reared by the breeders. A major advantage of this is that the birds become used to humans at an early age and accept them as one of their own. Consequently they’re not afraid of humans and very quickly become tame. The fact that lovebirds are hand-reared does, however, also have a number of drawbacks, namely that the natural breeding and nurturing behavior of the lovebirds is interfered with.

There is fairly big risk that a hand-reared bird will have problems raising its own offspring later on—that is if this bird accepts a bird of same species as its partner. If you want to use a lovebird for breeding purposes you would be better off buying a bird that has been raised by its parents.

Baby Lovebirds Feeding

You may be worried if your baby lovebird is eating nothing except seeds. Most of my clients are asking this question- what else we can feed except seeds.

Most of the baby lovebirds won’t love to take any fruits. But most of the literature explain that adult lovebirds are fond of fruits but they will forget to tell an important fact of feeding one important fruit for the baby lovebirds- it is nothing but BANANA.

It may turn its face once you feed oranges, pears, apples, etc. But feeding the baby lovebirds with banana make them crazy to eat. Try banana it won’t turn away. Bananas are not only good in taste but it is good for health also!

When your baby lovebird gets a little older, you can try with cooked brown rice, cooked pasta, raw carrots (use a potatoes peeler), raw broccoli, etc. Once they crossed two months old, introduce pellets not seed. Seeds can be used just like that of candies for your baby lovebirds. (Now she is not a baby lovebird-she is an adult one…)

Lovebirds Nail Care

Lovebirds nail may become too long, especially when the perches are too thin or too smooth. Apart from the facts that it is not very comfortable for lovebirds to have long nails, they can also cause deformities of the toes and feet.

You should, therefore, take a regular critical look at your lovebird's nails and clip them if necessary.

You may find this task rather frightening the first time. You may be able to ask an experienced bird-keeper to help you. Bear in mind that you should only clip the tip of toenails.

You should make sure that you never touch the tip of the nail that is still "alive". This will cause the claw to start bleeding- sometimes for a long period- and will turn nail clipping into a painful and traumatic experience for your bird.

Once you have clipped your bird's nails several times it will become a routine job that will only take a few minutes. If, however, you find it a problem you had better ask someone else to do it for you. That is always better than letting the bird go through life with long nails.