Grooming and Training of Lovebirds

Lovebirds Grooming

The love birds are very intelligent creatures. They know to keep their beak trim. These love birds manage this by chewing seeds and other things. But the love birds cannot keep their nail trim. The pet owner must help these love birds to trim their nail. Nail trimming is an easy task. You can easily pick a bird nail trimmer from market. One should buy the guillotine type that is best suited for the love birds. But one should know how to trim the nail of the love birds with the help of nail trimmers. One can approach the vet for their guidance or can get the information from the pet shop or on line.

Just as the case of other pet animals, the love birds enjoy their bath. Bathing keeps the skin and the feather of the love birds clean and healthy. The love birds enjoy bathing with their owner. One should have the habit of misting the love bird every day.

Lovebirds Training

Lovebird training is very easy but one requires lot of patience and persistence. There is a difference in the grasping capacity between birds to bird. Some love birds learn training faster while some others are slow learners. The hand fed love birds learn faster than parent fed birds. The younger love birds learn faster than older love birds. Likewise peach faced love birds learn faster than many other love birds’ species.

Training can be started as early as possible. As much as possible you be gentle and sweet to the love birds. While training the arms and the fingers should be introduced to the cage. The training session should not be more that 20 minutes at a time. Train the love bird to hop on to the finger with specific command. Reward the love bird for any successful completion of work. The love birds can mimic the sounds of the owner if trained properly.

What is the best food to feed love birds?

Of late, more and more people are going for love birds to have them as their pet. These lovely little creatures are very cute looking and intelligent hence are adored by one and all. These love birds are excellent stress busters. These birds can perform many tricks and enthral the audience if trained properly. Most of the pet owners are not aware what the best food for these cute little creatures is. Let us discuss about that in this article.

The food provided should be preferred by the love birds. Seed mix of good quality is what is required for the love birds. Budgie seed added with white sunflower, mung beans, hemp, groats is the best for the cold weather. Love birds can also be provided with fresh good quality fruits such as mango, apple, grapes, pears etc and vegetables such as broccoli, pak chio, kale, sweet corn cob etc. love birds can also be provided young bamboo leaves.

The love birds enjoy soaked sprouting seed. The above mentioned seeds can be soaked in warm water. The mixture can be kept as it is over night and allowed to drain. Then the same is placed in warmth till it sprouts. Generally it takes 2 -3 days for sprouting. This sprout should be rinsed once again before feeding the love birds. This sprout is not mere a food but an excellent tonic for the love birds.

The love birds require sufficient minerals for the health of the birds. Hence provide cuttle bones as they are natural source of minerals. Mineral blocks are available in the pet stores and always have them ready for usage. If one follows diligently the details provided in this article, the love birds of theirs will be always at brim of health and the colour of the love birds will be as attractive as ever.

Lovebirds Bathing and Grooming

The lovebirds love bathing. These birds will use their water bowl as their swimming pool and dive in it and take a bath at least few times in a week. In case the love bird of yours is not doing this activity, you should splash water on it to clean the dirt on the body.

One should have deep bowl filled with water in the cage while trying to splash the water on the love bird. You should also play with that water with your finger to attract the love bird to bath in the water. In general, the love bird gets attracted to bathing while one attempts this technique

The room temperature water can be sprayed on the love bird. The problem with this technique is that some love birds do not enjoy this spraying. Spraying the water should be done on alternate days not daily. Molting love birds just love the spraying very much. Complete soaking of the love bird should be attempted once a week and not more.

After bathing, the lovebird should be provided safe perch. The diameter of the perch should suit the requirement of the lovebird so that the lovebird can grip it properly. This is must because; the love birds can not fly as the wings are wet. One must be very cautious about this otherwise the lovely pet will hurt itself by losing its balance and falling on the floor.

There are so many lovebirds accessories are available in the market. The one that is required most is shower perch with suction pumps. This accessory can be attached to the wall of the shower. This way the love bird will enjoy nice rain shower. The head of the shower should be positioned in such a way that the force of the water should not rattle the love bird. The water should fall on them as mist.

Can you Keep Only One Love Bird?

There is a myth that the love birds should be kept as pairs only. This is absurd. The love birds can be kept as single bird, there are no qualms. But one has to definitely spare sufficient time with that lovely creature, else you are bound to have so many issues like behavioral problems, health problems etc. just like any other pet, the love birds too require constant attention, companionship, love etc. These little creatures certainly deserve the owner’s attention and time, is it not?

If not sufficient attention is provided, there can be several problems such as aggressive behavior, frequent screeching, excessive plucking of feathers, depression etc. if you are busy most of the time, then the best solution is providing a companion for these lovely little creatures.

The companion should be nothing but another love bird. It is good to have a love bird of the same species. Mixing up the species in love birds is not at all advisable. Match the peach faced love bird with the same variety but not with any other variety such as black masked love bird species. The reason is very simple; the love birds are very aggressive to other species and will never get along well.

Besides the love birds reproduce very often. The pet owner should be well prepared for that. It is not easy to find out the sex of the love birds by the physical appearance. DNA testing is the answer to the sex identification. All one has to do is sending the few feathers of the love bird to the near by veterinary hospital which has DNA analysis facility. It is always better to have love birds of opposite sex so that you will be benefited by the constant increase in the stock size.

Love birds – an Overview

Love birds are birds that one must fall in love with. It is hard to resist the temptation of loving these birds. These parrot species have Africa as their origin and these love birds are slowly but steadily becoming the house hold pets of late. In America love bird petting started in 20 Th century.

Many are of the opinion that the love birds have to be kept in pairs rather than solitary bird. In fact that belief is not right. But one should ensure sufficient time is allotted to the love bird if they are kept as solitary birds. There are so many love bird varieties are available at present. Peach faced love bird is the most popular love bird.

The love birds are fun to watch. If you are not in good mood, all you have to do is just sit near the love bird and watch them play with you for few minutes. I am sure you will get back you lost energy and joy. The love birds love to travel around you by sitting in the shoulder. They will even try to play hide and seek game with you.

The love birds are very intelligent creatures and they shower lot of love and affection on you. The love birds can be trained to perform so many tricks. The love birds can be trained to kiss the owner .the love birds can talk and even whistle if trained properly. The speech of the love bird will be clear and distinct.

The love birds are very sensitive creatures and hence never behave harsh with them. Let the love birds not be underestimated by its size. Though these creatures are small, the temperament of the love birds is very big. Many people prefer love birds because of two important reasons. They are intelligent and these creatures can be trained with ease.

Pros and cons of owning a pet love birds

Many are not aware why love birds are named so. It is because these birds are monogamous in nature and spend lot of time sitting on a tree along with his partner. Love birds are creatures with some personality and these birds are compared with parrot because parrots and love birds are similar looking. But there are definitely few differences between them. One should keep this in mind before making the final decision.

The brightly colored love birds are preferred by many as they look like mini parrots and can be domesticated easier than most of the other birds. Though these love birds are small, the energy level and the curiosity are much more. These love birds enjoy playing with a ball. These love birds will peck any block or bells kept in the cage or hanging from the cage. It is better to provide toys or balls made up of metal or wood because the beak of the love bird is very strong. The toys of other material would be damaged very fast.

The love birds do not talk like parrot but at the same time these birds are not silent either. If you are one who wants to enjoy the bird mimicking the sounds you produce, then you should think of parrots not love birds. The love birds will chirp to the owner as well as to their partner. Mostly these sounds are high pitched chatter and only occasionally a melodious.

Though the love birds are very affectionate and communicable with their partner, they are not so social with other birds. If you want to house all the birds of different species together in the cage, then better do not buy love birds. This is because the love fight with the other birds and at times the fight will end in death of the birds. But one should not get discouraged because of this as the lover birds are excellent stress busters and can bring in loads of joy to your family. Just try sitting near them and watching their play and chirping, the worries will vanish as early as possible.

The love birds will not be just sitting in the cage. They will be flying here and there in the cage. The cage need not be very big, love birds will enjoy even in the limited space available in the cage. If there is a swing, they will swing in it and play with the ball provided and their energy levels are awe some.

As the name suggests the love birds are not only love their partner but also their owner. It is true that the love bird take little time in developing the bond with the owner, but once the bond is developed they will play with the owner like anything. They will come and sit in the finger. They will fly around the house but will not fly out of the house. If you teach few tricks, the love birds will love to perform the same to the owner in order to amuse him.

Love bird health-how to take the proper care of your love bird

The health of the love birds is very important and it is the duty of the owner to take care of the health of the love bird. Good diet is the key for the health of the love birds. Vegetables and fruits should be given to the love birds as much as possible. The following vegetables are good for the love birds. They are peas, beans, potatoes, cucumber, mush rooms, tomato, carrots, cabbage, etc. fruits such as pear, papaya, peach, banana, apple, melons etc are best suited for them. Avocados are not good for the love birds and hence should be avoided.

Full cereals and whole grains such as barley and multigrain can be given to the love birds. Sprout, rice, weeds, and seeds such as sesame seeds, sunflowers seeds also can be provided to the love birds. One should be care full in avoiding Lima as well as navy beans are they are lethal to love birds.

In addition to this any healthy food that is low in fat can be given to the love birds, no hassle about it. The food provided may be in the pellet form also but ensure required amount of water is provided. The owner should be very careful in not over feeding the love birds they can develop lipomas and will suffer with weight related health problems.

The love birds are in general vegetarian creatures and hence only encourage them to feed on vegetarian diet. As much as possible the meat should be avoided in the feed. The love birds will learn eating the food from the fellow birds in the cage. Let the bird be provided with vegetable protein for the growth and health of the so many other systems of the body.

The love birds should be watched closely for behavioral issues. The unwanted habits are developed only when the love birds are stressed or bored. The love birds should be engaged most of the time in order to avoid the boredom. The owner should interact with the birds as much as possible when he is at home. Television or audio set should be playing in the home and the love birds shed should be located in such as way that they can have a clear view of the television. It is advisable to play discovery channels or animal planet so that the love birds will see other animals and will feel comfortable. It is always better to buy the love bird that was bred in captivity. The wild love birds can not enjoy their life in cage as they can not fly and will get bored soon.

The owner should pay little attention to the cage of the love birds. The cage of the love bird should not be small and should have sufficient space for the birds to play within. Flying is not only the inherent habit of the birds but it is also a form of exercise and which is very essential for the health of the love birds.

Lovebirds as Pets- Five Things to know about Lovable Lovebirds

Are you raising lovebirds as pets? Then, this article would be a great boon for you. Love birds are very beautiful creatures and are nothing but small parrots. Often these love birds are confused with peach faced birds because of the size and col0r these two birds share. Love birds are available in so many colors and every one is sure to delight the potential owner. Let’s discuss five important things to the lovebird owners who are keeping lovebirds as pets...

1. Singles or doubles

The pet owner can go in for one bird or two depending on his liking and life style. If one can spend time with the periodically and can think of having one bird. The others who cannot spare their time with birds for long time, then they should consider two birds. Having two birds will certainly benefit the love birds as each will be companion for the other and will stay healthy for long time. But the owner should be aware that the expense will be double. The other danger is that the birds will develop stronger bond between them than the owner.

2. Let’s do lunch

The food provided to the lovebirds should have all the nutrients required. Lovebirds care starts right from its nutrition. The birds should be provided clean water all the time. The fruits, vegetables, seeds, sprouts etc should be provided periodically. Cut bones/ Cuttle fishes need to be provided as a source of calcium. Let the color of the food and the texture change to make the birds enjoy the food. For information about the recipe one can log on the internet. One can get information about home made foods for the love birds. The love birds should NEVER BE GIVEN chocolate, alcohol and caffeine as they are toxic to love birds.

3. May I have your attention please?

The love birds require lot of attention. Hence please spend your leisure time with the love birds as much as possible. Your attention will keep the birds not only happy but also healthy. The love birds will be emotionally attached with the owner, if more time is spending with them. Daily interaction with the love bird will help to eliminate the unwanted behaviors such as biting the other pet, biting the people, feather plucking etc

4. Did you stay quiet?

The love birds will be constantly making noise. Some may think that it is nasty. Some may just enjoy this and consider it as normal. The noise level depends on the love birds you have and the tolerance level of the owner and his family. If it is individual house with lawns and garden then the noise level can be very well tolerated. But in apartments, the love bird’s noise may become a problem for you and the neighbors. The love birds are not generally good talkers but at times they can speak few words.

5. Love is in the air

For the health of the bird, the quality of the air also matters most. High efficiency particle arresting air purifier is the best and can be recommended. This air purifier removes the pollutants in the air which carries the bacteria and viruses that will lead to infection there by causing serious health problem. This air purifier will help the love bird happy and healthy.

So, you have learned few things to keep your lovebirds as pets. This will definitely help your lovebirds to live hale and healthy.

Love Birds Training

Training love bird is not so difficult like the training of the dog. With love and patience the love birds can be trained with ease. Reward system works well for the love bird training. But the fact of the matter is most people just buy these love birds with no knowledge of training and caring these lovely creatures.

Providing proper feed and protecting the love birds from other dangers is not enough. The love birds can be trained to wave, spin and to make basket. The training should be first attempted on eliminating the undesired habits if there is any. Along with this, one can train the love birds to learn fun tricks. This way the boredom of the bird is chased away and the bond between the owner and bird becomes stronger. By this the bird will be happy, so also the owner. Sounds great is it not?

Learning the training trick is very easy now a day. Of course there are so many training manuals available. But those are out dated now. Technology is so developed and video tapes are available in the market which teaches the owner how to go about the love bird training. Some of the video tapes are so real that they actually train is untrained love bird and record the same and sell it in the market. There literally unmanageable bird is getting trained in front of your eyes. All one has to do is just to follow the same with your lovely love birds.

If trained properly the love birds will start behaving smartly and the vices are totally removed and the love bird and the owner can live in harmony. While training the love bird the owner will be spending lot of time with the bird. This way the owner will earn the trust and love of the birds. The chemistry and the bond will be strengthened. The quality time spent on the bird will certainly improve the health of the owner by reducing the stress level.

Once you are thorough with the training procedure of love bird, you can practice the same with your subsequent purchases and get the desired result so quickly. Very shortly you can also think of releasing a video tape in the market about love bird training. Nothing wrong in earning some money out of it and the same can be used for future purchase of love birds.

One can be very sure that training lover birds in incredibly satisfying. The bird will come to you and sit in your finger and do what ever you want them to do. One can not have better feeling than this. The love birds will what all they know to amuse you as they will just love you so much for the quality time spent on them? The kids in the house will enjoy all this with amusement. It will be great joy for the entire family, is it not? The experienced trainer can think of starting the breeding of the love birds too.

Lillian’s Love Bird Parrot-an Overview

Lillian’s love birds are famous African love bird species. These are the smallest parrots species found in the African mainland. These birds are only 5 inch long. The one odd thing about this breed is that these birds are very difficult to breed.

Lillian’s love birds are available in very small population and are very much unnoticed and unrecognized. These birds are generally mistaken as Fischer lovebirds. The confusion is because Fischer lovebirds too are very small but are marginally bigger in size than Lillian’s love birds. At times the Lillian’s lovers are also confused with peach-faced lovebirds. Though both resemble in their appearance peach –faced love birds don’t have white eye rings of the Lillian’s love birds but have clear orange tone which is absent in peach-faced love birds.

Lillian’s love birds head is orange in colour and the same trails down towards the upper chest and neck. The orange tone fades to yellow around the abdomen and upper chest. The wings and the lower bodies are light green in colour. The outer wing of the bird appears darker when compared to the belly portion of the bird.

The Lillian’s love birds love to feed on millet, grass seeds, flowers, fruits, wild rice etc. the breeding season for the love birds begins in January and ends in March first half. There is second breeding season which start in June and ends in July. During these seasons these birds make nest in the fissures of the tree and the nests are roofed. If domesticated, these love birds yield three to eight white coloured eggs. The incubation period is 22 days. The birds leave the nest after 44 days.
Lillian’s love birds are noticed very commonly around Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania. As per the study conducted and charted in the year 2004, the love bird’s population was very much reduced and was report less than twenty thousand birds only. These lovely love birds were already classified as ‘near threatened ‘.

These love birds at present inhabit Liwonde national park and are preserved well there. The authorities and the decision makers of the park are very firm in their decision of not distributing these birds to the outside as the breeding and the feeding grounds are very much exploited by the urbanization and agricultural practices.

In addition to this these love birds die in large numbers due to the poisoning. The poisoning cases are steadily on the rise which is really a cause of concern. No body could really explain why these little creatures are being poisoned. But the consensus is that these love birds could have become accidental victim. The poachers must be using some chemicals for the reason best known to them only. These love birds must have consumed those poisonous fruits, seeds, etc thus getting in to the trouble.

The Liwonde national park authorities are taking very much extra care for the very survival of these lovely looking creatures as they are considered one of the wonders of the Mother Nature. Let’s hope their service to this Lillian’s love birds continues for ever.

SARCOCYSTOSIS IN LOVE BIRDS

Love birds are lovely pet and are preferred by many because of their attractive colour and pleasant demeanours. Like all other creatures these love birds too suffer from various disease problems and one such is sarcocystosis.

Sarcocystosis is a disease of birds that affects the love birds too. This disease is caused by parasite sarcocystis falcatula. Opossums only introduced these parasites in to the aviary. This disease doesn’t spread from bird to bird by direct contact, but the discarded infectious sporocyst can affect the healthy bird that comes in to contact. This disease is hyper acute in nature, hence the diagnosis is very difficult. Eliminating the opossums from the near by area is the best prevention method.

Sarcocystosis, this word has Greek origin. The word sarco means muscle or flesh. Sarcocyst means there is cyst in the muscle. Sarcocystis is the name of the parasite. These cysts are present in the muscle. The intermediate host species stay in the striated muscle. The intermediate stage is usually Benin stage. But the other developmental stages of the parasite in the other muscle create trouble, which in most cases results in the death of the bird.

Clinical signs of sarcocystis

The males are more prone than the female love birds. The cage mate dies all of a sudden. In most cases the other birds also get infection and die soon. But there are instances that the cage mate survives even after the death of the other bird. Prior to death the bird will have brief illness. There will dypnea, difficulty in breathing. The birds will be lethargy and there will be excretion of urates that are yellow pigmented. Clear fluid comes out of the mouth, the moment the dead bird is lifted for clearing. In some cases, the birds will appear as normal till the very second of death.
Treatment

As the diagnosis is extremely difficult, the treatment of the bird is hard to practice. However, in case the cage mate has died, the remaining bird can be protected. The drugs with antiprotozal activity can be given to the birds in various combinations. The supportive care is also should be provided along with the treatment. Pyrimethamine can be given in combination with trimethoprim-sulphadiazone, which destroys the parasite, thus protecting the bird. Pyrimethamine can be administered at the rate of 0.5 mg per kg 2 to 4 days. Then the dosage can be reduced to 0.25 mg per kg. The medication needs to be continued for 30 days. Trimethoprim-sulfadiazone is administered at the rate of 5 mg per kg by way of injection for a week.

All along the supportive care should also be provided. Supportive care is nothing but provision of gavage and oxygen. In case there is pulmonary edema, furosemide is administered by way of injection at the rate of 1.5 mg per kg.

Feather Picking and Skin Mutilation in Love Birds

We are living in 21 st century. The world is fast paced at this moment. The people are chasing the time. As the result, there is tension and tension every where. This is not going to be good for the health. One of the natural ways of managing the stress is pet rearing. Many like to go for dogs, cats and birds. In birds many prefer love birds as they are the symbol of love. Love birds have few vices one such is feather picking and skin mutilation. Here are little information about the feather picking and skin mutilation of the love birds.

Feather picking and skin mutilation is very common among love birds. The cause for the same can be medical or behavioural. Before attempting to correct the problem, the root cause of the problem needs to be ascertained. Only then, the correct remedial measure can be attempted. If, the root cause of the problem was not identified and corrected, then there is every chance for the recurrence, once the treatment period is over. Hence, the love birds needs to be examined completely by avian veterinarian. He will give his firm opinion after the complete check up of the birds.

We should always give the benefit of the doubt to the love birds and assume that the feather picking and skin mutilation is due the medical reason. If the veterinarian confirms that the birds are not having any medical problems then one can conclude that feather picking and skin mutilation is behavioral problem of the love birds.

Boredom is the major reason for the feather picking and skin mutilation of the love bird. There are details in the internet which deals at length about the ways are means of keeping the love birds occupied. The ways and means listed are easy to follow and less expensive.
As the love bird are kept in a cage for nearly 8-10 hours in a day without any activity and interaction, they are most like to get in to boredom sooner than latter. The love birds are very intelligent creatures. Their frustration can be compared to the frustration of young active child, who is kept in small playing pen for 24 hours a day.

One of the suggestion in the net is keeping the television on, preferably the discovery channel or animal planet. The love birds will enjoy this and be kept occupied. You can also talk to your pet love bird through answering machine. We can also add foraging opportunities to these little creatures to chase away the boredom.

There are few medicines that are very effective in relieving the stress in love birds. King bio Inc is a company that has a product called “stress control” which brings about amazing results in relieving the stress of the bird. This product is nothing but a natural herbal mix which helps in alleviating the stress not only in birds but also in other pets like dog, cat etc. This product helps to control the aggressive behaviors. This product can be just added to the drinking water to bring about the desired results. This product is hundred percent safe and has no side effects.

Chronic Egg Laying in Lovebirds

In general the process of laying eggs in love birds is related to many factors. They are day length, food availability, behavior of the mate, rain fall, competition for nesting sites etc. egg laying in love birds is more or less controlled by any one or more factors mentioned above.

Chronic egg laying in the long run will result in depletion of calcium as the egg shell’s major constituent is calcium. This depletion of calcium results in a condition called hypocalcaemia. As the result the contraction of the uterine muscle gets affected. The eggs are not effectively pushed out which results in egg binding. Hypocalcaemia can also cause seizures and weak bones. The weak bones are fractured easily, thus maiming the love birds for life. Hence, excess egg laying needs to be stopped for the health of the love birds.

In case you have two females and have eight eggs in the nest then it is normal. If you ten or more eggs in the nest, then there is need to bother as chronic egg laying problem may have set in. The love birds are over doing it which needs to be controlled else serious health issues will follow as mentioned earlier.

The first and fore most things one has to do are providing complete diet. This complete diet will prevent the birds from the possible health hazards that follow chronic egg laying. There are few things one can attempt to discourage the love bird from laying eggs let’s discuss out here.

Let the eggs be not removed from the nest. The love bird will sit on the eggs which will halt the egg laying. Leave the eggs as it is for 21 days or till the bird lose interest on them. You can also use fake eggs in place of original eggs. Fake eggs made of wood are available in crafty stores for this purpose. There is no danger of breakage in wooden eggs.

The nest making material and the nesting sites may be removed. The paper and other material which are used for nest making should be removed. Let the bird be away from enclosed and dark spaces. The love birds prefer dark space for laying eggs, if such space is not available, then the laying is delayed. Prevent the bird from finding the dark space themselves under the couch, behind washing machine etc by keeping close watch on them.

Mimic shorter days. Let there not be bright light in the bird area. The hour of darkness should be increased. Let the bird go to bed early that is at 6 pm. Long day is major triggering factor for laying. Don’t put on the light early in the morning. Let the bird get up late. Thus the days are made shorter artificially to discourage laying.

Let the access to the food be limited. Let the food not be available all the time for the birds. Remove the food plate after the break fast. Let the food bowl be back late after noon. This will discourage laying as the birds have the habit of laying when food is available in plenty. But care should be taken to keep the bird in right weight. The bird should not lose weight which will lead to other complications.

Sexing Budgies: Herculean Task?

Nowadays most of the lovebirds owners switch over to raising budgies as it is cheap to procure. But they have ended in sorrow due to the fact that they're unable to sex them.

The simple method for sexing Budgies is looking cere (the bit above it's beak). In male, it will be blue in color and in females they will be white cere with a hint of blue. It is very easy to differentiate adult and male. But the young ones are very difficult to differentiate. In young male, purple-pinkish colour cere is present and in females, they will have will have a pale blue cere with white rings around the nostrils.

See the picutres below and then you can sex the budgies very easily...

Male Adult Budgerigar


Female Budgerigar

Lovebirds Microchipping

Microchipping provides a permanent and unique way of identifying a lovebird. The microchip can be inserted into the pectoral muscle tissue of birds.

The only advantage of using band than microchips is that the microchips are relatively expensive, and placing them into birds requires technical skill, but their use has proved successful in birds identification. Microchipping lovebirds is helpful in identifying them, which will provide necessary information like breeding, feeding of lovebirds to the lovebird owners. One step further, this technology is useful in wildlife conservation and field study programmes.

Will the lovebird bleed?

Birds won't bleed when you microchip them. If you notice a hole left by the needle at the insertion point, this can be repaired by tissue glue or suture.

Read more about

Microchipping - a Perfect method for lovebird Identification

Psittacosis in Lovebirds

Once you made up your mind to purchase a pair of lovebirds to your home, equip yourself with enough knowledge about lovebirds care. Do you know lovebirds are prone for Psittacosis? Yes!!! It is a respiratory infection that will affect human beings also!

So, you should seek an appointment with your vet for a check-up some-time within the first week of purchase. He will do aoutine testing for psittacosis. It is always good to discuss this matter with your vet shortly after purchase. Fortunately, this is uncommon in lovebirds.

Symptoms

The psittacosis is technically called as Chlamydiosis. The common symptoms include

• Weakness
• "Fluffed up" appearance
• Lethargy
• Loss of Appetite
• Diarrhoea
• Laboured breathing
• Eye discharge or swelling

Treatment

The best drug of choice for this condition is antibiotic doxycycline, however some newer drugs are also proving of value. But it is mandatory to discuss this matter with your vet to get final opinion about thsis dreadful disease. Although it is uncommon in lovebirds, there is every possibility of outbreak of psittacosis among your flock of lovebirds. Hence the lovebirds care against psittacosis is mandatory.