How to Stop Lovebird Biting?

The love birds are very small birds; there is no doubt about it. But their bite is very painful. Those who got the bite are simply shocked, betrayed and dismayed. Biting is not rare, and is one of the few common problems one has to face while rearing the love birds. Let us discuss about the love bird biting and few tips to sort the issue out

Babies and beaks

Like any other species the love birds baby too will explore with its beak. The beaks of the baby love bird will be very sensitive. Hence one should never play with it any time. The flicking or pulling the beak will be highly dangerous and hence discouraged in total. The baby love birds may use the beak for grip purpose. You should never mistake this as bite. The beak for the love bird is almost like the hand for them. The love bird’s babies who are on the formula feed should not be permitted to explore their beak. Once the birds are weaned and are socializing, the bird is permitted to explore the beak.

Nibbling juvenile

The love birds start using their beak for nibbling before biting. If you find the love birds biting the finger all of a sudden without any provocation, then you should enquire the owner about the birds. They will invariably tell you that their birds has been nibbling their finger for long time.
Hence, if you are first time love bird owner, then please be informed that the nibbling activity should be discouraged from the beginning. The birds should be admonished as NO BITING firmly and the birds should be getting rid of the shoulder or ear where she is sitting at the time of biting. Few birds will not obey and correct their behaviour immediately. One should not get tired and should continue the practice till the birds start behaving well.

Distraction method

Distracting the bird is the best method to stop nibbling. Unscented Kleenex or untanned leather will be enough to distract the love birds from biting the finger. At times the love birds may be wary of the thing that you offer to them. One need to play with the item as if it is the toy and the love bird that is watching this will attempt to bite it and will soon forget biting your finger by shear distraction.

Holding the beak

If the love bird is not stopping the habit of biting even after your best efforts, one can think of holding the beak method. As per this method the love bird beak should be held between the thumb and finger gently and NO BITING should be shouted. Make sure the beak is not damaged in the process.

Time out

Some birds may not change the biting habit that easily. For such birds time out cage method will be of immense help. Time out cage is a small cage which is used commonly to teach a lesson. If the love bird is biting you in spite of the reminders, then take the love bird out and give him no bite command. Let the birds be kept in time out cage for few minutes let us say five minutes. This time out cage will have only a cup of water and no toys in it. When the love bird is in the time out cage, then there should not be any talking, scolding or discussion with the bird.

How to train lovebirds- the first step to successfully train a love bird

Are you the first time love bird owner? Do you want to know the ways and means of training a love bird? There are few steps one need to follow to train the love birds. Here is little information about the love bird training.

Gain trust

Gaining the love birds trust is first and fore most things in training the love bird. This is very much required if the love birds has not handled by anyone already. If the love bird is having any unwanted behaviour, then gaining the trust of the need of the hour. Biting is one such unwanted behaviour. Gaining the trust is easy. All one needs is little patience. The process should be started slowly.

To start with the love bird can be made to touch the tip of a small object like pencil or small stick. If the love bird can do that successfully, the birds should be treated or praised. Every time the bird responds positively, treat it again and again. Then proceed to touch command. For touch command one should use the finger or hand. The bird will slowly start trusting you. You also there after will handle the love bird with confidence. Gaining the trust of the love bird is the most crucial aspect in training the love birds as discussed already. Once that part is crossed, the rest of the thing will be easy.

Rewarding the love bird often

Once the trust is gained then one can move on to other new skill development. Stopping the unwanted sounds, coming to the owner as and when called, mimicking the sounds made by the owner etc are some of the new skills that can be taught to the love birds. Every time the bird obeys your command, the love bird needs to be rewarded with its favourite food or toy.

The key in love bird training is positive reinforcement. One should be aware of the love bird treat and one should have them in hand in sufficient quantity always. Nuts, millets, sun flower seeds etc are the treats that are liked by most of the love birds. Some love birds will prefer the love of the owner more than anything. Each love birds should treated as per its liking if they respond to the training well.

Perfect one skill at a time

The love birds are tiny little birds and hence do not try to teach them so many thing at a time. One should start with one skill at a time and the training should continue till the bird perfects it. Once the bird has perfected the skill, and then the other skill training should be attempted. Putting a ball in the loop, waving and turning around are some of the skills that can be taught to the love birds which will make them busy and chase away their boredom. If one tries to teach so many tricks at a time, then the bird will get confused and may not pick up anything and hence such practice should be avoided.

Baby Lovebirds – How to care?

The love birds are very small and hence the baby love birds are tiny. Caring the baby love bird is not all that easy. If you are a starter here are few suggestions in this article about caring the baby love birds

Where to place them?

Sizable plastic type reptile container is considered best for the baby love birds for few weeks of their early life. The space provided for the baby love birds should be sufficient for their growth and at the same time the baby love birds needs to be safe there. The bottom of the pot should be lined with cage liner. The untreated papers should be used as towels above that. The cleaning on daily basis will be easy if these untreated papers are used. The food should be kept at the one end of the box and the space for cuddling should be at the other end. This way the possible clutter of the food part can be prevented.

When to take over for the babies parents?

The pet owner must know when the parents of the baby bird are allowed to take care, which is the first and foremost thing he should know. The entire clutch can be pulled out once the youngest baby love birds is about ten days old. The eldest baby love birds should be 16- 17 days at that time. If the baby love birds are older than 17 days then the hand feeding is bit difficult. If the love birds hatching is far apart and if the older baby love birds is older than 17 days by the time the younger baby love birds is 10 days old, then do not hesitate to remove the clutch two times.

Weaning

Abundance weaning approach is the most popular weaning method. This way the baby birds will be fed with syringe while there will be sufficient adult food also. This way the baby love birds will be motivated to eat the food themselves. As the days pass the baby love birds will slowly avoid the syringe feeding and will start eating their food on their own. It is always recommended that the weaned love birds are observed for some days for any health issues. Only on confirmation that there is no health issue the lovebirds should be sold.

Feeding from your hand

As discussed earlier, hand feeding is the best for first few weeks. Hand feeding is not all that easy and hence experienced trainers help is required instead of attempting is all by your self. The love bird baby food is available in pet stores and the same should be used for the baby love birds. For syringe feeding O –ring plastic syringe needs to be used. The baby love birds prefer warm food as they are used to regurgitated food. The ideal temperature required is 103 degree Fahrenheit. In case the food is warmed, care is taken to stir properly for uniform distribution of temperature to avoid heat burn.

What to Feed my Lovebirds?

Lovebirds are such a wonderful creature and there is hardly anybody who does not love these tiny birds. These birds as the name suggest love to remain in pairs. These lovebirds spend hours together sitting side by side to its partner.

These birds are in fact smaller version of parrots. They grow to the size of 5 inches and can live for 15 years. Though these lovebirds are small, there is no shortage of activity and noise level. Many like to have these lovely creatures at home as pet. But most f them are not aware what to be fed to them. Here is little information about the feed for lovebirds.

The lovebirds like to feed on fresh and organic foods as they want to live close to the nature as much as possible. The love bird’s food can be pellets of fruits, vegetables and seeds. In wild the lovebirds mainly feed on seeds.

The parrots love to have variety of foods instead of feeding on the same food. Hence one should change the feed every day as there is a lot to be added in the food list such as cooked beans, pasta, fresh grains, brown rice, sprout, wheat grass, non toxic flowers etc.

There are many different verities of lovebirds right from red head to black collar and each species will have different liking when it comes to food. One should be aware of this fact. The black collared lovebirds are fond of fig fruit.

The food provided can be in the form of pellets or the food can be provided by soaking the same in water in order to soften the food. The food that is soft will be digested easily by the lovebirds. The water dish provided must be very clean. The water provided to the love bird should be free from contamination. The water bowls should be cleaned every day in order to avoid bacteria build up.

As discussed earlier, raw fruits and vegetables are good for the health of the lovebirds. But some birds will be very choosy about their food and such lovebirds are to be cared more and their specific requirement should be met with.

One has to be careful while providing the cooked food to the lovebirds. The cooked food should be allowed to cool before feeding. For example the cooked potato will be very hot and if provided as it is before cooling, the poor creature will get its beak damaged and at times the birds may die if the digestive system is damaged too badly. The food that was not consumed by the love bird for more than 24 hours should be removed from the cage and should be thrown out in the dust bin. There should not be any re heating and re using.

The lovebirds are very active and social animals. These birds are likely to slip in to boredom if not properly engaged. The boredom will lead to feather plucking, biting and screaming. One should aim at providing interactive way of feeding the lovebirds. Using food finding toys in case of pellets and skewers in case of fresh foods are recommended to keep the lovebirds in good spirit and to chase the boredom.

Things to think before rearing love birds

The love birds are named thus as these tiny birds love to interact and stay in pairs. These birds love to stay with her partner for long time. These birds sit side by side with the partner hours together. The name of these birds means "inseparables” in French and German.

These love birds are small parrots but these birds can make loud noises. Though these birds are small, they are aggressive in nature. Hence the pet owner should keep watchful eyes when these love birds are allowed to socialize with other animals, birds and other human beings.

Of late more and more people are opting for love bird rearing. But there are lot questions that need to be answered. The love birds are attention seeking creatures. Hence one should have sufficient time for spending time with these lovely creatures. These birds slip in to boredom if not proper attention and affection is paid which will affect the over all health of the birds. The boredom will lead to plucking of the feathers.

These animals should be fed properly and required water should be provided. There are so many health problems for these love birds just as the case of so many other animals. Hence there should be avian specialist help nearby. The love birds should be rushed to the specialist in case of any health issues.

The house should have large and safe space for these love birds. The lovebird rearing should be long time commitment. The households and the neighbours should be adjustable with the noise and the scream these little creatures make. If all those mentioned above is met with then one can think of rearing love bird without any hesitation. For the information, the average size of the love bird is 5 inch and the average life span is 15 years.

Grooming and hygiene of love birds

Grooming and hygiene of the love birds is very important as lot many people are allergic to the danders that comes out from the love birds. The love birds should be bathed in order to avoid this dander problem.

In winter months the love birds should be bathed -3-5 times and in summer months the love birds should be bathed 5-7 times at least. If the love bird of your likes to bath more often and the same should be encouraged as the birds will be clean and the plumage will look healthy and the allergy problems are reduced further.

There are many ways of bathing and each and every bird has their own preference. The love birds can bath as they wish in the wild but in captivity there are few limitations. Here are few ways in bathing the love birds in captivity. An extra bowel of water can be kept in the cage. The bowel can be seen hanging or can be kept at the bottom of the cage. The love birds can be sprayed with water using a bottle. If the aviary is kept outside, the love birds can bath in natural rain water. Some love birds prefer hot water, some prefer warm water and some other birds prefer cold water.

Clipping the flight feathers should never be practised in love birds as this will prevent the love birds from exercising [flying]. The love bird will only be walking and climbing around in the cage. The love birds love flying as it is their natural instinct.

The love birds also like to spend time with the pet owners. The love birds in general crave for attention. In you feel that clipping is necessary, and then you need to consult the avian specialist. If required, the nail and beak trimming can be done, but the professional help is required for this. The bamboo perches, if provided in the cage, then there is a possibility of natural way.

Lovebirds Behaviour & Interaction

The love birds are lovely creatures to be kept as pet at home. One requires this kind of pet to get relieved from the tension of day to day life. People prefer Love birds as they are very easy to maintain and the expense incurred is very less compared to the other animals like dog, cat etc. all one require is the little time to spend with these little creatures in order to chase out the boredom they get in to if not attended by the any one of the family members.

As we all know the love birds are very social animal and long for affection and attention all the times. Love birds in wild live in large flocks. Love birds can learn word and phrases very well though they are said to be not good when it comes to mimicking.

Love birds require different types of toys that are chewable. Love birds also enjoy puzzle toys that challenge the birds. The love birds are very quick in learning the tricks and words. The love birds are very friendly and love to assist the family be it small or large. The love birds will more favour the person in the family who spends more time with them. The bite of the love is small and the noise level is less. As the result these birds are highly suitable for apartments.

Habitat maintenance – the love bird’s cage should be changed at least one time in a week. The cleaning and the disinfection of the cage should be done as much as possible. The love bird’s weight should be monitored on daily basis which will help one to identify whether the birds are ill or not. The love birds are very good at disguising the illness; hence it is difficult to find out if the love birds are ill.

Housing of Lovebirds

For love birds the out door aviary is the best. The biggest advantage of the out door aviary is that the love birds will get the natural sun light which is very essential for the feathers and also for the over all health of the love birds. In case the out door aviary is not feasible because of the climate, then in door aviary can be planned but the same should be supported by full spectrum lighting.

Love birds will enjoy very much if they are housed at high traffic area of the house as they will get enough of interaction. The cage of the love bird should have enough space for flying which will improve the over all health of the love birds. Flying is a kind of exercise for the love birds. Besides the love birds will become obese if not proper exercise is performed.

As far as the cage size is concerned, larger the space more will be the comfort. The bar space should be not less than one inch. The diameter and the texture of the perches are very important to avoid the foot sores and arthritis problems. The main perch should be of wood and this perch will be used by the love birds most of the time. Sandy perch is used by the love birds at night for sleeping and hence these perches should be placed at reasonable height. The gate should be made of metal and the same should be positioned at the bottom so that cage cleaning will be easy. The love birds will be kept clean from their own droppings.

Here are few recommendations for the love bird housing. They are cage, cage liner, organic pellet, treats, mineral block, food -finding toys, interactive training tools and courses, variety of perches and shred able toys, bird perch scale.

Common Health Issues of Lovebirds

One should know the signs of healthy love birds only then he or she will understand the health signs and the health issues of love birds. Here are the signs of healthy love birds. The love bird should be active, alert, vocal and social. The eyes should be dry so also the nostrils. The love birds should drink water and eat the food regularly through out the day. The love birds should have well groomed, smooth and colourful feathers. The love bird should fly as and when the chance is provided if it is healthy. The love birds that are not well will refuse to fly even if there is a chance. Let us discuss here few common health issues of love birds.

Diarrhoea- if there is no faecal formation in the stool then you can confirm that the love bird has diarrhoea. The causes for diarrhoea in love bird may be parasite infestation and too much of fruit in the diet. One can think of reducing the fruit quantity in the diet if there is diarrhoea. But it is always better to consult the opinion of avian specialist if the love birds are found to have diarrhoea.

Feather plucking and mutilation- the love birds start plucking if there is extreme boredom. The feather plucking happens if the love birds are provided unhealthy diet. The love birds pluck the feather in an attempt to clean the feather as they are not allowed to bathe very often.

Proventicular dilatation disease- the affected love birds will show signs of depression, lose weight abruptly and there will undigested food particles in the stool. The avian specialist should be consulted at the earliest in order to save the birds.

Obesity- the causes of obesity are unhealthy diet, lack of proper exercise, poor feeding etc. The fat content of the food should be minimized. The food provided should have sufficient protein, vitamins, minerals etc. The love bird should be active as much as possible. The in house flight training is the best option as it will take care of the exercise option.

Red flags-The affected love birds will have the following signs. They will be swelling of the beak, soiled feather, coughing, wheezing, discoloured stools etc. such birds should be rushed to the avian specialist for treatment at the earliest.