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.