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Do you have any toys in his cage?
Yes, well, i have a perch in there with like rope things and wood chew toy things on them, i have other toys for it, but i dont want to scare or overwhelm him, so he just has the one in at the moment.
Aw, what a cutie!! I just saw a pair of these wild type Masked lovebirds at my zoo's walk-in aviary yesterday.
Yes, it's normal for him/her to cling to the side of the cage and sleep... it probably gives Antari a sense of security being up against something. This is totally normal for birds who arrive into a new household because everything is new and a little scary to them.
Cool, as long as know its fairly normal, i just thought it was slightly odd, probably because i am used to cockatiels and they arent as good as climbing as the lovebird, so probably not as comfortable as holding onto the bars as a lovebird is, and probably me just over-worrying about him.
With all the things you're worrying about, just put yourself in Antari's "shoes." You're a little one who used to live with your parents, but then you got taken away from your parents and started being fed by strangers a million times your size. Eventually you got comfortable with them, but then they sold you and now you're in a whole new environment. How would a person in that situation feel? Scared, probably. So just understand that your new birdy is probably just scared and needs to get used to it's surroundings, on it's own terms. Don't try to force it to do anything it's not ready to do.
I thought as much, i spose i just needed to ask just to put my mind at ease more than anything, i understand how scarey it must be for these poor little birds! And, even though i know they soon forget about their first home/family, i still feel so guilty taking them away! It must be such a scarey experience for them!
I havent tried forcing him to do anything, just trying to encourage him and show him things, like when i put him back on his cage, i put him on a perch rather than onto the side of the cage. I wouldnt force him to do things, except getting back in his cage - which he is starting to try to run back up my arm as i put him away! Which i can only see as a good thing as he is getting more comfortable and would rather stay out and play with us.
I agree that toys need to be added to your cage, as well as natural branch perches (eucalyptus and manzanita are great) and rope perches for good foot health. Because your baby is still a little skittish, I would just add a few toys, but not overwhelm the cage with them.
I have in his cage a perch with attached chew toy things, a natural perch, and a rope perch, its seems a little bare at the moment, but he does have plenty of room to fly around, and i will give him some more toys when i think he is ready for them.
As far as food goes, I would very much limit the amount of fruit your baby gets. Fruit has sooooooo much sugar in it and their bodies are tiny. I would suggest getting your baby to eat veggies and whole grains (as well as good organic pellets), with fruit only as a once in a while treat. I also germinate seeds for my boys and they DEVOUR them. Their whole face will be covered in mashed seed. So far i have only seen it eat the banana with me, i only put the pomegranets in because the breeder told me he liked them, but he didnt appear to have eaten any.
Can lovebirds basically eat the same as cockatiels, my tiels get a varied diet of fruit, veg, pellets, and egg. They mostly eat cucumber and chillis as this is both my tiels favourite, (not that i give them this any more than other things, they just devour this much quicker than other things) Will chillis be ok for the lovebird as well? And can he have egg as well, i make my tiels hard boiled egg then mash it all together, including the shell, would this be ok for the lovebird as well?
Nothing to add but to say that Antari is SO cute... I love the wild-type masked lovebirds :)
Thanks, he is completely adorable, he just seems sooo sweet. I love it when birds are at this sort of age when you need to teach them things as well, like stepping up, and that flying into your face just doesnt work! And that beards and specs are not facial climbing frames! (my partner has a beard and i wear glasses) Bless him! he's soo cute, but has alot to learn, hopefully him and my tiels will get along, (when they eventually meet), and they will teach him good habits, and not bad habits!
EDIT: Oh and BTW just incase anyone may have been mislead by the photos - the picture of antari in the cage was in a travel cage when we picked him up, which was almost bare! He is in his proper cage now, which is much better and actually have stuff in it, just incase you thought i had him in a bare cage!
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