The Lucky Winner

[Chief's Mom]

I went to a bird show two weekends ago, where they had a large raffle table. Since I don't normally win anything, I bought a few tickets, thinking it was for a good cause (Avain Research or if nothing else, allowing them to have more bird shows that I can buy fun toys for my birds). Well, I won a lovebird. I never win anything!! He's a cute little peach faced guy. Of course, I'm not sure if he is a boy. He still looks pretty young. I'm going to send an email to the organizer of the raffle to see if they can get me some more info on him; like a hatch date or something, anything.

He came with a tiny cage, which we have since replaced. We added tons of toys. He eating a pellet/seed diet. I put a mix of fresh veggies in his cage, but it doesn't look like he's eating it. He's currently in quarantine, but he calls out to the other birds in the house. His little squeak is so much louder that I would have thought. His name is "Petey Pablo the peach faced lovebird." (Yes, like the rapper.) I try to sit and talk to him for a while every night. Now I can go in the room without him jumping to the back of his cage, holding on for dear life. He just stops what he's doing now to watch me.

Health-wise he's fine. I just never thought of owning a lovebird, so I'm not up to speed with their behaviors, habits, abilities, etc. I don't plan on getting another one, so it looks like he'll have to bond with either me or my husband. We're up to 6 birds, 2 dogs, 1 rabbit, and 5 fish. There are two more bird shows the next two weekends, but I think I'll just raffle for bird supplies this time!

I'll post some pictures this weekend. He looks like a normal peach face; green body, peach cheeks, and a brighter red forehead. If anyone here has any tips for a clueless lovebird owner, I'd appreciate it.

[Kiwi1224]

Congratulations on your new addition! Can't wait to see pics of Petey. Glad to hear that he is settling in and wish you the best. I have a parrotlet and 3 parakeets so I'm not certain about lovebirds. They do seem a bit like parrotlets but hopefully lovebird owners will come forward. I have plenty of toys to keep Kiwi busy and she spends a lot of time out of her cage with her human flock! She loves all of us but hangs with me the most. Huge personality in such a small bird and very cuddly. Best of luck to you!

[Monica]

I personally don't care for raffling off birds... let alone lives for that matter...

As for sexing, usually the best way is to DNA sex them...

However, I've heard that in peachfaces, females are excellent paper cutters and will tuck the paper into their rump feathers (it's a breeding behavior) where-as males tend to be more clumsy...
YouTube - Lovebird Chickadee play dressup

There's also a saying that females may be slightly larger than males, have a wider stance, and have a square tail...

Where-as males tends to sit with their feet close, and their tails are more rounded or pointed.


Other lovebird owners can give you more information... but in short, lovebirds tend to be very feisty energetic little birds, who think they are big birds in tiny bodies... thus care must be taken to keep them from other species. They usually love to tunnel in hands or hide in things such as happy huts and tend to always be on the go.

[CraftQueen]

Lovebirds are so much fun! They are my favorite. They love a coconut or any hanging container to play in. When I'm low on coconuts I make huts of various containers like a cottage cheese container turned on it's side and cut a hole in the bottom so that there is an entrance and an exit. They like to go in and out, but do nap in them during the day as well as sleep there at night. *Be careful of happy huts that are made of material, a lovebird will chew on it and it will become a hanging hazard as they will get twisted up in any unravellings or strings. They love toys with fiddly bits on them. You can dress up any toy with some birdie safe leather lacing with beads strung on it and tie the ends in a knot. they will spent hours untieing the knots and pulling the pony beads off. I also use neon colored drinking straws, you can tie them onto any toy or swing, they love to chew on these. When they get ragged I clip them off and put new ones on.

In order to get a variety of different bird species to eat fresh foods, I run the fresh veggies in a food processor. I find that birds like several different textures to sort through. I do scrambled eggs, carrots, sweet potato, brocolli, apple, green pepper, beet, kale or turnip greens and celery. I rough chop the veggies and whiz them in the food processor so they are birdie bite size. Chopped veggies get dropped through the grate never to be seen or touched again.

I recently got some Abyssinian lovebirds and Quakers and they will eat veggies and apples any way you serve them(chopped in a bowl or a large slice clipped to the side of the cage with a clothes pin), but my flock of tiels, peachface lovies, parrotlets and parakeets are a whole different story. As a group they will only eat the food run in the food processor. I always remove the seed cup and put the fresh food cup in the exact location the seed cup was in.

Some birds will eat whole leaves of Kale or Turnip Greens if you wet them first and lay them in the cage or clip to the bars with a clothes pin. Large vegetables scare my birds, but experiment and find out what Petey Pablo likes. All birds have different personalities and different likes. Good Luck. You're going to have so much fun with your new little acrobat.

[Birdmommy]

Of all my birds, my lovebirds are the most fun to watch. They pack a ton of energy and their curiosity is fenomenal. Because of it they can get into a lot trouble. You need to make sure the toys you place in their cage are safe and are not broken, sometines they can stick their head into a small opening in a plastic toy and get stuck. I have 4 lovies and two were hatched at home and hand raised so they are very tame. They love to play with me and are forever demanding my attention, when I'm too busy to play they scream and flap their wings until I stop what I'm doing and come to their cages. They love to eat everything I give them, They let me know when it's time to sleep and once I cover them up if I stay a little late to watch some tv in the same room they scream and fuzz until I turn it off. My friends are amazed when they visit and see how my birds act like little people. Congratulations on winning Petey Pablo, he's lucky to have found you.

Birdmommy
Mom and Slave to:
Petrie, Peter, Blu and Trooper (Lovies)
Sammy and Picaboo (Tiels)
Willow (Quaker)
Toby ( WC Pionus)
Kendi (CAG)

[Flappuccino]

I also went to a show recently- only I came home with a GCC! It wasn't in a raffle, but I met the breeder, and fell in love with one of her babies. When my husband told me I couldn't buy him, the woman gave him to me! She said that finding someone who loved him that much was more important to her than the money.
Anyway, I have a lovebird, too. I got him when he was 2 wks old and handfed him myself. He is the most amazing little guy. You'll have a blast with your new baby.
Lovies like toys with little parts, as opposed to the big, blocky kind. They do love to chew paper, and both males and females will tear strips and tuck them into their rumps. Females are generally better at it. Also, you can't tell by their "amorous" behavior either. Both males and females do that too.
Most lovies like water, and are good bathers. A varied diet is very important. If you feed pellets, make sure it's no more than 40% of the diet. Veggies are great for them, aside from the obvious (avocado & onions). I don't know any lovies that will eat fruit, but it is good for them, if they like it.
Congratulations on your new addition!
Jeni

[Chief's Mom]

I know what you mean Monica. I don't like the idea either. I think subconsciously that's why I entered. I knew if I won him, he'd be in a good place. Either way, he's ours now. I went to another bird show this weekend and bought the 4 'keets a much bigger cage. Which means that Petey will soon be upgraded to the cage that the 4 'keets were in previously. It's more than twice the size of the one he's in currently. The move is planned for sometime this week. I tend to put the same chopped veggies or beak appetit that the keets get. He's still not too into it yet though. Do lovies normally like millet? He's not touching it.

He has fallen in love with one toy in particular. It has some shiney bells on strings of beads. He pulls at it to make the bells ring and almost gets mean with it; tugging at it, etc. He no longer flys to the back even when you get close now. And when you talk to him, he chirps back. I not one to rush a new bird into anything, so I think he's getting used to us just fine. Every morning around 5:30am, he's like an alarm clock. He wakes up the 'keets and Chief. He's the boss already and he's still by himself in the bedroom (in quarantine). I love it.

Hope to get some pics up tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for the tips guys!