Hmm...what about love birds?

[Wing]

Well, I'm still trying to decide which type of bird I should get. Lately, I've been thinking about a love bird. How are they as pets? Do they make good "friends" once tamed? They're as cute as anything I've ever seen...and I heard they aren't too expensive. What's the average price for a love bird? And now for a few questions about their care.

What size cage for one love bird do you reccomend?
What kind of toys do they prefer?
What should be in their diet?
What's the best way to tame one?

Well, that's it for now. I might come up with more while I'm at school.

--Krysta

[Breelynne]

Hi Wing,

I can tell you about mine I only have the one.
As pets I could not have made a better choice.
Once bonded with you they LOVE your attention and love to cuddle. Females can be territorial over their cages and can also be a little nippy.
The average price is about 40.00 USA dollars and up depends where you get a lovebird from.

A large parakeet cage should be roomy enough for one bird, but I prefer a cockatiel cage since mine has a lot of toys.
Mine prefers toys with mirrors, anything that has a bell and he also just loves his swing.
Lovies should have a regular diet just as any parrot, but on a smaller scale.
I feed mine a seed mixture for small hook bills. If you buy a seed mixture from a pet store anything cockatiel size should do the trick.
Also insecticide-free greens, shredded carrot, fresh corn kernels, and millet are always a big favorite.
I also offer him pellets in a separate dish.
Lovies are very suspicious of new foods; mine will only eat broccoli, brussel sprouts and green beads.
I keep a lot of veggies in the house and give him just about any veggie that I eat.
To get him used to you will depend on how tame he is when you get the bird.
With my lovebird I would talk to him a lot and I would rearrange his toys and feed him treats from my hands.
It took about 6 weeks for him to really start to bond to me and now he loves to be with me all the time.

[CrazyBirdLady]

Lovebirds make marvellous pets. However, you do need to put the time and effort into taming (if you do not purchase a tame bird) and keeping up the training. If you are looking for a pet, I'd recommend a handfed or a well socialized lovebird. Lovebirds are big parrots in little bodies. Lots of personality and spunk.

Prices depend upon mutation, tameness and where you purchase your bird from. You will probably pay a little more purchasing direct from a breeder, but chances are your bird will be tame and healthy; something you generally do not get from a larger "chain-type" bird store. There are some smaller, privately owned pet shops that do a wonderful job with keeping birds tame and also making sure they are healthy...do your homework on them before buying. Price generally range from $40 upwards.

What size cage for one love bird do you recommend?

The cage should be no less than 18 x18 x 18 however, I would suggest the largest cage you can afford and get one that is longer than it is taller. Horizontal bars are better for climbing and nothing over ½ bar spacing

What kind of toys do they prefer

Be careful with bells. Their beaks are might strong and can bend the bell ringers and also get stuck. Lots of wood and chew toys. They love to shred and destroy stuff, so anything made for that is great. I don't recommend mirrors with a single bird as they can become attached to that "other bird" in the mirror.

What should be in their diet?

A good seed mix (sunflower seeds are ok for lovebirds as they are highly active), fresh and frozen veggies (I have found that lovebirds don't care for fruit as much as they do veggies) rice, beans, etc... Any good healthy diet.

What's the best way to tame one?

Honestly, if you are looking to purchase a lovebird, get one that is already tame. For what you are going to spend, you might as well get one that has been handled and is friendly, rather than purchasing a "wild" bird. You can continue working with the tame bird and teach it what you want.

Good luck!

[willowbirdy218]

I love my little lovie, Mango!! He was my first tame bird and just the cutest little thing! He has the funniest antics and is extremely active! He actually reminds me of a little puppy as he will play with small toys by rolling them with his head then chasing after them and then tries to throw them as far as he can. He is not very cuddly but he definitely makes up for this with his personality.

Mango's cage is 20"X20"X30". I think this is a good size cage for a single lovebird although I am actually thinking of getting a cage that is about 24"X24". Mango uses every bit of his cage, even the bottom if he has small "foot toys" on the grate (he doesn't actually hold them with his feet but rather pushes them around with his head).

Mango's favorite toys are anything with bells! He also loves swings or anything else he can climb, hang, or swing on. He doesn't really chew alot, so doesn't favor wood or other shredding toys. I bought him a pinata toy about 7 months ago and it still looks brand new except for a few small pieces (compare that to Willow- I bought him a pinata toy at the same time and his was gone in about 2 weeks ).

I feed Mango pellets, seeds, and any vegetables or other fresh foods that he will eat (he was on a seed only diet when I got him so he still doesn't readily accept some fresh foods).

I bought Mango from a petstore for about $65 and he wasn't even handfed. I'm sure you can find lovebirds from breeders for cheaper and already tame. It took me about 4 months to finally tame Mango, but it can be done and it was definitely worth it.

This was all based upon my experience with my one and only lovie and, as you can see each bird will have its own personality and likes/dislikes.

Good luck with your decision and let us know what species you chose!

Oh, and of course, a picture (or two) of Mango...

[Wing]

Aww, Mango is so cute! What kind of love bird is he?

[willowbirdy218]

Thank you!! Mango is a fischer's lovebird.

[Empathy]

Get the biggest cage you can afford, theyre very active little birds, but make sure the bar spacing is no more then 1/2". I have 3 lovies that live in a large flight type cage. But for one, I'd say 20" x 20" x 30"- or cockatiel size should work, dont overcrowd with toys, 3-5 tops and rotate them frequently.
Most lovebirds enjoy anything that can be safely shreded, parrot pinatas, newspaper, calculator paper rolls, soft wood, etc. Mine also love their boing(bungee rope) and swings. Another lovebird favorite is a hideout, like happy hut or pet tent, although some females get possesive over it.

When it comes to diet variety is the key, I give mine a mix of roudybush/zupreem natural pellets( I prefer pellets without dyes and additives),seed mix couple times a week, they also get fresh fruits/veggies every day, cooked foods like beak appetite, wheat grass, and random treats like millet, avi-cakes, rye bread, cheerios, etc.

If you plan on getting a lovebird, I reccomend finding a reputable breeder, so the bird is either hand-tamed or hand fed.

good luck

[Vincent_The_Bird]

Sorry to add a question to this post, but do you guys keep multiple birds (together?) or does this affect how tame they are/stay? What about mixing species?

[Mr Five]

Originally Posted by Vincent_The_Bird

Sorry to add a question to this post, but do you guys keep multiple birds (together?) or does this affect how tame they are/stay? What about mixing species?

Rule #1 with lovebirds NEVER I mean NEVER put them with another species. Lovebirds think they're King Kong's of the bird world. They might seem fine with other birds but they have NO FEAR what so ever and can turn on another bird for no reason what so ever. It's best that you keep Paechface with Peachface. Masked with masked. Fischer with Fischer. You get my drift. Sure you can house different species of lovebirds together but you're asking for HYBRIDS something that is frowned on.

In our aviary we have many different mutations of peachfaced lovebirds. But the Masked are kept in their own space never allowed the chance to breed with the peachfaced. As far as the multiple birds we have had as many as 12 in one flight cage. It's a general rule that you never put two pairs in the same cage. it's either 3 or more.

[Empathy]

I agree, lovebirds are very territorial, even though I let my budgie be around them, I always keep an eye when theyre outside the cage together.