lovebirds

Love Birds

My Peach Faced lovebirds are pint-sized bundles of joy. They have the full personality of parrots while being easy to house because of their size. My birds are little clowns, playing for hours at a time. They love to hang from toys, spin them around, and dance on your shoulder. I have had to watch my buttons! They love to pull them off my clothes! Such loving little birds: they love to snuggle and preen.
Many people believe lovebirds must be kept in pairs. This is simply not true. A single lovebird makes a better pet because it bonds to you rather than to another lovebird. While it is easy to keep a pair of lovebirds tame, if you plan on spending lots of time with your bird you can keep it alone. However, if you work long hours and don't think you'll have a lot of time for your love bird, I recommend you get him/her a companion. This will keep your lovebirds happy and prevent boredom. It is important to realize that while lovebirds are a small parrot, they have the intelligence and abilities of some of the largest parrots.
They never stop amazing me with their ability to escape their own cages. I have to put copper wire on the cage doors to keep them in, and sometimes they figure out how to untwist the wire and open the door!
Lovebirds will sometimes try to become the little bosses of the household. I recommend using the same type of gentle dominance training that is used for larger parrots.
Are you looking for a bird that you can teach to talk? Lovebirds can learn to mimic sounds and speech on occasion. However, I don't recommend that you buy any species of bird only because of the expectation that it will speak; even the famous African Greys sometimes don't learn to speak. So, if that is your only reason for buying a bird, I'd seriously urge you to reconsider as the bird could end up abandoned because of your own disappointment.
In my opinion, love birds and parrots both make great pets even if they never utter a word. We have both in our home. The lovebirds chatter away all day, never making a sound that anyone can understand, except as being simply 'noisy chatter.' However, our Double Yellow Head parrot makes up for it; his vocabulary is very long, extensive and he is constantly talking.
If you decide to breed love birds just remember they are prolific breeders. You may soon, as we did, find our home over run with lovebirds! And, as a word of caution, "do not" put bark chips in the nest of the baby birds. Though the odor is pleasant to humans and is good for older birds it is too strong for baby lovebirds. I must admit I learned the hard way and had casualties on my hands! Paper is the best thing to put in the nest along with some alfalfa. Do not get powdered alfalfa, rather dried alfalfa blades. If you decide to use paper, do cut the paper (newspaper is best) in long strips and put it beside the nest. Mama will take it into the nest. And, remember if mama snaps at you she is only protecting her nest!
My favorite lovebird is Lucky, so named as it was our first clutch and she was the only one, of six, that survived when I put the bark chips in the nest.
We do not have an aviary breeder, rather, our lovebirds are paired off in separate cages. The best way to tame babies quickly is to remove the babies from the next when they are about two weeks old and hand feed them. This way, the birds get the best of both worlds: the immunity conferred from their parents and the tameness that comes from being handled by humans.
Our lovebirds are abundance weaned so that they are happy, well-adjusted birds. We feed them pellets, a good seed mix, alfalfa, wheat grass, quinoa, sprouted beans, and other veggies and fruits. And, oh yes! Lovebirds love to not only eat grapes, but to toss them around also. In short, lovebirds love playing. They keep us entertained for hours. If you decide to get a lovebird for a pet, you will have made an excellent choice!
Ms. CiCi has a gift of teaching, is an accomplished author and world traveler who enjoys sharing her life's experiences with others, making their life, their world a bit easier. Her writings expose her wealth of "secret information" so derived from her travels as well as drawing from her own personal wealth of wisdom. Ms. CiCi builds websites to help share her vast knowledge and great experiences.

Love Birds 2008

Lovebirds - We're More Than Just Friends

If we see two people out in public and they appear to be affectionate, like holding hands or even kissing, there's usually a term we use to describe their behavior. The term we use is lovebirds, because they appear to be in love. But those people really are imitators, because the real lovebirds are birds. A lovebird is a type of parrot. Their name comes from the fact that they are very sociable and affectionate. When they bond with their mate, it usually lasts their entire life. Though it's possible to have only one, it's best to keep the birds in pairs.

The lovebird is short and stocky. It's considered to be one of the smallest parrots in the world. Though many lovebirds are green, they can come in many colors. The average life span of a lovebird can be anywhere between 10 to 15 years. There are 9 different species, so how can we know the difference? They can be identified by their colors and markings; each species has their own unique color scheme.
Lovebirds were basically unknown until the 1600s. Some Europeans, touring Africa, saw the birds and decided to write about them. The first lovebirds were imported into Europe in the 19th century but by the 20th century, many were being imported into both Europe and the US.

The lovebird can be found in Africa and in Madagascar. It prefers a dry and open area. The lovebird can lay between 3 to 6 eggs at a time and it usually takes about 22 days for the eggs to hatch. The baby birds generally leave the nest within 5 weeks of being born. When in the wild, lovebirds like to live in small flocks. Their diet consist of grass, seeds, fruit and vegetables.

Lovebirds are popular pets. Breeding lovebirds is a big business. Though some owners may have lovebirds from the wild, most are purchased through breeders. The lovebirds that come from the breeders are more tame and should probably adapt to their new environment, easier then lovebirds from the wild. Pet owners need to be sure they want lovebirds as their pets. If the owners only want one bird, then they need to know that a lovebird requires a lot of attention and interaction. That's why it's suggested that lovebirds be kept in pairs, so they can keep each other company. Lovebirds, just like humans, sometimes don't get along. Owners need to make sure their birds are compatible, because if they're not, they will fight.

The lovebird is one of those exotic birds that has been able to adapt to domestication much easier than most other creatures from foreign countries. They make great pets, as long as the owners understand all that is involved with owning them. Maybe it's their social ability or the chirping that makes the lovebird such a desirable pet. People love having something foreign and exotic to liven up their homes and show off to their neighbors. Lovebirds have created a large and loyal following in the world of pet owners.