How to Take Care of a Lovebird

The lovebird is a colorful tropical bird also called “love bird”, “love parrot” and, as they are always in a pair they are also called “inseparable”, these small birds have their only partner from which they never separate. To explain how to take care of a lovebird We will tell you first about their characteristics and customs, and, in reality, we should refer to them, not to him because, as we said at the beginning, they always have to be in a couple. They have physical characteristics similar to parrots, their beak, and their colorful plumage although they measure approximately 10 cm in length.

They can imitate sounds but not with the perfection of parrots. In addition to being beautiful, they are intelligent, friendly birds with colorful plumage in shades of green, red, yellow, orange that adorn any place where they are found. They can live up to 15 years. Surely you have seen them in photos, always symbolizing the love of the couple, and you can buy them in pet sales stores, in this case, observe it well that it does not have deformations in the beak or in the legs so that it does not suffer especially when eating.  The ideal is to buy a pair and raise them together. In this article we will teach you how to take care of a lovebird so that it stays healthy and happy.

What do you need to take care of a lovebird?

• Porridge for the lovebird chick
• Special mix for lovebirds
• Water for drinking and bathing
• Sprayer
• Large cage

Instructions to take care of a lovebird

1. You can buy the small lovebird, when it is 20 days old you can remove the chick from the nest, to realize that it is about 20 days old, check if it is well feathered. If it is removed before it will be difficult to raise it and if it is removed later it will already have acquired its habits and it may be difficult for it to adapt to you.
2. The big change in the feeding of the chick is around 40 days because you have to reduce the number of times you feed it per day. When you start giving it porridge you should only do it by preparing it as indicated in the instructions, the texture is creamy, without lumps, it should be warm and you should give it about 5ml with a small syringe and in small portions. You should do this procedure every 4 hours starting early in the morning and ending at night.
3. At this time it will be enough for us to keep him in a little box with a straw base and a little corner of cloth or cotton for him to choose where to sleep, it must be away from direct light and drafts because they are very delicate, as he grows he will need more space and will want to go out and explore outside his box.
4. When the chick is 40 days old, it is time to change its feeding habits, spacing out the porridges and reducing them to one feeding in the morning and another at night, and start placing a container with water and another with a special mixture for lovebirds.  This must be done gradually.
5. At this time it will come out of its box and will try to climb, put things inside for it to do so and thus prevent it from climbing over the edge of the box and falling. When you see that it is already able to climb the edge with ease, it is time to move it to its cage.  The cage must be wide. At first he places cloth on the floor because he is not used to wires, also a stick that is not very high so that he can stand on it and, as at first he will fall several times, not from a great height. His adaptation to the cage will be fast.
6. When it has already taken its maturity it can eat fruits, except avocado, seeds and feed. Another good option is to give them calcium in shells of eggs and mollusks so that they can peck them, and in their defects, half a tablet of calcium once a week.
7. If you see that among the seeds that it eats, it has difficulty peeling the millet, you can crush it a little so that it can extract the seeds more easily; another option is to soak it in water. You can also give him small pieces of honey and millet bars to exercise him in the practice of peeling millet and in entertainment.
8. Between 50 and 55 days of life, the chick will leave the porridge and will eat new foods with more interest and ease: seeds, feed, and fruits.
9. Light is very important for birds, and lovebirds are not excluded. The ideal is to have aviaries outside where they get the sun but have a lot of air. In winter it is good to place a light nearby to give them heat.
10. Lovebirds need to refresh their plumage so they must have a place to bathe inside the cage; another option is to spray the cage with water at room temperature.
11. If you have a pair of lovebirds, which is what we always recommend, and you want them to reproduce, you should install a nest inside the cage. Remember that after each one you will have to provide a partner that is not a relative, so before breeding you must have planned what you will do with the pigeons.
12. If instead of raising it from a chick you buy a couple, you must make them adapt little by little to the new cage, to your voice, to your presence, to your hand that enters the cage to clean it. Approach them slowly and speak to them first from afar so that they are not surprised by your presence, talk to them sweetly and you will see how little by little they lose their shyness.
13. These little animals have an affable character with human beings but not with other birds, it is preferable that you do not mix them with other birds if you have a large cage with many varieties of birds.

Tips for caring for a lovebird

• When you feed a lovebird chick with porridge you should check its crop before feeding it. If you see that two hours have passed and it is still full, you should take it to the vet. They can also start eating pipes (sunflower seeds)
• In the same way that it is not convenient to store the porridge already prepared for the babies, the porridge for the lovebirds should be used freshly made.
• While it is small and you keep it in a box with straw and cotton or cloth, remember to change it every two or three days.
• Keep the cage clean to prevent disease. That you never lack clean water in the drinking fountain.
• Remember that as a tropical bird, it requires light and heat.