Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 3/2/2006

Question
Chrys,

I was recently with my daughter when she was purchasing a second cockatiel.  I just happened to be by the baby lovebirds and 2 of them kept jumping on me and chatting.  I'd put them back and move around and they would follow me.  They chose me.  Needless to say, they came home with me.

How often do they need to bathe and what is the best way to do this?  As for their diet, they are on a topper seed mix.  I try to get them to eat fresh fruits and vegetables but they just don't try it.  Any suggestions on how to introduce fresh fruits and vegetables?  

They are kept in a cage together.. in a seperate room from the tiels.  They are sweet.  They like to come out of the cage and explore and climb all over me.  

Any general suggestions you have will be helpful.  I've had tiels but never lovebirds.  I want to take care of them properly.

Answer
Hi, Tina.  Thanks for posting.

Congratulations!  The best pet bird-human relationships are those where the parrot(s) choose their humans.  Birds (and animals in general) have second senses about humans, and when they pick you like these lovebirds did you, a great relationship has just begun!

Some parrots like to bathe every day, while others hate to bathe!  However, parrots need to bathe in order to keep their feathers healthy.  There are several ways for this to be done, depending on how receptive to bathing the parrot is.  Some parrots bathe in their water dishes.  This is OK, but you don't want them to drink the water after they bathe in it.  You can provide a separate dish for bathing purposes (affix to the side of the cage or place dish/bowl in the bottom of the cage or in their play area).  Doing this will allow them to bathe on their own when they want.  If they won't bathe on their own, you can mist them with a plant sprayer (a plastic bottle with a trigger you can pump and spray) once a week or however often they need to be sprayed.  Fill with hot water and gently spray the lovebirds (OK to fill with hot water because by the time the water sprays onto the birds, the water will be warm only).  

You need to get them off the daily seed diet.  Seed contains lots of fat and provides little nutrition.  Parrots won't eat anything they don't recognize as food.  Therefore, in order to introduce them to other types of food, you have to place the new food in their cage(s) every day.  Eventually, the lovebirds will take a taste of the new food and start eating it.  Be aware that not all parrots like everything you might offer, i.e., some don't like carrots, some don't like peas, some don't like grapes, etc.  Providing a variety of foods that are healthy and observing what they like to eat is how you learn to feed them well.  Also be aware that some parrots like their food sliced, some like their food cubed, some like bite-sized pieces, while others might like larger pieces.  You'll have to experiment to see how your lovebirds like to receive their food.  Seems like a lot of work at first, but pays big dividends in the end because your lovebirds will be healthier!  Also, try introducing pelleted food.  Pelleted food contains parrot vitamins and minerals and can be placed in the cage 24/7.  Limit seed offered to a couple times per week and/or as a treat.

It is very good that these lovebirds are imprinted on humans.  Keep up the good work of intereacting with these parrots on a daily basis.  Parrots prefer other parrots to humans normally.  If you can keep the bond you have with them, they will remain tame throughout their lives with you.  What happens a lot of times when 2 lovebirds (or other parrots) are with other birds, they tend to lose some tameness because they don't "need" their human companions as much since they have the company of other birds.  Therefore, the more you can interact with them, the better.

One thing I recommend you eventually do is to have your lovebirds DNA sexed if you don't already know what sex your lovebirds are.  They can't be sexed visually.  Here's a website for more information on this:

http://www.avianbiotech.com/SexingCenter.htm    

Come back if you need to.  Thanks.

Chrys