Lovebirds as Pets
Lovebird General Info ... Lovebird Species ... Lovebird Photos ... Breeding Lovebirds ... Lovebird Books
Bookmarks: Living with a Lovebird ... Talking Ability ... Housing ... Food ... Potential Problems
Living with a Lovebird (and other Pets):
Lovebirds have the fun personality of parrots while being manageable due to their small size. They are true clowns, playing for hours at a time.
They love hanging from their toys, riding on your shoulder and playing with your necklaces. To save your necklaces from being destroyed and to protect your lovebird from heavy-metal toxicities, I recommend against wearing any necklaces when your bird is with you. They also like to pull off buttons! Lovebirds love to snuggle and preen.
Many people believe lovebirds must be kept in pairs; however, I found this not to be true. A single lovebird tends to be a better pet because it bonds to you rather than to another lovebird. However, if you have little time to spend with your lovebird, do get him a mate. They are social birds and need interaction with another being. I found that they stay tame with you (provided you spend SOME time with him or her), if you manage to pair him or her up with another species. I successfully paired Soleil up with a cockatiel. It took some time of keeping them in adjoining cages and slowly allowing them to interact outside the cage. But within a couple of weeks, they were a bonded pair -- and BOTH stayed tame with me! Unfortunately, the cockatiel got caught in a thread hanging from Soleil's bird tent and got strangled. A sad experience, which has taught me to always check for threads from toys or from his lovie-tent. Fortunately, the later tent that I bought (below) doesn't seem to come apart. My current one is over a year old now and still looks perfect - except for some "birdy droppings," of course.
My pet lovebird Soleil (who is as tame as it gets -- and as loving as they come) wouldn't be without his lovie-tent. Lovebirds, and other "cuddly" birds - such as conures -- just love these "retreats" ... Click on the above link to order. You won't regret. However, if you are "handy" -- you could also make your own "lovie-tent" -- I would probably use a thick and warm "arm" section from an old jacket or coat (fake fur interior would be ideal), and hang it up in his or her cage. This would make a natural "tunnel" for him or her to climb into when sleeping time comes around. Please make sure to finish it nicely, without hanging threads that he could entangle himself into and possibly get strangled - this actually happened with my lovebird's mate. Always look out for loose threads. I personally would put my life at risk handling a sowing needle ;-) and prefer to buy his tents. Each lasts a few years.
I would also recommend being creative in the way you furnish his cage. I have a coconut in Solei's cage -- hollowed with a couple of "lovebird-sized" holes in it for him to crawl into; and he loves that one too. You can also get baby toys at garage sales very cheaply. Many of them also make great bird toys!
You probably already noticed it: I LOVE lovebirds. My experience is that peach-face lovebirds generally
make the best pets. I have bred and handfed both masked/eye-rings
and peach-faces and had to spend MUCH more time with the eye-rings (which includes the masked and Fisher lovebirds) to get them
tame - and after all that, they wouldn't STAY tame. As beautiful and cute as they were as babies, and notwithstanding the amount of time I spent with them -- I was not successful in keeping any eye-ring lovebirds tame. This was my experience and the experience of my breeder friends. This being so, as pets, I prefer, and recommend, peach-faced lovies. By the way, I have owned cats, dogs and birds concurrently. I now have one handicapped cockatiel who lives on a tray and our cat has free access to him, and is showing no aggression whatsoever towards him. In fact, Charlie aka Cuddles flies off his tray at least once a day (whenever he gets spooked), and we find him on the floor when we come home after work -- and have found that the cat would never hurt him. You can train them -- if you are considering a mixed household, please visit this website for information on how to do that. I have trained quite a few cats (including wild street cats). It is surprisingly easy. By the way, our cat is SCARED of our lovebird. Don't tell anybody! Please scroll down to see my former cat "Rascal" and four baby lovebirds (lutino, normal peach-face, dutch blue, dilute - all from one clutch!).
My little Soleil, a lutino peach-face lovebird (like the one that is featured on the Wingdow Seat to the right), is such a sweetheart. He is all yellow, with a red head and a little red in his tail feathers. He is very cuddly (with me) and very animated. Admittingly, occasionally with an attitude (he is so jealous!), but I thoroughly enjoy him as a pet. Provided they are well socialized, lovebirds make wonderful pets. They do require just about daily socialization though. Don't continue to ignore a lovebird and expect it to stay tame. That won't happen. It's a great bird for someone who REALLY wants a cuddly bird and is willing to provide daily interaction to his / her pet. It is difficult to tame an adult lovebird though, but if you come across a "throw-away" lovebird, please give him or her a chance. I have seen them develop into loved pets. However, the easiest way is to get them young and handfed - especially if you want him or her to be as cuddly as my own lovie Soleil is (I handfed him myself, as I was experienced in doing so). He was "paired up" with a cockatiel. Best buddies they were ... but he still liked my companionship most of all. Admittingly, if I had paired him up with another lovebird, he would not have remained tame. They will always prefer their kind most of all. Unfortunately, Soleil's mate got entangled and strangled in a thread hanging from Soleil's tent, which was a nightmare experience for us. Having Soleil successfully paired up with another bird, represented the ideal situation for me, who wanted my lovie to have a feathered buddy -- but still remain tame with me. Eventually, I will again find the right "mate" for him.
Talking Ability:
Lovebirds rarely talk, but there is a chance they may learn to mimic human speech if taught to at a young age.
Housing
Lovebirds are very active and require an appropriately sized cage. They require lots of toys and things to chew on and play with. This webpage has a variety of suitable cages for them.
Lovebirds are extremely social birds, and there is debate on whether they should be kept individually. However, the consensus seems to be that they need social interaction, be it with conspecifics or human companion, for their emotional as well as physical well-being. Without this interaction, daily exercise, a roomy cage, and many toys to play with, they may resort to feather-plucking or other behavioral problems. They love to take baths almost every day and may sun themselves after bathing in order to dry.
Food
Lovebirds require a variety of food, such as pellets, fruits, seeds, and vegetables. Birds cannot stay healthy on seeds alone. Mine eats with me (from my plate), as well has being served a superior diet of LaFeber NutriBerries for Cockatiels (which is fine for lovebirds and cockatiels). I also get fortified seed sticks from the store, which both my cockatiel and lovebird enjoyes. They also love millets and other healthy treats. Fresh greens, such as spinach, are also extremely beneficial if not essential.
Potential Problems
Lovebirds are very vocal birds, making loud, high-pitched noises that can be a nuisance. They make noise all day, but especially at certain times of day.
As stated above, lovebirds are also very active, and love to chew things. When they are let out of their cage, it would be wise to watch them carefully, and protect any furniture, electrical wiring or anything else that they could possibly chew on. (Source: Wikipedia.com)
They love to tear up paper -- especially when they are in the "mating" spirit -- which is all-year-round for birds kept indoors (not exposed to the seasons). I have learned not to keep important papers laying around - and even use it as a way to keep my lovebird busy.
Training and Behavioral Guidance:
Lovebirds are amongst the easiest pet birds to keep. They are not very destructive (even though they do like to tear up paper!) and noise levels are not desturbing for most people. They do discover their beaks as method of "disciplining us" once they are out of the "baby stage" and they can generally be somewhat naughty, and it really is important to learn to understand them and to guide their behavior before an undesirable behavior has been established.
- Web Resources: I put together web resources for you to help you understand your pet bird and properly direct him. Please visit this website for valuable tips on parrot behavior and training.
- If you are, as I am, a visual learner and prefer step-by-step instructions to train your pet, I recommend:
- the Parrot Training Course to teach your parrot to:
- Stop Biting
- Perform Tricks &
- Tame ANY SIZE bird you could possibly own
- and/or try the "Teach Your Parrot to Talk" Training Course.
- the Parrot Training Course to teach your parrot to:
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with web visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the webmaster.
Photo contributions are welcome!
