Before and After - Your New lovebird 

Feel free to contact us at lovebirdhaven@gmail.com for more information.

​Before you buy a lovebird, you must be well-prepared. Following are steps you should take before buying a lovebird.​​

1) Buy a cage suitable for the size and number of birds you are planning to purchase.

2) Ensure that cage has all necessary accessories: water dish, food tray, perches, toys, cuttle bone, and mineral/vitamin supplement (optional). 

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3) Buy lovebird seeds and spray millets (primary food for baby lovebirds)

4) Put the bird's cage in a proper location. Do not put it near areas with strong fumes (ex. kitchen) or open window. The temperature of the room must be warm and constant (about 25 degrees Celsius).

5) Turn your car's heating on when you are bringing the bird home. If you travel via other medium, ensure that the bird will not be exposed to cold.

6) Be prepared to dedicate your time and love to your baby! Lovebirds can live up to 15 years if cared for properly.

After you buy the lovebird:

(They will usually be sent home in a box that we provide, but you can also bring your own carrier cage if you have one.)​

1) Let the bird grow accustomed to its environment. Leave it alone and do not stress it by playing with it, trying to teach it tricks, or forcefully feeding the bird.

2) After a few hours, you can let it explore your house and get to know your family members. Do not let your other pets startle it, or your children to grab the baby harshly. You don't want to make it scared of you.

3) Remember: When handling the baby lovie, be gentle, cup it instead of making it feel restrained in a tight grip. 

4) Have fun :)

​Tips and warnings:

Daily Essentials: 

For a young, newly-weaned baby lovebird, put the water tray at the bottom of the cage. When it is a few months old, you can slowly adjust its drinking habits to a bird water bottle (that can be purchased in any pet store). This will save you a lot of trouble cleaning out the water dishes. Sometimes, when babies leave our home they will already be used to the water bottles. In this case you can directly put the bottle in the cage without waiting. 

For young baby lovebirds of a few weeks old, feed them fine seeds and/or spray millets only. You can transition to pellets, fruits and veggies after they are about 3 months old by slowly reducing the proportion of seeds in the diet and introducing pellets. They may not eat the pellets at first because seeds are more appetizing, but the former provides more nutritional value so it's important to introduce a mixed diet.

DO NOT change its diet suddenly. A rapid shift in diet can be very dangerous, even lethal. If you want to let it adjust to a new type of food, do it gradually over 2-3 weeks by mixing the new food with the old, and slowly increasing the proportions of new to old.

Change water every day (or two days depending on the cleanliness of the tray). Switch the food whenever you see necessary.

Occasionally give your bird a dish of water so they can bathe in it! They absolutely adore baths!

Habits and Living with Other Birds

Do not put baby lovebird in the same cage as your other pets (ex. other birds) when you first take it home. Separate them at the beginning until they grow accustomed to each other. After a few weeks, you can put them together in a monitored condition. (Do not do so unless you are sure that one bird will not attack the other). There may be exceptions to this rule, such as both being very tame birds that will not likely fight with each other.

Do not be afraid of the bird if it starts to nibble on you. If you dodge away, you are putting yourself in an inferior position, making it believe that it can dominate you.

Environment 

Ensure that the bird is a room with stable temperature at around 25~27 degrees Celsius.

Avoid exposing the birds to strong fumes (ex. air freshener, cooking, paint fume), but maintain proper ventilation.

Things to avoid: 

Constant sunlight exposure, insecticides, close proximity to open windows or fireplaces, unwashed fruits/ vegetables, especially those sprayed with pesticides.

In general, avoid chemical sprays in the home as lovebirds' respiratory system can be very sensitive. 

Warning: Ensure that when you are opening the window, the cages are closed so no birds will escape.

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