Lovebird Food???

[mingram1981]

I need some help, I dont know the name of the food I feed my lovebird because i found her on the side of the street. She came with food but i dont think she likes it. What kind of food do you guys feed your lovebird. I want to get this but i would like to see if you guys use it (Lafeber's Nutri-Berries food for lovebirds) I can tell what she likes the most is the Honey Bars Treats, I know thats not good for her to eat all the time.


Thanks
Mike
:confused:

[linda040899]

Hi Mike,
Most of us here feed a varied diet that consists of a quality Cockatiel seed mix, 10-20% pellets (if the bird will eat them!) and fresh food. Several good brands of seed include ABBA and Volkman. It can be ordered online and I'm sure others will share their sources.

If you check in our Care Forum, we have a section for birdie cooking and recipes. The homemade cornbread is always a favorite and most of our lovebirds will eat whatever we "hide" in the mixture!!

Since you don't know what she was eating before you got her, it's pretty much going to be trial and error. If you offer fresh carrots, for instance, but she's never had them before, she may not be willing to even look at them because she doesn't recognize them as edible. You may have to sit down next to her cage or with her and actually eat some of the carrots you want her to eat. Lovebirds are very social and will usually want anything that you have so as not to be left out of all the fun! Carrots can be cut up in slender strips, shredded, cubed, cut in thin rounds or any other creative way you can think up. She will probably let you know her preference or she may decide she hates carrots....period. Keep offering one new food at a time for several days. Fresh food can be left in her cage for roughly 4 hrs before it starts to spoil.

[LauraO]

I feed all my birds Volkman. However, some of the mixes are better than others. I usually get the lovebird/conure mix with no sunflower seeds for my lovies. They rarely eat pellets, but eat birdy bread, grains, eggs, veggies, and avi-cakes as treats.

I agree with Linda that testing out some different brands and watching your lovie closely is your best bet. If you have a way to weigh them, I would track their weight during this time. Some birds don't take well to food changes and may stop eating all together or will not eat enough.

[chellybum]

I feed my lovie Nutriberries - and I have for the past year - she LOVES them and won't eat anything else - unless it is fresh veg or chicken

I used to buy them in pet stores but I just found out you can order them online - I was paying $13 a bag and online they are only $6!!! I am sooo excited!!!

[NickyBeth]

My previous lovebird, Zee -- was one of the crazy birds that was raised on a mainly pelleted diet. So that's what Zee ate!

Our new lovebird eats 1/3 cockateil mix, 1/4 pellets, 1/4 popcorn, and the litle bit that remains is normally a few "treats" such as Nutriberries, Avi-cakes, treat stick (one needs to be in her cage ALL the time. She will let you know if one is NOT in there), pumpkin seeds, raisins, and sometimes dried fruit. Cherry mostly likes the black sunflower seeds, and when she it out of them she lets you know it!

[Kristina]

Fenway eats better than I do on most days. LOL.

He gets a mixture of
About 2 tablespoons of Volkman's Avian Science Super (Lovebird/conure with sunflower)
About 1 tablespoon of Hagen VME Pro Seed
1/4 TBSP of Zupreem pellets (cockatiel)
1/8 TBSP of Pretty Bird pellets

I pre-mix his dry food in a ziploc bag, so I'm not sure of the right amounts. His diet is mostly seed with a small amount of pellets. I recently added Pro Seed because of his love for safflower.

He also gets fresh veggies and Beak Appetit everyday. On most days, he gets carrots and broccoli. I recently made up a little concoction with rice, millet, veggies and peanut butter that he loves. He only gets millet about once a week. I use it to keep him quiet when we watch movies. LOL.

[lemonypickett]

Eddie hates safflower.

He did just find out carrot is his new favorite food though. I buy the pre-shredded stuff in the bag so I am not late for work anymore because I am cooking for my bird!

[onionhead]

My lovebird eats Higgins cockatiel seed, Roudybush pellets, Zupreem pellets, Wheat Grass, and veggies.

[Janie]

I feed my three Volkman (lovebird), Abba (small hook bills), Sunscription Vita Tiel (for cockatiels and lovebirds) and Higgiins (safflower gold and snack attack) along with birdie cornbread and fresh veggies. Veggie favorites with my flock are raw broccoli, kale, cooked popcorn and raw carrots.

[Kristina]

I forgot about popcorn! Fenway loves it! He likes to take it out of his food bowl, dunk it in his water and then put back in the food bowl and eat it. He's weird. LOL.