accidental lovebird owner in need of help!!! :)

[lovebirdnewbie]

hello everyone.
iv stumbled upon a lovebird and am the only person i no who has one in my area, and so have turned to you guys for help...

Yesterday i received a phonecall from my partner, saying that him and his friends had found what they thought to be a parakeet flying around thier workshed, and what should they do. so obviously id told them to ring the vets and rspca to take it and find the owner. neither would take it in and by the end of the day id agreed to him bringing the bird home.
Once home we found it is a beautiful peachfaced lovebird (and being that yesterday was our anniversary), saw this as a sign of fate. this bird was ment to come to us!!

we have supplied it with an adequete cage, and made sure it has the right food etc.

the problem is we dont know if it was a pet bird or an aviary bird.
it seems happy enough in the cage, jumping around and climbing but is very curious about the bottom of the cage.
we are paying it plenty of attention, talking to it and making sure it has company as its on its own, but not sure if we are scaring it or comforting it. (im useless i no)
it grinds its beak which im led to believe means it feels secure...and what i think is talking back to us..
sometimes it does highpitched sqwaks..is this fear???

any info or help anyone could give me would be a great help....that is if u havnt lost the will to live after reading this long post hahaha.

thankyou.. me and sunny(so called cuz he/she is bright yellow all over with an orange face) really appreciate any help you can give us.
x:)

[thebubbleking]

Fist off post notices online, to pet shops etc, that you found a lovebird and be ready for the caller to describe it, it would be heartbreaking if its fid parents are looking for it. Beak grinding is indeed a sign of happiness and contentment. And if the lovie is that curious about the bottom of the cage it was probably houses in stackable cages or a cage where he had a downstairs neighbour so to speak.

[lovebirdnewbie]

i have informed all local vets and will be putting up posters in the area it was found...as like u sed someone could be missing it..but at the same time iv fallen in love and would also be heartbroken if he/she was claimed. haha.

he keeps drinking out of the bath instead of his actual water bowl..is this normal?

also hes fine with me or my partner puttin our hand in the cage, he'll sit there singing, but wont eat any of the grapes or banana i give him, whether i try it from my hand or leave it in the cage for him.

hes also got a toe missing? is that ok or something i need to see the vet about??

[linda040899]

Hi and welcome to our community!

I agree that you need to try to find the owner of this bird, if possible, before you call it your own. I know if any of mine ever got loose, I would be frantically searching for it!!

In the meantime, beak grinding means contentment. I high pitched chirp could be a warning call or a contact call in an attempt to find a mate (a person or another lovebird).

From your color description, it sounds like you might have an Orangefaced Lutino Peachfaced Lovebird. Very pretty mutation.

[lovebirdnewbie]

thankyou both so much, i feel a little bit better.
i do want more than antyhing to reunite it with its owner as im scared it culd get depressed or be grieving for them.
but am glad that what little i do know is keeping him happy atleast.

one thing i do no is if he is claimed, after plenty of research i will definatly be buying myself a new one. they are absolutly beautifull and just a little chirp lifts your spirits!! :)

[thebubbleking]

I have had several birds with missing toes, so long as it is not recent and in need of being watched for infection it should be fine.It's funny how altho birds are fragile they can be quite resiliant!
All my lovies have different favorites for drinking some like thier cups some like wide bowls some like the sink and some like foutains lol infact my lovebird sunshine makes soup with his water to drink lol

[lovebirdnewbie]

hahaha soup??!!! funny little creatures arnt they.
iv been sat watching sunny in stitches at all his funny little ways. couldve sworn he was dancing to music earlier. hehehe

does he need a bed to sleep in or is a perch fine??
i put a sheet over his cage for "bedtime" and snuck a look at him before and he was sleeping on his cuttle fish thing???!!!!!


(i no im a pain with all these random questions, im sorry, just want to make sure im looking after him properly)

[LovelySydney]

hi & welcome to the forum!! I hope you find your lovesbirds previous owner but if not you have entered the realm of being owned by a lovebird! I had 2 (both passed at the end of April) and I absolutely loved watching them and interacting with them - they are fun/adorable/sneaky little creatures! Definitely post some pics when you get the chance, then we can really see what you have!

[bookworm0550]

....I wonder where your little guy came from. well, lucky for him he ran into your caring hands. we love pictures around here too ;) there's ton of info on this forum too. he sounds like a happy little guy :)

[michael]

........does he need a bed to sleep in or is a perch fine??
i put a sheet over his cage for "bedtime" and snuck a look at him before and he was sleeping on his cuttle fish thing???!!!!!

(i no im a pain with all these random questions, im sorry, just want to make sure im looking after him properly)

Hi Lovebirdnewbie. Sounds like you have yourself a little rescue going on there. Really, its very kind of you to take this lovebird in as it may not have survived well on its own. Certainly, we're glad you took the time to share with us in such a way that ensures its overall care and well being. Please, don't hesitate at all to ask any questions. Thats what we are all here for.

I have a feeling unfortunately that this lovebird has lost its owner, or vice versa.......:wink:.......as from the behavior you describe its been well socialized. Should the owner step forth, hopefully your prepared to release him/her back to the fidparents, as the emotional trauma of losing a parrot is several times that of having to relinquish one you've provided a short term guardianship. Still, there's always a chance you've just become a new fidparent. Either way, this lovie has indeed found its savior.

Best you can do when posting a "found" parrot is to NOT give out their colour or size. This helps to ensure that the original owner receives their precious bird by having to provide you a proper description. As for sleeping aids, your new friend may or may not like a cozy. Definitely worth a try though! Best wishes!.......:)

[FuzzyAga]

Hi, and welcome!

I was in your boat several years ago when I found my Juanita (she's an Orangefaced American Cinnamon Green) outside practically near my front door.

I didn't know anything, so I put her in a round (a no-no!) makeshift cage that I used to keep rabbits away from my veggies in my garden. It's made from galvanized metal (a no-no!) and has 1/4-inch square openings. It was about 14-inches across in diameter. It's called hardware cloth in the U.S. There was a crude lid made from some left-overs, and I stuck some grapevine (a good thing!) branches through the openings for perches. If you can picture it, not Buckingham Palace. I placed this so-called cage on a table.

I put a small bowl of water on the bottom and gave her organic apple slices. Yeah, like, lovebirds are not overly fond of fruit, I found out later. This was her set-up for the first 24-hours.

Then, it dawned on me that this bird wasn't eating and I bought some pellets, which she ate like a starving bird. This was all she ate for the next three-days while I searched for her owners with flyers in our neighborhood. This, again, in modern aviculture is not good for the lovie. A proper diet for a lovie consists mostly of a good quality seed mix (so as to minimize the dust), and greens, like kale, broccoli, turnip greens, peas, sweet corn, carrots, and other good stuff. Supplement with pellets, fruits, nuts (mine love walnuts) and other things. Do not feed avocado, chocolate, or caffeine products. No milk as the lactose doesn't agree with them.

My Juanita eats peeled grapes ( I peel it because I don't want her to fling grape skin all over the walls) and Petey will eat cherries as well, but that's it for the fruits. My guys also like baked chicken, scrambled eggs, and a small nibble of French toast.

I can understand that until you know the status of your found bird, you may not want to invest a whole lot of money, so if (big if) you get to keep him, you may want to buy a bigger cage later and keep the smallish cage as a travel cage. Don't worry, there's no end to the stuff you can spend your money on! Perches, toys, sleep cozies, food, veteranian bills. For now, you need to buy the food.

Does the cuttlebone thing have a short perch that juts out? He's probably OK sleeping on it, after all, it's like a short perch.

As for making friends with him, you're actually doing the right thing from the start by sitting by/near him and letting him become familiar with you. Move slowly around him.

But please make a good-faith effort to locate his parrents. I would suggest using the newpaper, the internet, and flyers.

In the interim, good luck.

[bbslovie]

Hi and welcome! I think it's great that you and your partner took in this little lost lovebird and are giving it the care that it needs right now!:) I'm so glad that you are also doing everything possible to reunite this bird and it's original owner/parront. It is a horrible ordeal to go through when you've lost your fid. :very_sad: This way if you don't hear anything you'll have a clear conscience and you'll know it was meant to be. Just my :2cents: Please keep us posted.

Barb :)

[lovebirdnewbie]

thankyou so much to everyone, taking time out to help me. iv been ringin the vets for the past two days and noone has yet claimed him, and will be putting posters up on the weekend. it upsets me a bit that noone has come forward yet, i dont understand how anyone could not miss him, hes a beautiful funny guy.
at this moment he is what i can only describe as dancing around the bottom of the cage with his reflection!! its quite a sight. :)

i have bought him a cockateil and parreket mix (as thats what the petshop told me he needs) and hes picked on it, but has refused to eat any of the grapes or bananas iv put in the bars of his cage for him. he seems to really enjoy a long stick thing with little brown seeds (sorry cant remember what its called) !

will get photos up on here as soon as i can... then find out what breed he or she really is, as ofcourse i know nothing about it..breed, sex, age and whether he was always alone or part of a couple. :(

thanks again guys

[linda040899]

All you can do is try to find out where he came from. Once you've done all you can, the option is to keep him/her for your own pet.

For base food, a good cockatiel mix is what lovebirds need. Most of us will add a few pellets and we offer a lot of fresh food (veggies more so than fruit). If yours doesn't seem interested, it could be that what you are offering is not viewed as something edible! Keep offering, and, perhaps sit near the cage and eat some of the vegetable that you want him to at least try. Lovebirds are very social and like to eat with company rather than alone. If you are eating some of what you want him to eat, he may decide to check out what you have! :)

[Enko_chan]

It sounds like you're doing great with this little guy/gal so far, and most of the advice I thought of giving is already covered! I know we've all got loads of information for how to set up a wonderful permanent living space for him/her if s/he's there to stay!

It sounds like you've found quite a little treasure! I hope the person s/he's missing finds him/her, but if they don't, it sounds like you're a good match! Even if someone does come forth, you'll have gained the love for and knowledge of a beautiful creature and may be able to purchase or adopt a baby or adult lovebird that needs a good home.

There is a great section on here about dietary needs in the reference library of this forum. As for which seed mixes and pellets- that is a personal preference, and there a a LOT of posts in the dietary section describing what others feed their fids. I do not wish to knock pet shops or their employees, as there ARE good ones out there that truly care about their animals and know what they are doing, but many pet shops are out to sell their wares, even at the expense of the animals' health, and if you ask them what to feed your pet- will answer something that they sell even if it isn't adequate, and even if they don't KNOW what's adequate.

A good seed mix is a good start, but as was stated above, they need more! Seeds only form about 40% of my birds' diets. The rest is fresh grains & veggies 30%, pellets 20%, treats & fruit 10% Also- millet (the brown seeds on a stick) is not a staple food, but a treat. Don't feed them too much, or its all they'll eat! You'll want to feed them some veggies- baked sweet potatoes (don't add butter but a little pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon can spice it up in a way my lovebirds love), parboiled carrots, zucchini, raw kale, bell peppers, green beans, green peas, raw collard greens, dried figs, and for fruits- my lovies enjoy strawberries (make sure they're VERY well cleaned, I buy organic ones because regular ones can have majorly nasty pesticides) and mango. Chop up the foods finely. Also be sure to add a fresh grain of some sort- my birds enjoy quinoa, brown rice, and whole wheat pasta (chopped up into bits). In addition to the list of Food DON'Ts: added sugar/sweeteners, butter/margerine/shortening, added salt. - Some other good treats aside from millet are nutriberries (a brand with several different flavors), avicakes, AND... HOMEMADE BIRDIE BREAD! Linda has a wonderful recipe that my birds can't get enough of. Its a great recipe that can be tweaked to meet your birdie's preferences!

It may seem like a lot of work to cook for the birds, but they need us to prepare fresh foods for them. Their meals are such small portions relative to ours! I eat a lot of the same things the birds eat, and when I cook for them, I will put a portion aside to freeze for the rest of the week or month, a refridgerated portion for the next day or two, and of course- their meal... and add the fresh things as I prepare/thaw their meals.

Another thing that I do to let the birds know that the fresh stuff I feed them is, indeed, food is I keep a dish identical to the one in which their seeds and pellets and other dry stuff is served, and I serve their fresh food in the same kind of dish and the same place in their cage where their fresh food is. Trying to feed them the fresh stuff through the bars and/or as a treat is a great way to introduce it. Keep trying!

And I agree with Linda- I live in a somewhat unruly household where my birds eat meals with me, and they will consider ANYTHING I am eating food! I have to be careful and can't have them hanging around when I'm eating something they shouldn't!

Last but not least- WELCOME! You've come to the right place. Its good to know that however this works out, it will be a happy ending for this special little bird!

[lovebirdnewbie]

been a while since iv been on here so thought id give an update.
three weeks later and noone has claimed sunny, and so i have taken him in as my own. hhe

hes starting to trust us a lot more, coming out of his cage and flyin round the room, coming to sit on the table next me reading a paper, but still flinches and flies off if we move our hands towards him. :( baby steps i no.

its nice to come home to his excited chirps and tell him about our day. lol.

[bookworm0550]

well, congratulations on being a fidma or a fidpa as i don't know if youre a dude or gal. photos please!!!!!!

[BarbieH]

Sunny was very lucky that you both found him. :) Congrats on being owned by a few grams of feathers!

[michael]

been a while since iv been on here so thought id give an update.
three weeks later and noone has claimed sunny, and so i have taken him in as my own. hhe

hes starting to trust us a lot more, coming out of his cage and flyin round the room, coming to sit on the table next me reading a paper, but still flinches and flies off if we move our hands towards him. :( baby steps i no.

its nice to come home to his excited chirps and tell him about our day. lol.

Thanks for the update on Sunny! ........ Certainly, we'd love to hear more about him/her as time goes on. ..... You know, besides escaping, it used to be somewhat a common practice for smaller species of birds to be released to the wild for lack of moral judgement. While there is a slight chance for survival, companion birds generally don't do well in an unfamiliar environment. Unfortunately, most will eventually succumb to adverse weather conditions, or simply starve to death. It is with this fact that Sunny indeed is one very lucky lovebird. ...... Once again, its wonderful you not only took the time to initially rescue Sunny, but are now providing her a permanent home. Best wishes for you all...........:)

[Pips mom]

he seems to really enjoy a long stick thing with little brown seeds (sorry cant remember what its called) !

That's millet! Millet is usually a favorite with birds! I see that this little lovie has won your heart! They are such cute little stinkers! so active and playful and full of energy and fun! I too enjoy my lovie's chirps and sounds, although some lovies can get loud......Pip is usually not loud.
I wonder what kind of cage you have gotten for him and also have you gotten him some toys to put in there? Lovies LOVE toys! also when it comes to perches, a couple of different kinds, different size perches is good for their feet....rope perches are great, and maybe try a swing....my lovie loves swings! The cage I have for Pip is fairly cheap, but yet with plenty of room. I got it at Petco and you can get one online as well. It's important to give this lovie a roomy cage.....he may be a small bird, but he's very active and needs lots of room to run and play. You'll see....this little bird has alot of personality and they are quite smart too for little guys!
I am a firm believer in things happening for a reason or being meant to be, as you seem to think. I know you love this lovie already, but please remember.....they still could be an owner out there who loves this little bird even more and is heartbroken. I know it's been three weeks.....but if it was me in your shoes, I'd not give up on finding the previous just yet....I'd probably give it up after two or three months.....that's just me though....having birds and imagining if any of mine ever got out....I'd be a mess! Looks like chances are you have a new feathered friend though! It's great what you've done for this little guy! or girl! Keep us updated and try to get some pics for us! Welcome to you and Sunny, and good luck!