New Lovebird owner starting with 6 of them LOL. Any pointers???

[zippitygirl1986]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs742.ash1/163428_1496135805239_1289415053_1082069_2870902_n. jpg

Hi I am Ashley from Tampa FL. I live on a farm with many animals. I have raised a lot of different types. However this is my first time owning a bird other than chickens and ducks and I ended up with six of the little Lovies.

My mother-n-law and I were at our local feed store and they had 5 Peachface Lovebirds (four of which are babies with the black still on their beaks and one adult said to be a male). Feed store owner offered them to us with two cages and assessories for $25.00. So, we bought them.
None of which seemed to have been hand raised. All of them were skidish of us touching them.

When we brought them home the male adult was separated, and the babies were together. After a few days we bought a much larger cage and put them all in together. The adult male had a nest box that he was using in his 1st home so we went ahead and transferred it into his new cage. We bought the babies a box of their own and filled their cage with lots of fun toys.

In doing research, which most of it contradicts itself, we found out that lovies will become vey territorial over their boxes and for training/taming purposes it would be best to remove them. Which we did. In shopping for more bird accessories we came across a hand raised Peachface Lutino lovebird baby, which we fell in love with, and bought her as well. She is still in a separate cage from the others, but we do let them play together in their play gym and they get along great.

Yesterday we took the next step and clipped the original 5's wings and discovered the adult male had previously been clipped. We have also discovered that although they are still skiddish they do not bite when held and 3 of the 5 originals will step up onto a dowel rod for us. (this is a new trick since clipping their wings).

I guess you can say they have been through a lot in the past few weeks. We have also had to move their cage around a few times due to the cold snap we have gotten. We originally had them on the screened in back porch, moved them to the bathroom, and now they are in our living room.

I was wondering if anyone had any pointers and if we are doing things right. Also what treats do your lovebirds like. We have bought bird treats, assorted fresh and dried fruits, and millet. Only the adult male has shown any interest in the millet and loves it so much that he will take it out of our hands. The rest of the birds ignore all the treats.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and God Bless
Ashley :whistle:

Names:
Adult - Bossman
Triplets - Snap, Crackle, and Pop
Blue Lovie - Bluebell
Lutino - Sherbert

For more pictures: :)

http://www.facebook.com/zippitygirl1986?cropsuccess#!/album.php?aid=65108&id=1289415053&page=5

[michael]

Hi Ashley. .. Beautiful lovebirds! .. Welcome to Lovebirdsplus community! .. First let me mention, its not at all surprising to find contradictory information. .. Although there are several well respected parrot websites to choose from, due to the diversity involved in avian care, even some of the best advice or information can become confusing. ... My suggestion, is to start with the basics of parrot care.

As you probably already know, lovebirds dietary/behavioral requirements are not quite the same as other species of parrots. .. Please review our "Lovebird care" forum for a few pointers on dietary requirements, as well as idea's on how to encourage a healthy diet. .. Understanding their needs, especially behavioral characteristics/attributes, can take a considerable amount of time. .. In your case, having several lovebirds at one time, most of which are juvenile, can create a very complex situation, especially when it comes down to housing. As they mature, you may find it necessary to separate them based on relationships, and/or territorial issues.

A good start for parrot care in general, is our "Lovebird Resource Library". Most of the concepts found there, can well be incorporated into the future of your new found flock. Although each lovebird has its own personality, you'll probably find most those basics remain the same. .. However, from a behavior and taming standpoint, thats a subject as diverse as the personalities of each and every lovebird. Something we often cannot predict.

Sounds like your off to a good start. .. If your new lovebirds are not used to colder temps, keeping them in your livingroom where its warm is certainly more appropriate. .. Most important. Setting up avian veterinary care in the event of illness or injury, is a worthwhile option. .. Please note, we have veterinary resources right here within our website to help you locate a vet. All of who's services have been utilized by our own members. .. Do take advantage of our resources, and don't hesitate to ask more questions.

Lets share our knowledge together! ...............:)

[zippitygirl1986]

Thank you so much for your advice, and recomendations they are greatly appreciated, as well as assuring us we are not doing anything wrong. I will be sure to keep you guys updated on their progress as well as felling free to ask and questions I might have along the way.

Thanks

[zippitygirl1986]

Oh one more thing. I just got a reply to our photo post saying

"All your new babies are very cute but the older one (the one with the reddish orange beak) is a hybrid. That one looks like a Peachfaced x Fischer's cross and, as a result, he is sterile/unable to reproduce. He can make a great pet but he can't father chicks."

Is this so? I did think the orange beak was odd. I have a book and lots of website that made us believe he was Peachface in every other way other than the beak.

I guess it dosnt matter cause they get along alright even though he does rule the roost. But, we are curious though.

[Z28Taxman]

Oh one more thing. I just got a reply to our photo post saying

"All your new babies are very cute but the older one (the one with the reddish orange beak) is a hybrid. That one looks like a Peachfaced x Fischer's cross and, as a result, he is sterile/unable to reproduce. He can make a great pet but he can't father chicks."

Is this so? I did think the orange beak was odd. I have a book and lots of website that made us believe he was Peachface in every other way other than the beak.

I guess it dosnt matter cause they get along alright even though he does rule the roost. But, we are curious though.

He does look like a hybrid. Cute too! Hybrids need love too! :)

[michael]

........"All your new babies are very cute but the older one (the one with the reddish orange beak) is a hybrid. That one looks like a Peachfaced x Fischer's cross and, as a result, he is sterile/unable to reproduce. He can make a great pet but he can't father chicks." .......... Is this so?

Yes, he would be sterile, and would still make a great fid. .. And yes. As Dave stated, he needs love too!..............:)

[thebubbleking]

vey nice birds two of yours looks like two of mine lol i also have a hybrid looks just like yours but mines female lol

[zippitygirl1986]

Thanks..... That's awesome.

[bird-brain]

Hello Ashley and welcome! It's great that you are taking time to research and set things up properly for them. As Michael said, as the babies age you may find that some of them won't do well in the same cage. Mature hens tend to get very territorial especially with other hens. My Kenya is a hybrid and is the best behaved of my 7 and there are a few board members who have peach/fischers hybrids. Your little orange beak and the shape of the bird and the pronounced ring around his eye are the marks of hybridization. The lack of any dark pigment on his head points towards fischer's (my personal faves :D) For the now, just get up on proper nutrition for them and ENJOY your birdies! I too live the farm life with many animals. I love them all but my birds keep me sane :)

[zippitygirl1986]

Thank you.... I hope they continue to get along good. I bought them a pretty big cage. :) And they have so much fun together right now. And I think they are getting a little more used to us. They still try to get away form us when we reach in but, are ok once we have them and some of them get on a rod no problem.

[zippitygirl1986]

What do you guys say about banding the birds? Our triplets (as my husband calles them) look to much alike. So, if banding was alright we might do that to tell them apart. Most of what I read says it's alright but, one site said they can take it off (which wouldnt be to bad) or they could tighten it around their legs more.

We want a orange one that says Snap
Blue one that says Crackle
And a Red one that says Pop

lol

[personatus]

Hi and welcome! You can only add split rings now, closed rings need to be put on when the birds are young chicks. Personally I find split rings never work. They chew them off and often get irritated by them. I have tried several times but they have never lasted more than 24 hours!

[zippitygirl1986]

Hmmm... Was it the metal or plastic? I did read that the closed were for babies only. Thank you

[Bill's Birds]

Welcome. As you can see there are a lot of friendly, knowledgeable people here. I, too, am new, and love this site. I do Bird rescue, so, my flock changes. Except for my Lovebird, Bella and Parakeet, Bradleigh. They are in their forever home. I, also, am from Florida. Across the bay, in Largo. Nice weather, huh?:)

[zippitygirl1986]

Thank you.... Yes there seems to be some great people on here. I love this site too. Yeah we are having some crazy weather. Your not to far from us. We are in Seffner.

:)

[zippitygirl1986]

As I said before our lovies are not fully tame yet. And as far as I know were not hand raised. They act a little better outside there cage on the playpin though. But not all of them will get on the rod or my finger. Is grabbing them out of the cage ok? Or just leaving the cage open and seeing if they come out best? Once I have them its all good. Bossman may nip a little though. My husband grabbed them today but, both of us think that's not a good thing.
We already made up our minds not to do it again but, I thought a little input would be good.

Thank you....

OH and my husband has a picture he wishes to share with you. I will post it later. He got Bossman to sit in the chair with him. SOOOO... CUTE....

[zippitygirl1986]

Oh and I know I have to many questions lol but, our birds don't seem to like fruit and veggies very much. Fresh and dried of all sorts.

[personatus]

Hmmm... Was it the metal or plastic? I did read that the closed were for babies only. Thank you

I've tried all kinds. plastic, aluminium, coloured steel, coils. They couldn't get the steel rings off, but they went crazy trying to, to the point they were making their legs sore so I promptly removed them!

[Carole]

Your little peach faced one looks like my two. I have two siblings - one I know is a female as she is laying eggs now, the other I don't know.

As for treats, mine like Avicakes and Nutriberries. If you email the company at info1@lafebercares.com, they will send you samples. Then you can see which ones they like before buying a big package :) They sent me all kinds of treats for my lovebirds.

They also like Fruity Zupreem and oats. Oh, and birdie bread too. You can get the recipe I use on my cockatiel's website: http://dundeebird.com

Carole

[zippitygirl1986]

WOW. Thank you I will look into it. :)

[linda040899]

Closed bands must be put on when lovebirds are babies, as you can't get a closed band over the foot of an adult bird. If the bands bothered them to that extent, it's best to leave them unbanded. My babies are banded but the bands are put on when they are about 2 weeks old or when they will stay on their feet.

I know I have to many questions
Good! We get to train you properly!!! :)

[zippitygirl1986]

Right I knew you had to put the closed ones on while they were babies. I read the bad things about the open ones. I wanted to do it to help me tell Snap, Crackle, and Pop apart. But, if it means hurting them in anyway then forget it.

As always thank you.