Is a lovebird right for me??

[abbyrose915]

Hi I'm a 19 year old female student. I am starting to fall in love with lovebirds even though I have never had one. I have been doing tons of research as well as watching videos of these adorable little creatures. I know at one point I want to have a lovebird in m life. And I guess my question for all of you is if right now is a good time. I'm taking this very seriously because I want to make sure that I can provide a healthy home for a lovebird.

So I'm going to tell you a little bit about my household. Right now I still live at home because I'm going to school. We have several cats in the home, so this means I would probably have to have the bird in my room at first anyway. I'm concerned about this because I heard they should be housed in a living room with more action. Unfortunatly both my parents smoke (I do not) in the house. Could this be harmful for a bird? My school is very close by so I will be coming home in between classes so thats good for socializing the bird. But can anyone give me a a estimate on how much time one should spend with a lovebird daily? I ask this only because I want to make sure I can provide this.

Anyways thats a little bit about my situation any feedback would be lovely. I guess I just am making sure that taking on a pet lovebird at this time would work not only for me but the bird. Thanks Abby

[personatus]

Abby;
I wouldn't want my birds around smokers. I smoke myself but always smoke outside. If your folks smoke in the main room of the house, it would be best to keep your bird in another room, away from them. Keep the birds and cats well apart aswell, I heard many horror stories of cats and birds going wrong.

Regarding time spent with the bird, that depends on what you want from your birds? Not all pets have to be tame either - you can enjoy a nice pair of birds for example, without having them hand tame. They would need time out the cage to exercise etc, but they wouldn't require as much interaction as a single, hand tame bird. I kept bonded pairs tame by spending at least 3-4 hours per day with them - often more. They also had a very large cage to explore when I was not there. Alot of people have tame birds and work standard work hours 09:00-17:00 for example. Birds can adjust to routine, which is something I feel is important for keeping pet birds: routine, consistancy and patience. There is no set time on how long you should spend with a bird, I guess this will vary from bird to bird, but for a single bird, a few hours a day would be the minimum in my opinion - as much time as possible is ideal!

Have a think about your future plans and fundings aswell? Lovebirds can live quite a long time, will you keep the bird in future? If you go off to college/Uni, what will happen with the bird then? Got enough money to keep the bird well fed and cared for? Could you afford vet visits if needed?

It's nice to see people doing such research before taking on a pet bird rather than diving in head first without even thinking about it. The fact that you are doing this research before getting a bird shows you have more common sense than alot of pet owners out there at the moment, which is a good thing :)

[Pips mom]

What a responsible young girl! it seems to me that you'd be a great lovie mom.....but.....you have to take into consideration your surroundings there with cats and smoking. Smoking in the house is very bad with birds. They have very sensitive respiratory systems. When my boyfriend smokes in this house when it gets cold out, he'll go downstairs and I can still smell it. I think it's probably best if smokers smoke outside. I'd ask your parents if they'd be willing to try to not smoke in the house.....not only for the bird, but also for you.....second hand smoke is a really bad thing to be subjecting others in the house to. As far as the cats go, you can work that out if you really try, and are careful.

[abbyrose915]

Thanks for your comments they are very helpful. I doubt that my parents would be willing to smoke outside but I could ask. Would the bird be ok kept in my room away from the smoke or could this cause him to feel isolated? Also I have been reading that it can be benificial for lovebirds to be taken on short trips to be more confortable with new situations. Is this true? If so would it be ok to take a bird on a overnight trip to a friends house or would this be too stressful? Sorry I'm so full of questions, I just want to make sure I have all my bases covered.

[abbyrose915]

Oh also to answer Personatus question. I plan to transfer to a CSU and live in an apartment. So I would be taking the bird with me.