New Lovebird Today..

[julie]

I went back to my local flea market in hopes of getting a refund for no name, since he had died. The owner told me that he would only let me get another lovebird. He told me that the people who sold it to me before gave me his wrong age and dietary needs and apologized. He also told me the one I bought was not hand-fed. He said he died of starvation, same as others on the forum have said.

He also told me that you should never feed pellets to birds because it kills them because they're not used to it? I don't understand because plenty of birds eat it. Maybe it takes time? I do not want to risk the new bird's life by letting him eat pellets, even if voluntarily. Should I try to put some in his food?

I bought a bag of Cockatiel Mix from him by Leach Grain and Milling Co. (http://www.leachgrain.com/petbirdmixes.html). Has anyone heard of this brand? The ingredients are millet, canary seed, safflower seed, sunflower seed, oat groats, and buckwheat. Protein: 10%+, Fat: 3%+, Fiber 11%- Does this sound like a good quality mix?

The pictures below obviously show he is very, very young. All the birds were like that. He eats his seed mix and millet spray just fine and is drinking his water. His stool is thick, but green. He seems to be very playful, but not tame. He did tolerate when I held him at the flea market and relaxed in my hands after a few seconds. I left him to his cage today and had everything prepared before he came home. I do realize he is very young, but since they didn't have a return policy that was the only way they can possibly repay for the $45. He also makes some weird grinding sounds with his beak.

Any suggestions on what should I do to make him more comfortable and healthy? Thanks.
(And I will be putting in some new perches and a cloth around the sides)

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii291/iamsushilover/DSC02269.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii291/iamsushilover/DSC02268.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii291/iamsushilover/DSC02270.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii291/iamsushilover/DSC02271.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii291/iamsushilover/DSC02272.jpg

[Enko_chan]

Yes, he's young. Keep an eye on him to make sure he's eating. Weigh him in the morning before he eats anything and make sure he's maintaining his weight.

Lovebirds are natural seed eaters and should not have a high percentage of pellets in their diet. It is too much nutrition and too little fat. Also, if you try to switch them from seeds to pellets too fast, they will not recognize the pellets as food and will starve to death rather than eating the pellets. That mix sounds decent, though I am not familiar with the brand. If it is what he has been eating, that is a good place to start. Offer fresh foods as well- see threads in the diet section for info about that!

Beak grinding is a good thing! It is a sign of contentment.

You'll also want to clip those doors shut with stainless steel carabiners, so that he won't get his neck caught in them. Those types of doors (the seed doors too) in the cage, can be like guillotines.

In the behavior section there are lots of threads regarding how to start bonding with a new lovie, and I will be happy to post more in the morning but I'm being called away! Welcome home new little guy!

[maya_exquisite]

Wow, he/she doesn't even have all it's feathering yet and the breeder let him/her go?

Looks like a fun little cage... that's great that you'll be getting different perches! You'll want a variety of diameters and textures: rope, branch, Sandy/pumice, etc. You could also add a swing - lots of lovebirds LOVE swings!

[julie]

The person who sold him to me buys from a breeder. He only had ones that are still young and I had no choice. :( Thanks for the tip about the doors! I almost forgot about it! And I do realize that pellets are not good alone. I plan to put it as 20-30% of the diet at the most. I was hoping if anyone can provide any insight on how it could possibly kill them by voluntary and not forced consumption.

By the way, I heard pumice perches were bad? Is it okay to have them if other perches are available?

[kimsbirds]

As Linda stated in her original 'no name' post..
No. My avian vet will be the first one to tell you that more than 40% pellets in the diet of small birds is too much nutrition and can cause death by kidney failure. In the wild, lovebirds are seed eaters and the base of the diet that I feed my own flock is seed. I add a small percentage (maybe 10%) of pellets but the remainder is fresh food.

[Mummieeva]

Pumice perches are ok. But watch to make sure bird is not only using it. They are rough on feet if used to much. I normally put mine in front of the food or water dish.

[kimberly1985]

Glad that you were able to get another bird. Yes, he/she looks rather young but I understand this is not your fault. The person who buys the birds from the breeder should be more educated on the age of these birds.

He/she is a beautiful lovebird though! Just keep an eye on the weight and have handfeeding formula on hand just in case there's a drop in weight.

[diljaa]

Do you know his age?
I brought my peachie home earlier than I would have liked at around 8 weeks. She was not fully weaned by then and I fed her formula for days with a bent spoon. But mine was fully feathered by then! I don't know if he has been plucked on the back or something that gives him that look but mine definitely didn't have any down feathers showing.

Here's a picture of my bub when I first brought her home: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4531344232_8f335204e9.jpg

[linda040899]

Referring to the last photo you shared with us. If you take a look at the door where the food dish is located and then look at the one for the water dish, the door for the water dish doesn't slide down properly like the one for the food dish does. Spread open the metal "loop" on the left hand bottom side of that door and it will clear the tab on the water cup and slide down into proper position. A pair of pliers should work nicely to accomplish this.

[julie]

Oh it closes fine. I think I just left it slightly open after changing the water! I must be more careful. :( And I've used some clips at the moment to hold them closed until I buy the steel carabiners?

Update: He's eating and drinking fine. Obviously will not eat the chopped mix of fresh food I put in this morning. I will just have to try some more. Again he is very skittish and afraid when I put something or my hand in the cage. But he's quite comfortable. I just put a rope perch in the corner and he loves to hanging upside down etc. I can tell he wants to get out of his cage by the fact that he's constantly pacing and twisting in the corners, but I can't let him out because he is terrified of me holding him back into his cage. I'm a bit worried that the taming process will be very long, and I never planned on buying a parent raised. Hopefully he will pull through and trust me a bit more.