New lovebird owner

[wgasca]

Hi everyone,

I Just recieve two lovebirds and they are about 6 weeks old.
They have been hand fed and i was wondering if there is anything i should now about on any tips that can be useful to me?

thank you

wgasca

[Mummieeva]

Welcome to the group. I am Steph and I am owned by 2 lovebirds named Baggy and Whisper. A few questions for you.
Are your birds weaned yet? At 6wks old I would really becareful as they may not be weaned all the way. There is a Attention section that has very good artiles to read. Robins Guide to new owners is good and a must read. Are you birds siblings? Or from 2 diffrent parents?


Steph

[Jezz]

Hello, welcome to the forum.

I am also concerned about your two Lovebirds, at 6 weeks old they should not quite be weaned yet. They should still be on 2 feed a day.
If they are weaned, make sure they are eating enough food during the day, at 6 weeks old, they will have trouble cracking sunflower seed.
Give them millet sprays, budgie seed, pellets, and try some fresh fruit and vegetables

[Janie]

Hi and welcome! You've come to the right place to learn lots about lovebirds! :)

I agree with Steph and "Jezz"......6 weeks is young for lovies to be weaned. I have two young males that were 9 1/2 weeks when I got them from the breeder. They were hand-fed babies and had been eating on their own for a week and a half before I brought them home.

The "Your Attention Please" section of the forum is a great place to start for over-all information so I hope you'll read that (all sections) when you have a chance. In the meantime, the important thing for your two new babies is to be SURE they are eating and drinking on their own. If they are not, you'll have to supplement them immediately. Are you absolutely sure of their age? A good breeder/pet store should not have sold you babies that young.

We are here to help so please let us know what information we can give you that will help you with your new lovies.

[Rubygem]

Being a breeder, I will say some birds wean as early as 5 weeks, while there are those that just don't want to wean...:lol Now saying this, I will also say I have heard horror stories of birds that were weaned that really weren't and died because they were playing with their seed, and not eating it. :eek: I personally will not allow any of my babies to leave my home until I know for a fact they are cracking their own seeds, eating them, and drinking from a water bottle (every now and then I will have a baby that just doesn't want to use the water bottle, but I know this before they go home, and tell the new owners to make sure they always have access to water).

I have noticed the bigger the clutch I put together, the sooner they wean. They start trying to peck at millet and pellets and other weaning foods as early as 3 to 3 and a half weeks. The average weaning age though is about 8 weeks. I abundant wean, and let them decide when they don’t want to be hand fed any more… :cry:

The “your attention Please” section is really full of lots of information, and is a wonderful place for any new owner to begin….it was even a great place for a breeder like me to begin :D. Great information there.

Welcome to the board, and hope you enjoy your new family members…and I believe the only way to keep a happy home with birds is to learn and educate yourself as much as possible…and get a good avian vet ;) As a vet can be a very good friend to the new bird owner. :)

Rubygem

[Paulette]

Hi...my name is Paulette.....glad you found this forum. There is lots of good information here and some good humor too. Be sure to check out the recipe section also.....I'm sure everyone is getting tired of hearing it, but I just converted my flock to a better diet and they are enjoying the brown rice/bean/pasta mix with corn and peas. It has been a long process of offering it every day for a least 2 weeks for them to realize it was breakfast, they also like shredded carrots and sweet potatoes together(both peeled before shredding in food processor). Birdie Bread is also an easy thing to fix and freeze. With both the bean mix(press into flat tupperware type containers) and birdie bread after I cook it I cut it into 1 inch squares and freeze for easy access.....or you could store it in smaller tupperware/cool-whip bowls....a single day's serving for convenience, some people even freeze it in muffin tins and then store frozen pcs. in a zip lock bag. I look forward to hearing more about you and your lovies.....names???? of all of you...etc.

[Paulette]

Hi...my name is Paulette.....glad you found this forum. There is lots of good information here and some good humor too. Be sure to check out the recipe section also.....I'm sure everyone is getting tired of hearing it, but I just converted my flock to a better diet and they are enjoying the brown rice/bean/pasta mix with corn and peas, and I scramble a couple of eggs to mix in. It has been a long process of offering it every day for a least 2 weeks for them to realize it was breakfast, they also like shredded carrots and sweet potatoes together(both peeled before shredding in food processor). I have 6 lovies, 6 tiels, 7 budgies, 4 zebra finches...(a very picky group)....but they will eat Birdie Bread, which is also an easy thing to fix and freeze. With both the bean mix(press into flat tupperware type containers) and birdie bread after I cook it I cut it into 1 inch squares and freeze for easy access.....or you could store it in smaller tupperware/cool-whip bowls....a single day's serving for convenience, some people even freeze it in muffin tins and then store frozen pcs. in a zip lock bag. Recently, I found the Zupreem colorful pellets (mostly round pieces and some cresent moon shapes) that my birds took to right away....they won't eat any other pellet....I look forward to hearing more about you and your lovies.....names???? of all of you...etc.