Paulette

[Paulette]

Hi...I have recently adopted 2 lovebirds...the female has been plucking her feathers, so I made some toys out of paper and hemp string that seem to have stopped the plucking...I have had parakeet/budgies for several years...in discovering the wealth of info about birds on the internet...I didn't know you could give birds people food...and this would explain why my parakeets don't live more than 3 or 4 years, sadly I had no idea...I feed my family a well balanced diet, but it never occured to me that the same should apply to birds...I also have cockatiels that have learned to sit up...the lovebirds are louder than the others, but are so cute and make such interesting sounds to communicate. I thought it would be fun and informative to join a chat group.

[Mummieeva]

Welcome to the board. Is the other bird a male or female? My lovies were also adopted. They hatched a egg and I have a new 4wk old baby bird. This is a good site. Look forward to getting to know you and your family.


Steph

[Paulette]

Hi Steph
They are suppose to be male and female. They were already bonded so came together. They are awfully cute and will hop into my shoulder when I am near the cage. They love to climb all over the cage and huddle up in the front corner when the door is shut when they want out. The supposed female has an orange forehead and the other one has pale beige face and forehead. I had a picture of them before I adopted them and I thought the one with the bright colored face would have been the male.
thanks for chatting.
Paulette

[mangotiki]

Welcome, Paulette. I think you will find this site to be really helpful. I would love to see some pics of your birds, check out the photo forum, it will tell you how to post them.

I have 13 lovies + 6 newly hatched babies with 3 more eggies waiting. We all love our lovebirds here...they are very contagious...so beware, or you just might find yourself wanting more... :D

Traci

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Welcome, Paulette!

My first pet bird was a parakeet, too. I have 2 lovebirds: Milo (whitefaced violet, age 10 months) and Melody (cobalt Australian cinnamon, age 6 months). You are correct in that they are definitely louder than parakeets :) but they are a nonstop source of entertainment.

See you around the board! Oh, and if you get a chance, please do post some photos of your birds - everyone loves to see pictures!

[Paulette]

Hi Traci,
I think you are right. I have parakeets and cockatiels too. Then came the lovebirds! Hopefully I have it under control now. But I find myself doing research on other species of birds. What do you feed your birds?
Thanks for the Welcome.
Paulette

[Paulette]

Hi Jennifer,
Your birds are so cute. My lovies are Sara & Jake. I'll have to take a picture and post it. Although, Sara is very scraggly right now. The rescue said she was ready to mate and that is why she has pulled so many of her feathers off. I guess that makes sense, since there wasn't anything in the cage she could chew up. I think surely it may be due to stress too. There are absolutely no feathers above her tail. I just got them on Wed. She seems to be fluffing back up since I gave her other things to chew on.
Thanks for the Welcome.....Paulette

[Sparkette65]

Hi Paulette,
I started with 2 lovebirds, and 4 months later I have 8 of them! Yesterday we went to the pet store to get some supplies, and my husband tried to buy me TWO more of them. He is a bad influence!!! I kindly said no thank you as we have 8 of them now and I think 1 pair may be getting ready to lay eggs. At this point I think it would be best to wait and I also want to be really picky about the mutations that I aquire in the future, I dont want to buy them just because they are there.
I feed my birds, (in the morning) Birdie bread (they like it warm), (recipie on the forum) Kale, carrots, cabbage (red and green) broccoli, cauliflower, spinache, radishes.
I also give them, apples, strawberries, cherries, mellon (honey dew, watermellon)and cantelope. (although they usually dont touch much of the fruit)
I also started to buy a soak and cook mix, (you soak it at night and boil it in the am, and feed it warm to them.
There are so many other things you can give to them, I just havn't gotten around to it. I try to buy something new to try every two weeks.
With the pari that I think are nesting, I give them veggies at least twice a day, 3 times if they are going through it fast that particular day. And of course there are plenty of seed mix in their dishes ALL the time.
So far so good with all of my lovebirds, They do enjoy eating!!! LOL. My husband says they are all FAT! LOL.
I wish you much luck with your newly aquired lovebirds, and Im glad you found this web site, there is a wealth of information on this site, and all of the people here are extremely helpful. Someone will always try to answer your questions! I am thankful to have joined here!
Take care,
Lori

[Mummieeva]

Paulette I am glad your two are a good bit tame. Mine were also bonded to each other. But only Baggy my female was tame and her mate Kiowa was not at all. I give Baggy fruit in morning and veggies at night. all lovies are diffrent so you will have to try diffrent things. Normaly try one thing for 2wks(kinda like with human babies) to see if they like it. Baggy love pasta and apples. I normaly give her the fruits and veggies when I take her food and water bowel out to wash. I have a bowl just for her fruit and veggies that can be hooked on and off. I only keep the fruit and veggies in for one hour cause cause do not want it to get bad. I can not wait to see pictures. I only have 2 lovies right now Baggy and her baby whisper. But I am wanting more..lol.


Steph

[bellarains]

Hi Paulette,

Welcome to the board. I think you will find all the information you want here, and we are all very enthusiastic about sharing all the knowledge that we have learned. Our primary goal here is to have a place where people can learn to care for their fids and learn how to tame and bond with them.

You will find some great recipes in the recipe section, they also will eat just about any fruit or veggie, no chocolate or avocados as they are very toxic though. Try veggies raw, cooked, sliced, diced or hung from a clip or skewer in their cage. Give them their fruits and veggies on a consistant basis, and try to stick to just one or two for at least two weeks until they beak at it and find that it is good stuff. You can also eat a little in front of them and make YUMMMM noises to show them how good it is. Lovies are notorious for wanting what you have, so if you are eating it, it has to be good :)

I find that mine prefer then clipped to the cage, especially apples and green beans. Collard greens and kale are also favorites and a very good source of calcium.

I look forward to seeing you around the board, getting to know you and your fids, and please do post us some pics when you get a chance.

[Paulette]

Hi Lori:
Sounds like you have a very nice husband. I am experimenting with food. I haven't tried fruit yet. I've given celery, white rice, hard boiled egg, scrambled egg, black olives. So far I only have one non-picky eater and that is a cockatiel. Today I gave everybody thawed green peas and corn and some wheat bread. I did find some birdy bread and seed treat recipes and am very interested to try them. Are your birds inside or out. My 2 wake up very early in the am and get everybody(2 parakeets and 2 cockatiels) else going. The cockatiels never made much noise before we got the lovebirds. This am I said to my hubby, boy they sure get up early and he said, yea...but its ok....you did good to get them. Sara & Jake do a whistle like you would do to stop someone (reee----oooh----reeet) when they want out of the cage. Do yours do this whistle? I didn't know if someone taught them to do it or not.
Thanks for the Welcome.
Paulette

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Here are some other veggies to try: sweet potatoes, squash, peas, corn, sprouts, greens (like collards or mustard)

[Paulette]

Hi Steph,
I will definately have to try some fruit. I am doing the extra new food item in a separate bowl which works out nicely to remove and not disturb regular seed bowl. I need to get more hanging dishes. Mine don't seem to like to go to the bottom of the cage to a bowl. They will investigate bowls on top of the cage though and love a bath on top of the cage. I will have to try putting the new food in when I change the seed/water bowls that is a great idea. Are you anywhere near the new Better Homes & Garden's new giveaway home in Ga? I just got the June issue yesterday, just curious......Paulette

[Paulette]

Thanks....Jennifer:
Do you typically cook these to serve? I noticed in surfing for information on other web sites that people do it both ways and have diff. opinions.
Paulette

[Paulette]

Hi Lori:
I will have to find the recipe section and see what's there. I will try clipping the fruit/veggies to the top, my guys definately investigate any new hanging item. I will soon have some fresh green beans from my garden. I will check for collard greens and kale next time I grocery shop. I had one set of parakeets that were laying eggs. I've been giving them crushed egg shells from my boiled eggs. I know they would love those green leafy things and the calcium is a plus. She finally quit sitting on the eggs and I had to throw them away last Saturday. She layed them in the bottom of the cage and had 10 and couldn't sit on them all at the same time. Cuttlebone was available, but not interested, but devoured pineapple mineral block. She got very scraggly looking, but looks better since getting the egg shells. Thanks for the great info.
Paulette

[Paulette]

Lori
I forgot to ask....what does fids stand for? It's driving me crazy to not figure it out.
I've seen it on other message boards before.
Thanks Paulette

[zlatushka]

Hi Paulette :)

fids= feathered kids :)

good to meet you and your flock. I only have one lovie (at the moment... though I'm planning on expanding before too long). His name is Friday, and he's quite a character (as most lovies seem to be lol)

We're glad you're with us... see you around the board.

rachel

[Paulette]

Hi Rachel,
Thanks....very cute short cut....that was driving me crazy....inquiring minds, you know. That is fun how you have all of your family photos rotating. You have a very nice looking family. I see that you are in Oregon. My husband has a sister and uncle in and near Grants Pass. What a beautiful state. We vacationed there about 6 years ago and went down hwy 101 to see the redwoods and the pacific coast. It snowed, rained and was sunny the week we were there. There is a fallen tree on the coastline that Mike walked on in 8th grade, it was fun to have our kids walk on it. We drove through the huge cut out tree. I am amazed at how each ocean has it's own unique beauty. Nice to meet you.
Paulette

[zlatushka]

Oddly enough, I actually grew up at Crescent City, right there on 101, probably where you ended up coming down from Grants Pass :) I was transplanted to Virginia, where I ended up meeting my husband eventually, who is from North Carolina... and now we're out here near Eugene.

As for pretty, the parts of Missouri I've seen aren't too shabby :)


rachel

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Do you typically cook these to serve?

Corn, I boil and let it cool. Everything else, mine prefer raw. I leave the corn and peas whole, as well as the greens and broccoli florets. Everything else, mine prefer minced into teeny tiny pieces. All the better to make a mess with, you know. :rolleyes:

A lot of times, it seems like they're playing with veggies but not eating them. I think that's OK. I find more peas on the floor of the cage (and stuck to the walls) than anywhere else, if they've got it in their little beaks, they have to be ingesting at least a little bit of it.

[Mummieeva]

I have no idea if I am near it..lol. I will have to go and look on-line and see. :omg 10 eggs. I never knew one lovie could lay that many. Hmm you may have 2 hens there..lol. My lovies prefer veggies raw with the exception of carrots.



Steph

[butterfly1061]

Hi Paulette,

Welcome from Atlanta, Ga! I'm owned by two very spoiled lovies. Molly (a he :blush ) a Lutino turned 1 yr. old last Wednesday and Daisy a Creamino is about 4 1/2 to 5 months old. They are the loves of my life.

You will find so much information and help on this board. Everyone is caring and it feels good to have people feel the same about their birds as I do.

Again, welcome!!

[Mummieeva]

I just looked. Sadly it is not near me...lol But I can enter and try to win..then it can be mine :lol


Steph

[Paulette]

We like Missouri, we are about 1 hour from Branson, the Arch in St. Louis is neat. Where are you going to purchase your next lovie from? I found a breeder close to my home town, but I got off on the wrong foot with her by asking for non perfect birds at a discount. My son grew up doing motocross and both him and my daughter wakeboard now. So I try to be thrifty when I can. Now she is being very allusive. I cked her ad again and she raises a wide variety of large birds as well as small birds. I don't want unhealthy, but if they were missing a toe or something not life threatening it wouldn't bother me. I just love birds and their chatter.......Paulette

[Paulette]

Oh...it was a parakeet. And she layed one more after I threw the others away. And she layed it from the top perch and it got dented on impact and I threw it away too. I gave her a nice little box with some shredded paper and dryer lint and she hasn't touched it. Yes I want to enter the house drawing too.
Paulette

[Paulette]

Hi Jackie
Thanks for the welcome. I bet you are near the Better Homes and Gardens giveaway house under construction now. I think the tv commercial on HGTV says near Atlanta. I am learning a lot about lovies. Sara and Jake are sitting on my shoulder and nipping my ear. It catches me off guard and is a little scarey, but they are so much fun.
Paulette

[Paulette]

Well, if they are playing with it...I'm sure they are eating some of it. Mine won't even check out what is in the bottom of the cage so I'm going to try clipping things to the top or side. I am glad to find out from you guys that it does take a couple of weeks being consistant for them to eventually try it....so I won't give up.....thanks...Paulette