New owner, 4mo old,

[FLINT]

Thank-you for the advice on handling my bird "spiffy".

Can you advise me on feeding. He is only eating seeds. The end of his beak is dark. How about liquids -- "water only"

Also when he gets excited he rans sideways back and forth staring out othe the bars and sometimes hitting his beak -- normal?

I have owned this 4 mo. old for 6 days.

Thank-you
JD

[Janie]

Hi,

Check out the health and diet section for some good ideas on "other" foods that you can offer him/her in addition to seed. My three love raw kale, broccoli, carrots and cooked popcorn. They also love the birdie cornbread (recipe in the diet section) that I make.

Don't expect your lovie to run to a new food and devour it in the beginning. He won't know it's food so it takes time when you first offer new things. I ate broccoli every day for three weeks, making yummy noises, to try to spark my older birds interest. It worked! He'd never eaten anything but seed in his 7 years of life before I adopted him but if you'll try, try and keep trying, you can usually get a lovie to try some vegetables. I'd start out trying ONE veggie at a time and try that same one every day for a couple of weeks before trying another. Some eat fruit, my three don't. Apple slices (no core or apple seed) are a good fruit to try. My three like to eat the fresh food from a plate placed on top of their cage but clipping something like broccoli, kale or apple slices to the cage bar is a good way, too. Remove all fresh foods after an hour or two so that no bacteria grows.

Some owners offer juices but I only give mine water. Be sure to change water at least a couple of times a day....bacteria grows in water, too.

I can't visualize your lovies behavior, running sideways on the bars and hitting his beak. Does his balance seem to be OK? Maybe he is just excited and this is some kind of game? Does he have toys, different type/size/texture perches in the cage? My three love the rope type perches and all three love the boing swings.

[wilkiecoco]

everything janie said is good info and advice.

i just wanted to add that kiwi does the same behaviour when he is excited in his cage, and wants me to take him out. he holds onto the front cage bars, scooting back and forth, chirping like he hasn't seen me in months, and how could i dare to leave him in his cage while i went out for 1/2 hour!!! for kiwi, it is a sign of excitement!! He doesn't hit his beak though, so I'm not sure what that behaviour means.

the beak is still dark on the tip as he is still young. It should disappear very soon.

Congrats on your new addition, and welcome to the forum!