Rules for keeping lovebirds parrots

Lovebird parrots are sociable pets that do not require strict care. If the rules and characteristics of keeping birds are observed, diseases can be avoided and their health maintained for 10-15 years. Parrots are quite active, so for lovebirds it is necessary to properly equip the cage and choose the appropriate toys. Thanks to this approach, the birds will feel more comfortable and will not get bored.

With properly organized care, parrots tolerate existence in captivity well. In order for a bird to live a long life, it is necessary to constantly monitor its health, maintain hygiene rules and not overfeed. Pets should feel comfortable in their cage, because it will serve as their protection. It is important to remember that the parrot perceives the cage as its own home: a place to nest and spend the night.

Before arranging and buying a cage, you need to decide in advance on its size and place in the apartment. The future bird house should be located in a warm room, isolated from noise and drafts. In this case, you need to place the cage so that you can freely approach it. Parrots need attention. It is better to communicate and play with lovebirds near the cage so that the pet can get used to the owner.

Thanks to this practice, after adaptation, the bird will calmly react to the presence of a person near its feeders and nests. In addition, it is difficult to change food every day in a cage cluttered with things.

Despite their small body size, birds need a lot of free space. Therefore, you should purchase a spacious cage for the house so that the parrot can fully spread its wings and make small flights. Movement helps them to get rid of excess energy.

In narrow spaces, feathers break on iron rods. If the lovebird hits the grate while moving, it could be seriously injured. Bird bones are hollow and brittle, so they break and crack easily. To avoid bruises and fractures, you need to take care of the safety of your pet.

The best option for lovebirds is a 0.5x1 m cage. If you plan to buy a pair of birds and breed parrots, you need a more spacious house. Birds do not breed in small cages. Often small cages can lead to territorial struggles. Ease of care should also influence the choice of the shape and size of the cage. It is more profitable to purchase a house for a parrot with a retractable bottom, so that it is more comfortable to remove excrement, change paper.

Veterinarians recommend buying a rectangular cage. The corners should not be rounded. During the adaptation period, the bird will treat people distrustfully, and with each approach, it will often rush. As a result, the parrot is hammered back into the corner. In this position, he feels more protected, especially during the period of laying eggs.

You can buy a cage made of metal without dusting, organic glass or plastic. Exceptions are lead, copper and zinc products. Before purchasing a wooden cage, remember that the bird loves to sharpen its beak, and the natural material will quickly collapse.

There should be 2 feeders in the cage: for water and feed separately. It is recommended to buy ceramic or organic glass products. These materials make it easier to clean the feeders and will last for a long time. Products should be open so that it is convenient for the bird to drink and get food. If the size of the cage allows, you can put a bathtub.

It is necessary to install at least 2 perches on which the birds will balance and sleep. It is allowed to purchase a wooden or plastic support. It is preferable to buy products from natural material so that the bird can sharpen its beak if desired. You can make poles yourself: from birch, willow or apple tree branches.

In addition to the main products for feeding and spending time with pets, you need to place toys in the cage:

• swing;
• bells;
• stairs;
• ropes.

The cage, toys and items in it should be washed every 3 days. It is recommended to clean the drinking bowls every day. Hard-to-reach areas such as corners or troughs with a narrow opening should be cleaned with a toothbrush. But, despite the careful care of the pet's house, pathogenic bacteria accumulate on the surface of objects and on the rods of the cell.

To avoid the development of an infectious disease in a bird, all objects should be doused with boiling water. If the cage is cleaned with soap, the chemical must be rinsed off thoroughly. The wet inventory should dry.

Lovebirds need a mixture of cereal grains with ready-made bird food for proper nutrition. To prepare food at home, mix the following ingredients:

• oat flakes and grains:
• canary seeds;
• corn grains;
• sunflower seeds;
• millet.

For a day, you need to measure out a grain mixture of up to 1 tbsp. l. with a slide. In addition to cereals, the feeding of birds should include a variety of fruits, herbal preparations, in the amount of 2 tsp.per day. You can mix finely chopped apples, currants and blueberries with fresh nettles, parsley and clover. If the fruit is rubbed, the fibers obtained from them can be hung with a clothespin at the top of the cage. In this form, it will be easier for parrots to eat.

Once a week, you need to give the lovebirds protein food: the cottage cheese is mixed with a chopped chicken egg. Veterinarians recommend preparing unleavened cereals for pets from rice or buckwheat with the addition of puréed fruits. Poultry proteins can be obtained from legumes, which must be soaked 3-4 times in water and boiled for at least 60 minutes. In the diet of pets, you can include greens containing vitamins, vegetable fiber and mineral components:

• spinach;
• cabbage;
• lettuce leaves;
• nettles.

It is strictly forbidden to include persimmons, avocados and mangoes in the diet. The feed must be free of dust and dirt. No need to buy grains with foreign impurities.

Proper care of your feathered pet involves regular bathing of the bird at home. Lovebird parrots love to clean their feathers of dirt, food debris and excrement on their own. They will definitely visit the baths pre-installed in the cage. Taking care of themselves, parrots maintain their health and improve their appearance. Regular bathing helps the birds keep their spines flexible. For the correct keeping of lovebirds in the house, you should know about the features of their washing:

• in the cold season, parrots should be bathed 2 times a week, and each bird needs its own bath;
• the water temperature must be at least + 27 ° C;
• before bathing the bird, you need to close the windows and doors in the room in order to exclude the presence of drafts;
• no need to add detergents, shampoos and balms to the water;
• pour water into the bath so that the depth of the pool is less than 2 cm;
• do not disturb the structure of feathers or try to wash off the wax layer on their surface;
• in summer, you need to bathe the bird daily.

Rosy-cheeked, Fisher's lovebirds, masked parrots, if properly kept, quickly adapt to life in the house. To help pets adapt to new conditions faster, you should place the cage in a place that is limited from noise and drafts. The room temperature should be + 20-25 ° C. In winter, you can turn on the heater, but the cage house needs to be moved to a place remote from it. The same goes for batteries. A distance of 1.5-2 meters is required.

In addition to the correct content, attention should be constantly paid to the birds:

• communicate and play;
• uncage;
• carefully monitor pets while walking around the apartment.

Thanks to the positive attitude of the birds to the owner, they can be trained. Pets are easy to learn and perform various tricks.

At the initial stage of education, the parrot must get used to the hands of a person. For training, use sweet fruits or grains. Young lovebirds learn to interact with their host faster than adults. When taming a bird, do not touch its paws and wings. Pets perceive such touches aggressively, so they can bite, scratch or fly off a long distance.

It is necessary to talk with the birds constantly, without making sudden movements and without raising your voice.In this case, the parrot must communicate with both people and other birds. For this reason, keeping one lovebird is difficult. Such a bird will suffer from loneliness due to a lack of communication with relatives. If the parrot is alone, you should not hang a mirror in the cage. Better to buy lovebirds in pairs. Parrots of this type can learn 10 to 15 words.

It is necessary to diversify the pet's leisure time. In addition to communicating with other parrots, the pet must play with the person. The most popular ways to spend your time:

• swing the parrot on a swing, periodically giving him fruit;
• tame a parrot to pass a small ball;
• hide treats and make the lovebird look for them;
• teach the bird to put coins in a piggy bank, build a pyramid from small rings;
• use puzzles;
• play in the water with toys.

In such conditions, the birds will not be frightened and alarmed by the sudden turning on of the lamp. If your pet wakes up, begins to rush around the cage, chirp and show anxiety, you should turn on the light and open the cage. Once the bird feels completely safe, normal sleeping conditions should be restored. Lovebirds usually sleep 10 hours a day; in winter, the duration of sleep increases to 12 hours.

To prevent rickets, birds need to take sun baths. Under the influence of ultraviolet rays, vitamin D is synthesized in the pet's skin. To do this, put the cage in a well-lit place and cover half of the house with a cloth so that the bird can rest in the shade if necessary. If the cage is taken outdoors, it will be necessary to protect the lovebird from attack and other interactions with street birds. This is necessary to avoid contamination with parasites, viruses and bacteria.

Comprehensive lovebird care includes periodic nail trimming and beak sharpening. In the absence of control, the bone tissue quickly becomes overgrown with the stratum corneum, which will cause the bird to feel discomfort. A parrot can injure itself with sharp claws. In addition to the risk of injury, the bird has difficulty eating. So that the birds can grind their beak and claws on their own, you need to put chalk stones and wooden sticks in the cage.

If your parrot ignores grooming items, you can use a nail file or nail scissors to grind its beak. Items must be disinfected with alcohol before use. To prevent the bird from biting, you can wrap the parrot in a towel. If blood has flowed when cutting, this indicates damage to the blood vessel in the claw. To eliminate the risk of developing an infection, should treat the wound with hydrogen peroxide and streptocide in powder form. With the rapid keratinization of the beak or with the accelerated growth of the claws, the pet should be examined by a veterinarian. Such symptoms can be a sign of metabolic disorder.

With frequent walks around the apartment, birds can clip their wings. Shortened feathers will keep your parrot from flying out of a window or crashing from a great height. At the same time, ornithologists recommend doing this only in exceptional cases. For example, if the room has a fan or a hot stove.

Low flights will not slow down the development of the skeletal muscles of the bird. To trim the wings, you will also need to wrap a soft towel around the bird so that you can stretch out one of the wings. Select 6-7 longest feathers and cut them with scissors, leaving 1 cm from the root. To stop the resulting bleeding, you should use streptocide or hydrogen peroxide. The same procedure must be repeated with the second wing.

Before walking the parrot, you need to make the room safer:

• remove the wires;
• move poisonous plants to another room;
• throw out toxic substances;
• close doors, windows;
• close small objects in a latch or tightly closed cabinet, which can choke the parrot.

During a walk, you must constantly be near the pet and monitor its movements. The presence of the owner is necessary not only for communication, but also for the safety of the pet.

If the pet is not alone, long-term communication is not required for the couple. During walks, they will devote time to each other, playing and shouting. It is difficult to catch a couple of pets, so it is recommended not to feed the birds for 2 hours before walking. In addition, birds should be released in the evening when their activity is reduced. During flight, the cage door must always be open. If the parrots need to return to their cage, you need to pour food with pieces of your favorite fruit on the bottom of the house. At the sight of grains and the sound of food being poured, hungry birds will quickly return to their cage.

If birds are planning to breed, they need to build a nest box or nest box. Birds should feel comfortable and completely safe inside the product. The nest does not need to be made large.

Immunocompromised pets can get sick quickly. Most often, birds are exposed to the following diseases:

• obesity;
• parasitic diseases: worms, aspergillosis, knemidocoptosis, roundworm;
• metabolic disorders: rickets, hypovitaminosis, lack of feather growth, French molt;
• psittacosis;
• infectious lesions: coccidiosis, rhinitis, salmonellosis, pneumonia, escherichiosis, bird plague, trichomoniasis, gout;
• paralysis;
• goiter inflammation;
• digestive disorders, stool disorders;
• hyperkeratosis.

To prevent the development of diseases, it is recommended to adhere to the following rules.

• Constantly disinfect the cage, toys and poles with boiling water, formalin solution. After the death of the pet, it is necessary to wipe the cage with a solution of creolin and sodium. Inspect inventory for damage to prevent injury to the bird.
• Correctly adjust the diet: to maintain the functioning of the immune systems, the bird must receive enough vitamins and minerals.
• Physical activity and regular flights will help your pet avoid obesity, rickets, and gout.
• Help the bird to grind its beak, cut its claws in time.

In addition, magazines and newspapers with color pictures should not be spread on the floor of the cage. The ink can poison the bird. To avoid toxicity, clean paper sheets should be used.

All about lovebirds, see below.