New here & have questions!

[Whosker]

Hey everyone! I recently purchased a lovebird from a breeder. He is just about 7 weeks old (Breeder had explained and taught me how to hand feed since the bird is just starting to be weaned & gave me some feed mix)

Anyhow, I LOVE this bird! Apparently it didn't take very long before he was very attached to me as well. I know he is just a baby, and I love his attention he gives me, however will he eventually want to explore a little bit? lol
I'd like to see him fly around and hang out in my room, however he just wants to be either on my head, shoulders, or (god for bid I'm using the laptop and he's out) he's all over my hands lol. I really don't mind it, again, I like it.. Just curious to if he will feel comfortable to venture around. I might be jumping the gun any how, I've only had him two days. He flys to me as soon as I open his cage and doesn't let me out of his sight. (Did I mention I love him!?)


Question 2, since I brought him home, he has barley eaten any of the baby bird mixture.. however he goes to town on millet spray & seems to be curious and testing out the seeds/parrot mix he has available. Is this normal or should I be concerned that he's not really wanting the mix? He's active and seems perfectly normal. Just a worried mom I guess

He has a very large cage & also I put a small box on the bottom with the walls lowered and the top cut off, and some bedding in there (Since he was taken out of a little nursery similar to that when I bought him).


Any tips and answers will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you for reading!

 

[RescueMe]

Sounds like she is doing well. Make sure to limit the millet to treats and occasional food. She will get more independent as she gets older and more comfortable with her environment. Be sure to socialize her with others now so that she will not become aggressive with different people. If she is eating actively I wouldn't worry too much about her not being interested in the hand feeding mix. Continue to read up and enjoy your new lovie.

 

[Violet]

Welcome and congrats! I got a lovie as a hand-fed baby and he was absolutely the sweetest little thing. I am sure I will end up with another because they are just too cute and so so affectionate.

One thing that I really wish I did for my lovie was introduce him to a variety of food early in his life. Because I only fed him pellets, some seed and millet that was pretty much the only thing he would ever eat. I really regretted not giving him veggies and fruit and all that, so if I can suggest one thing, it would be to REALLY work on getting him comfortable eating whatever you give him Oh and I would cut back quite a bit on millet - I only used it for training as a reward or stuffed into foraging toys on days I knew he would get less time out of his cage. It is pretty much bird candy so just don't overdo it lol.

Also, while this wasn't the case with my lovie, my aunt's is super cuddly and affectionate to her but anybody else in the house and the bird is either in attack mode or hiding and screeching in her cage. Mind you females tend to be moodier, but it is SO worth it to really socialize your bird with strangers and make sure they have good experiences while being handled by friends (hello millet!). One person birds just aren't as fun when you have company over, it is so nice to have your bird be sweet and friendly to guests, and it also means they don't have to be locked away if people show up at the house

 

[Whosker]

Thank you both. Very helpful advice. I live with my boyfriend & room mate who also adore him/her & they like to take him out and play with him as well. So he will be very socialized. He's also great with my little dog. My Alaskan Klee kai("Miniature husky") Is about 10lbs and licked him on his beak and he got a little affectionate and started preening him(I believe thats the term?)

As for fruits, veggies, etc:
I love fruits & eat them every day. I understand and researched whats ok to give lovebirds and then the dangerous ones. I also bought a lovebird book. So far I've tried Strawberries and raspberries. He seems interested in them, licks them, cocks his head to look at it.. licks it again, then loses interest. So I'll have to test out different ones and keep trying the same. Im sure its just because he's not use to the different & new tastes.

Do you think if I take the millet out and only give him a portion a day, he would start to eat his normal feed? I have seeds & a parrot mix together(nuts, other types of seeds, etc) and I also put in a little bit of dried banana broken up. Im worried that if I take the millet out he might not eat & lose weight which he's only a baby so it scares me. What would you guys recommend?

 

[MikeyTN]

At 7 weeks old he's on his way to be weaned. I wouldn't worry about him eating millet spray at this moment as he is learning how to eat on his own right now. Your allowing him to learn how to eat on his own. He should be on small parrot mix same like Cockatiel seed mix BUT please do remove 99.9% of the sunflower seeds! You can start offering fresh fruits and veggies. IF you want to do some pellets, it would be a great choice. Since he is flying around, he's getting the proper exercise he needs so I wouldn't worry too much about the seeds part. Just not the sunflower seeds.

 

[Whosker]

Is the sunflowers because he has to crack them open? Also, I am worried about him not drinking. Today is day 3 and his energy is still great but I never seen him drink.. sorry for all the questions and thank you all for being to helpful. I'll post pictures of him soon in the new members section

 

[MikeyTN]

Sunflower seeds is very fattening and they're not good for them to eat a lot of them. He might be drinking when your not watching. Show him where the water dish is by dipping your finger in it and use the droplets on his beak. Since he likes your hands he may just check it out.