So I rescued two lovebirds

[Cecile]

The woman who had them for three months got kittens, and said kittens would probably eat the birds, so she wanted to get rid of them.

They were on a seed-only diet (I know that's bad) Can I give them carrots? Broccoli? What else?

ALso, they DO have a large cage. One, however, the male, is loose in the house and flying around. How do I get him to go back in the cage before my son gets home and leaves the door open?

And. I got them because my grandmother bred them about 50 years ago in Wisconsin and they have such lovely sounds. And I love birds, always have. Outside, that is. I really need help. These guys were NOT hand fed, they are shy and lovely flyers. (as in away from me!)

Looking forward to reading and learning and keeping this pair happy and healthy.

Cecile

 

[Laurasea]

To catch him if needed done fast turn off all lights close all blinds, put s bright light by their cage, see if you can ease him towards the cage, if everything else is dark be should go there......also making it dark makes it easier to catch them sometimes..
There are lots of threads on nutrition . Congratulations on your new babies, welcome to the thrills and spills if parronthood

 

[itzjbean]

You may need a net to catch the male.

If they aren't tame, I would think about investing in a large flight cage for them to fly around in so they can get their exercise but you don't have to worry about them getting loose around the house and getting lost or not being able to catch them.

It would be wise to schedule them in to get a wellness check from a certified avian vet who can make sure they're in tip-top shape and can give you tips to improve their care.

As for feeding, there are TONS of fruits and veggies you can offer them to eat instead of the seed. Also another good alternative to seeds is sprouting, aka, letting the seeds germinate with water and feeding the sprouted saturated seeds to them, much more nutritious!

Here's a list of safe foods you can feed them.

 

[Cecile]

Ohh, thanks.

 

[Cecile]

Oh, and How MUCH do I feed them?

 

[EllenD]

Thanks for taking these guys in. For now, don't stop feeding them the seeds and only give them veggies, that's not going to be good for them, they need a "staple" food that they get daily, and for smaller birds like Lovebirds, this is going to need to include a seed-mix, but a healthy seed-mix that contains NO sunflower seeds, as they are nothing but fat. What you want to do is try to incorporate a small-size pellet into their diet, and have this eventually be the main "staple" to their diet, and then they should also get a healthy seed-mix with no sunflower seeds in it as well as the pellets. As for fresh veggies, you can give them any veggies except for onions, as they are toxic to birds. And the veggies have to be fresh, no canned...Anything from different Bell Peppers, Broccoli, different Squash, Green Beans, Pea Pods, Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Eggplant, Carrots, etc., as well as dark, leafy greens. Lovebirds usually like their fresh veggies cut into very small pieces that will easily fit into their beaks, so try different fresh veggies and different ways of cutting them.

For now, they should always have a healthy, low-fat seed-mix that is appropriate size for Lovebirds in their cage (again, no sunflower seeds or nuts), along with always having fresh water. You need to fill their seed-mix dish every single day, as well as their water dish, and check their water throughout the day to make sure it's clean and full. As for the fresh veggies, you can offer them to them each day, throughout the day. What you want to give them sparingly are fresh fruits, maybe only a small portion of fresh fruits 3-4 times a week, as they are full of sugar. But the fresh veggies are fine to give them every day, and in larger portions. Just make sure that they always have seeds in their bowl for now, as this will be their "staple" food/diet. (Never feed your birds any Avocado, as it's toxic, nor any Citrus Fruit like oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, etc., as it can cause them to absorb too much iron and cause Iron Absorption Syndrome, and then again, no onions).

What you want to do gradually over time is to switch their main "staple" diet from being just a healthy seed-mix, to a mix of small-size parrot pellets with a healthy seed-mix as a smaller portion/supplement to the pellets every day. But you can't just stop the seeds and give them pellets, as usually they won't eat them right away, you have to slowly incorporate the pellets into their seed-mix, and slowly reduce the amount of seeds they get, making sure that they are actually eating a good amount of the pellets. There is a great guide on here written by Harrison's Pellets with a step-by-step guide on transitioning birds from seeds to pellets.

As for catching the male, leave his cage door open, and make sure there are seeds and water inside his cage, he may get hungry and go back in the cage...But as far as catching him, you can try using a towel to throw over him and then gently grabbing him and putting him back in the cage...You may want to consider clipping their wings, just the outermost 4-5 primary flight feathers on each wing, no more, as this will give you a good month and a half to two months to be able to work with them one-on-one without having to chase them, etc. They'll be able to fly again in about a month and a half to two months, and by then hopefully you'll have formed a bit of a bond with them, and they'll be much easier to train.

A lot of people are going to get hostile about clipping their wings, but this is a very personal decision that only you can make for your birds. And I'm not at all talking about keeping them permanently clipped or clipping them dramatically, I'm only talking about clipping the outermost 4-5 primary flight-feathers on each wing, and then letting them grow in over the next month and a half to two months, during which you'll be much more able to interact with them, earn their trust, and tame them. Then once their wings grow back in you should let them be fully-flighted from that point on. A lot of people find this a much more manageable way to work-with/train/tame non-tame parrots when they first bring them home...The worst thing you can do when you get new birds that are not tame to begin with is to have to constantly chase them around your house with a towel or a net, you'll never earn their trust or tame them that way, so doing a slight, temporary wing-clip on them is a great way to solve the out-of-cage issue. And they will have to rely upon you while they're clipped to get around and such, so this strengthens the bond between you with them, and you do tend to earn their trust this way quickly. I've hand-tamed many non-tame Budgies this way, and I've only ever had to clip them that one time, when I first get them, work with them daily during that time period when they can't fly, and then that's it. It doesn't hurt them or cause them a bit of pain, and it's very temporary. You do want to get it done by a professional, either a Certified Avian Vet or Avian Specialist Vet (wellness exam ASAP for both of them is a great idea anyway), a local breeder, or even a bird shop or pet shop that has a bird-person working there that knows the proper way to clip wings...And make sure if you do this that you tell them you ONLY want their outermost 4-5 primary flight-feathers clipped on BOTH wings, no more. And never only clip one wing, we've had a bunch of that this week, and it's very unsafe and bad for the bird's back.

 

[Cecile]

Thanks for that help. Good new. Thurston went back into his cage while I was out buying a net He's with Lovey now, and they are eating millet.

There was a mirror in the cage. They are fascinated by this. they are trying to figure out where the other bird/s is/are. Is that ok for them? They tap the mirror, and look over, under and around. Lovey is constant next to Thurston. again, normal?

I've ordered a clicker, mistakenly put my hand in their cage to get them out and other bad stuff. THey are six feet away in a smaller cage (they have a larger one, but I want to get them a flight cage.

Recommendations for avian vet in alexandria/ft. hunt area?

Sorry for the questions, I am reading other threads and trying to hoover up the information.

 

[Laurasea]

Cecile! You are awesome!!!! They are going to stay close to each other cuz they're afraid of all the new stuff right now. Keep on reading up, you're going to be a great parront! Thanks for rescue!!

 

[dhraiden]

Great job Cecile! The mirror as a plaything, so long as it's sturdy and not susceptible to cracking or breaking, should be fine and presents no more harm than any other bird-toy.


I'm guessing your in Virginia...go here:


https://www.aav.org/search/newsearch.asp


and select US, put in Virginia, City + Zip, it'll show you about 24 results in your area, the first of which I've linked you below:


https://www.aav.org/members/?id=22940705

 

[Taw5106]

Good Job and thank you!

 

[Cecile]

Re: So I rescued two lovebirds -- The bag of seeds they were feeding...

HOly moly. So, how much damage would Wild Bird Seed mix do my love birds? And a seed mix, yes, but which one?

 

[Cecile]

They were getting national audobon society wild bird seed mix. That can't be right... Ok, looking for seeds (got them millet seeds, which they have taken... and they have been drinking water. I ordered them a bird bath. And they were also given a horrible plastic nesting box that they hid in. So I took that out, that's right, right?

 

[Taw5106]

Do you make dinner at home? I make steamed brown rice for mine. A quicky is a frozen vegetable blend that has no onions. Personally I’ve done this as a quick feed and fed them a fresh blend later. I also cook my dinner and more so I can share with my fids like scrambled eggs, chop extra veggies like bell peppers, cucumber, corn and beans to share with them. Those are great starters.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Cecile]

great. thanks

 

[GaleriaGila]

Wonderful advice so far.

Let me try this again! Some of my thoughts may repeat things said above. I was reading fast.

Several things I think will be helpful to you!

A pellet-supplemented diet...
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.

TEFLON... potentially deadly when heated... most of us don't have it in our houses.

Stick with us. I'm glad you're here.

 

[Cecile]

Which of the harrisons food is best for love birds? How can I tell? Does the size of the pellet matter or will they break it down? I've given them finely chopped zucchini and carrots. ALso, I got millet sprays which they love.

Working on it.

Also, is the ceramic non-stick ok? That seems like it should be better than teflon.

THANKS!!!!!