New Bird Parent, Any Tips?

[AbnormalAvian]

Hello, I'm getting a lovebird very soon, and I'm I'm trying to round up the last of my bird supplies. I have quite a few questions, and if anyone could answer any of these, that would be awesome.

1. I'm trying to figure out what to feed my lovebird. I've heard Harrison's is the best, and it's a bit more affordable than Roundybush, so I'm going with that. The bird I'm getting it currently on Roundybush, so I bought one bag of that and a bag of Harrison's. I plan on feeding him bush's for the first week and gradually switching him to Harrison's. Does that sound good or is there a better way to do it?

2. I need a good brand of seeds. I bought 'Sweet Harvest, Conure And Lovebird' because it looked like it was mainly seed rather than all the other junk that Kaytee and other such brands have. I don't really know how often I should be feeding seeds, as I've heard anywhere from strictly just treats all the way to half the diet.

(I'm also going to feed fruits and veggies)

3. it's either quite cold (65°F ish) or unbearably hot (85° F ish) in my house for some reason, so I bought a heat lamp. It's one of the reptile black night ones so it doesn't disturb the bird's (or my) sleep. I'm not quite sure how to rig the lamp to where it can warm the bird. And I have a little coconut hideaway thing; is it possible to get to where it can warm the hideaway and the bird can sit in it and warm up? Or is that just not a thing a bird will do?

4. I don't know if I should clip his wings. I want my bird to be able to fly, but it'd kill me if he got injured by flying into a widow or escaped out the door. Is clipping wings a good thing to do? I'm not particularly experienced with birds, as this will be my first one....

5. Do birds need annual check ups at the vet? The only vet near me that will see birds charges $72 for a check up... That's not exactly something I can pay very often, especially now when I spent a ton on bird supplies. It also seems it would cause a lot of stress on the bird, which seems dangerous. Am I putting my bird at risk by not taking him to the vet, or is it not something that needs to be done?

And if you would like to see my cage setup, opinions would be appreciated. I'll try to attach a picture to this.

I'm so sorry for how long this got. I'm amazed if anyone read all of this

 

[Dachshund King]

I don't know anything about the food brands. But parrots love fresh fruit, Millet, varied seeds, nuts ECT.. I would not get the birds wings clipped otherwise it'll be completely reliant on you for mobility. You should train to be calm around you. I would get it checked at the vet because parrots are very good at hiding illness. Will the lovebird be hand reared? I can't really help with temperature as I don't know Fahrenheit. Only Celsius. Good luck with your new bird

 

[TikiMyn]

For the diet, this is what I do for my lovies, but my maken advice would be to get a pellet with Vit D3(which you already have) and feed her as much fresh foods as you can.
I feed my lovies chop(veggies and fruit chopped up mixed with Some berries) but only one of them eats that well. I feed that in the midday/evening. In the morning and during the day they forage for seeds(brand is Dutch, so I can’t help you with that) and pellets. I also give them Some of a home Made seedmix(all Organic and human grade, Some of the things I put in it are quinoa, chia seeds, anise stars and hennep seeds). They also get a bunch of flowers and grass in the spring, summer and autumn. I also froze Some for the winter. The flowers are more for enrichment then actual food, although they do eat Some parts, which can be quite healthy.

To question one, that sounds like a good way to switch him over to me.
I would not clip his wings. Besides that It is unhealthy for them is they don’t fly, it doesn’t provide safety. A bird with clipped wings can still fly if they are determined and when they are outside they can fly away with help of the wind. A clipped bird can not get out of dangerous situations quickly and has no controle if they fly when they get scared, which means it is more likely that they Will hit something. Besides, a clipped bird has a lot less control over his environment(choice is very good for them, with clipped wings you have to decide where the bird has to be, if you pick her up she can’t fly away)

The picture doesn’t show for me, Maybe you can try again?

Congrats on becoming a parront and welcome to the avenue!!

 

[Davi]

Congratulations on your future birdie! It's such a fun process! About the heat lamp, I'd be extremely cautious, for two main reasons. One, make sure your bird is ok (rather than scared) by the light it emits. They can see more wavelengths than we humans can, so certain lighting scenarios can scare them. Those lamps that make whites super bright at night, for example, would be a no-no, in my opinion. Also, make sure that your birdie will have enough room in the cage to move away from the lamp as needed. Otherwise, they can easily overheat. I definitely hear you on how hard it can be to keep a steady temperature for birds. I've come to rely on a space heater and that's been working well for me (similar to this: Pelonis Electric Radiator Heater (HO-0221) - Heaters - Ace Hardware ). Also, I'm not sure your photo uploaded, so I wasn't able to see your cage set up.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum! I don't recommend wing clipping. It's forced dependency and not really earning a bird's trust. Plus, it's better for their mental and physical health if they can fly. I fostered a lovie for awhile for a local rescue. One thing he loved was mini pepper cups. I would hollow a mini pepper out and stuff if with chopped up vegetables and fruit, a few seed, pellets, etc. He would eat everything in the pepper. (And then throw the pepper on his cage floor. LOL. )

 

[lotus15]

Welcome! Can't wait to see photos of your new lovie!

Regarding diet: My personal recommendation for littles on pellets is that it should be only a smaller percentage of their diet. I never exceeded 30%, but some others recommend 20-50%. I think 50% is a little high. Smaller birds tend not to do as well on pellets for a variety of reasons (there's a lot of info on this out there, but I'd also strongly recommend the Facebook group Feeding Feathers). I would make the main part of their diet freshly sprouted seeds, grains, legumes, and veggies (a parrot "chop" or "mash"). You can also offer a dry seed mix, but I would not offer it in equal portions to pellets or fresh foods, as dry seeds tend to be higher in fat and very low in vitamins. A better alternative would be soaked or sprouted seeds, which are much more nutritious (I like the Totally Organics All in One Seed Mix for soaking and sprouting).

For diet conversion, be very careful here. If your lovebird is used to Roudybush, be prepared to buy as much Roudybush as it takes until she is converted to whatever you want to change her diet to. Some birds will convert right away, but others are a lot more picky and can take months. It took me months to get my budgies onto Harrison's and TOPs. Many birds will naturally not want to try new and unfamiliar foods as they do not know whether they are safe to eat in the wild. So go at your lovebird's pace but be persistent and don't give up! And always remember to try all different types of presentations. To get mine onto Harrison's I would mix it into their dry seed mix (because that was what they came to me eating), use mashed up pellets to coat their seeds, bake it into birdie breads, mix it into fresh foods, etc.

Be very careful with reptilian heat lamps. They are often too warm for birds and I'm not sure about the black ones, but some are so strong they have injured bird's corneas. I would probably not use it unless the company assured it was safe for birds and my avian vet also approved of it. Avitech makes heat panels and ceramic lamps for birds that are safe.

Regarding wing clipping: this is a very personal choice and an extremely controversial topic. Many parrot owners are against wing clipping because it takes away the bird's natural ability to fly as well as its independence. My personal opinion is that a bird should never be clipped unless it's a last resort for the bird's own safety, after exhausting other options. If I were you, I'd try working with him first, building your relationship, and setting boundaries and teaching him where he can and cannot go. Obviously this also means you'll have to be vigilant because birds do occasionally fly out of windows or doors, but be cautious.

Birds do need vet check ups, and certainly you should have one as soon as he comes up for a wellness check up and disease testing. Since he's young I think one now and one in a year is recommended, but after that so long as he is healthy I don't think annually is absolutely necessary. I usually take mine either annually or every other year. While vet trips can be stressful, they are also really important to establish base lines for bloodwork and health. Your vet can tell you a lot more about your bird's health than you would be able to tell otherwise, especially because they are so good at hiding diseases.

Unfortunately I can't see your cage photo but there are plenty of cage set up photos on the forum for the littles. And keep asking questions, you can never learn too much!

 

[TikiMyn]

Great post @lotus15 ! I completly forgot the sprouts. Sprouts are a lot more nutritious then unsprouted seeds, you can feed them in all stages, from barely sprouted to small plants

 

[Hana Baig]

Hello, I'm getting a lovebird very soon, and I'm I'm trying to round up the last of my bird supplies. I have quite a few questions, and if anyone could answer any of these, that would be awesome.

1. I'm trying to figure out what to feed my lovebird. I've heard Harrison's is the best, and it's a bit more affordable than Roundybush, so I'm going with that. The bird I'm getting it currently on Roundybush, so I bought one bag of that and a bag of Harrison's. I plan on feeding him bush's for the first week and gradually switching him to Harrison's. Does that sound good or is there a better way to do it?

2. I need a good brand of seeds. I bought 'Sweet Harvest, Conure And Lovebird' because it looked like it was mainly seed rather than all the other junk that Kaytee and other such brands have. I don't really know how often I should be feeding seeds, as I've heard anywhere from strictly just treats all the way to half the diet.

(I'm also going to feed fruits and veggies)

3. it's either quite cold (65°F ish) or unbearably hot (85° F ish) in my house for some reason, so I bought a heat lamp. It's one of the reptile black night ones so it doesn't disturb the bird's (or my) sleep. I'm not quite sure how to rig the lamp to where it can warm the bird. And I have a little coconut hideaway thing; is it possible to get to where it can warm the hideaway and the bird can sit in it and warm up? Or is that just not a thing a bird will do?

4. I don't know if I should clip his wings. I want my bird to be able to fly, but it'd kill me if he got injured by flying into a widow or escaped out the door. Is clipping wings a good thing to do? I'm not particularly experienced with birds, as this will be my first one....

5. Do birds need annual check ups at the vet? The only vet near me that will see birds charges $72 for a check up... That's not exactly something I can pay very often, especially now when I spent a ton on bird supplies. It also seems it would cause a lot of stress on the bird, which seems dangerous. Am I putting my bird at risk by not taking him to the vet, or is it not something that needs to be done?

And if you would like to see my cage setup, opinions would be appreciated. I'll try to attach a picture to this.

I'm so sorry for how long this got. I'm amazed if anyone read all of this

1. seeds should be only 20% of a birds diet, you should also feed them pellets, fruits and vegetables, usually most lovebirds (like mine) prefer vegetables over fruits, so I suggest you feed them vegetables

2. I don't know specific seed brands since I'm always trying something new, but there are a lot of good brands out there

3. the lovebirds I've had and the one I currently have don't really have an issue with weather, I live in California and it usually gets up to 100 F in the summer, and currently since its winter, its in the 60 F range, Dante seems to be doing just fine in both climates, just make sure you have a mini tub or somewhere where they can bathe if their too hot.

4. There is a lot of controversy about this, but it's not something that you have to do, it's not terrible either. When I clipped Dante's wings he was still able to fly but to an extent. Birds are really smart, so they know how to get around, so I wouldn't be to worried about injuries or anything like that. As for flying away, some people put micro chips on their pets if they run or fly away though I don't suggest this.

5. I suggest, you do take them to the vet annually considering birds are VERY good at hiding illnesses and symptoms. Also don't take them too often, it's not something you should do a lot.
I'm wishing you the best of luck with your new feathered friend, lovebirds are the best but they have big attitudes and, like people, have very unique personalities. Also, welcome to Avian Avenue, I had been on the forum for a while, but it has helped me a lot. Make sure to send pictures, and keep us posted. Hope this helped.

 

[Smbrds]

Congrats on the lovie.

 

[cassiesdad]

Welcome to the Avenue, and congrats on your upcoming addition!

I can't really comment on food, cages, etc because I've never been owned by a lovie. The two things I will say something about...I don't like wing clipping... sunnysmom really hit the nail on the head with what she said.

My birds have annual checkups...and with seven of them, it does get a little pricey. I consider it an investment in their good health...

 

[Fergus Mom]

I have no experience with lovebirds, but I wanted to give you a WELCOME! :welcomeflag:

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

welcome

 

[zoo mom]

Welcome

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome, and enjoy the site!

 

[Macawnutz]