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Why I got a PF Lovebird

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Why I got a PF Lovebird

Postby Natacha » Sun Oct 04, 2009 6:49 am

Why did I get a PF Lovebird? :swaying:

Well...there were some leading circumstances.

It all started before my family ever got birds. My mom kept talking about one of her friends' PF lovebird, how cute it was, how tame it was, how cute it was, etc. She talked a lot about it. Then one year I thought I scope out local small pet stores in search of lovebirds so I could offer one to her for Mother's Day. Of course, I wouldn't buy one without talking to her first (I don't really believe in surprising people with a pet without them knowing about it and having a part in choosing it and being entirely ok with the idea). I went to pet stores because I didn't really know much about the bird world and didn't think of looking up breeders.

So in the first pet store I looked I found these "hand fed" lovebirds. Having met actual hand fed lovebirds afterward, I see that it was a ploy to sell them at a higher price. Happy about my discovery, I went to my dad and asked if he would like to be part of the surprise (and help pay for the cost of the bird and cage and etc). Once he gave me the ok, I went to my mom and told her about my plan. A bit weary in the beginning (because we had a (very old) cat), she did agree to come with me to the pet store. All the birds huddled the farthest corner of the cage but one. One came closer and tilted his little head sideways to look at my mom. She picked him, or rather he picked us I guess.

I fell in love with these spunky little birds. So much attitude in a tiny body. Plus, they are sooo cute :)

Anyways a year later or so after getting the one for my mom, Piper came along.
By then, we knew more about birds. More about general care and more about researching proper breeders or trying to get a second hand bird rather than dealing with pet stores. My mom had made a friend by then who was a breeder (she had lovebirds and cockatiels at the time). One day, my mom mentioned to me that she was going to go see her and asked if I wanted to tag along. Which I did since I knew she had some baby lovies and I wanted to see them. When we got there, we were greeted by the women with her two remaining babies on her shoulders (one had found a new home). There was Piper with her splayed leg and the other one with no apparent physical problem. Well, when Piper spotted me, she jumped on me and hid behind my ear, under my hair and chatted softly there. She obviously picked me and I couldn't leave her there so she came home with me.

She definitively knows what she likes and doesn't like and will let you know. She LOVES people, she's very friendly and will go see anyone. If she could spend her entire day on me, I think she would, but I insist she goes play on the gyms I have for some amount of time.
She's not too vocal as far as lovebirds are concerned.

She's really a perfect parrot in a small package ;)
Last edited by Natacha on Mon Oct 05, 2009 5:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
My blog http://poiworld.blogspot.com/
Videos of my birds http://www.youtube.com/user/poicephaluslady
Piper ~ Lovebird
Shade ~ Senegal
Joey & Pixel ~ Red-bellied parrots
Petey & Zuri ~ Meyer's parrots
Léa ~ Cape parrot
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Natacha
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1277
Location: Ontario, Canada
Number of Birds Owned: 7
Types of Birds Owned: PF Lovebird, Senegal Parrot, Red-bellied Parrots, Meyer's Parrot, Cape Parrot
Flight: Yes

Re: Why I go a PF Lovebird

Postby Kathleen » Sun Oct 04, 2009 12:25 pm

These birds are extremely cute. I've heard some bad things about lovebirds though. They have a bad reputation. Are they as bitey as some say they are? Do you have aggression problems with your lovebird?
Kathleen
Amazon
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 621
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Flight: Yes

Re: Why I go a PF Lovebird

Postby Natacha » Sun Oct 04, 2009 12:45 pm

I have no aggression issues with Piper. She very very VERY rarely will nip and when she does, she'll have given you plenty of warnings before hand.
I had a friend come over with her two young kids and they were head over heel for Piper because she was so sweet to them and and would step up with no problem and give them kisses.
Right now, she's lying down on my shoulder, as close as she could to my neck, sleeping.

I do think that lovebird do require daily interaction to remain tame; but that is also true with any other parrots.

Here is a video of her lying down in my hand, wanting me to scratch her head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpamMIqTxHI

I also have this video. It is not Piper, but another PF lovebird, named Bijou, which my mom was bird sitting for a couple of weeks this past summer. I am the one holding Bijou on the video...up until then, I never met her and yet, I was able to flip her on her back and giver her head scratches and she did not want me to stop. Far from the usual portrait of evil lovebirds I've read about ;)
She was utterly happy to get some human interaction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jffnZwZS5qM
My blog http://poiworld.blogspot.com/
Videos of my birds http://www.youtube.com/user/poicephaluslady
Piper ~ Lovebird
Shade ~ Senegal
Joey & Pixel ~ Red-bellied parrots
Petey & Zuri ~ Meyer's parrots
Léa ~ Cape parrot
User avatar
Natacha
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1277
Location: Ontario, Canada
Number of Birds Owned: 7
Types of Birds Owned: PF Lovebird, Senegal Parrot, Red-bellied Parrots, Meyer's Parrot, Cape Parrot
Flight: Yes

Re: Why I go a PF Lovebird

Postby Michael » Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:13 pm

First off, I'd like to commend you on discussing buying a bird with your mother rather than making it a surprise. I think that something that lives 15 years+, requires special care and attention, and has to be wanted. Someone getting stuck with one because it was given to them is unlikely to give it the full care and attention it deserves like someone who picked one out.

I think a lot of birds that are a gift/surprise end up being dead or rehomed within a year. It's really unfortunate. The people who buy the birds as a surprise know nothing about them and neither do the people getting them. And since the person getting it never wanted one to begin with, it's unlikely they will take it seriously and care for it properly. They can't even get the minimal briefing about bird ownership from the store or breeder.

Now I heard that lovebirds are often very aggressive and bite their owners a lot. I understand this is not your case. But why do you think they have this kind of reputation? Is it the bird type or is it the typical kind of people that buy them that leads to this?

As a budgie owner I know that 80% of negative comments out there about them are myths started by irresponsible owners. Kathleen can get into some of those if she wants to...
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Michael
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 6286
Location: New York
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal Parrot, Cape Parrot, Green-Winged Macaw
Flight: Yes

Re: Why I go a PF Lovebird

Postby Kathleen » Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:39 pm

There are a lot of misconceptions about budgies. In my personal opinion: they're not a good pet for children and they're not a beginner bird. Although they are a parakeet (small parrot, long tail) their actual name is budgerigar. Most people call them parakeets in the US. If I say budgerigar, people give me a funny look as if they don't know what I'm talking about. They're hyper, aggressive for being a small bird, they're difficult to train, they're hard to motivate beyond millet, and they're generally poorly raised and poorly cared for, but they're very capable of learning with some patience and thorough understanding of the correct training techniques.
Kathleen
Amazon
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 621
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Flight: Yes

Re: Why I go a PF Lovebird

Postby Michael » Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:48 pm

Well not just that but people treat them like fish in a fish tank. There were people on other forums who were shocked to find out that the birds can actually be taken out of the cage :o and held :o and tamed and trained and flighted!
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Michael
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 6286
Location: New York
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal Parrot, Cape Parrot, Green-Winged Macaw
Flight: Yes

Re: Why I go a PF Lovebird

Postby Natacha » Mon Oct 05, 2009 5:36 am

Michael wrote:Now I heard that lovebirds are often very aggressive and bite their owners a lot. I understand this is not your case. But why do you think they have this kind of reputation? Is it the bird type or is it the typical kind of people that buy them that leads to this?


I would definitively say that the owner has a lot to do with this.
As I said, like any other parrots, lovebirds need constant daily attention to remain fully tame, and probably even more so than with other birds. They need to see new surroundings and need to be handled by different people.
They can be very attention needy and some people might get fed-up or annoyed with it and slowly start leaving them more and more in their cages; I've often heard that a lovebird will regress back to a "wild state" easily when this happens and probably will start biting more.

My lovebird is 4. Therefore, she should have been going through hormonal stages by now. She's no different than she was a baby, except for her feeding frenzies (trying to feed me or another one of my birds).

Based one some things I've read, it's entirely possible that Piper is a male; people seem to think that it's the female lovebirds that become quite nasty at times when hormones come a-kicking.

However, I've also seen cases of lovebirds who have been neglected a bit but were so humanized to begin with that they remained tame.
That lovebird that made my mom go crazy for them, the one belonging to her friend, well it was bought for that friend's daughter when she was a kid. Then this girl became a teenager and the bird lost some of it's appeal (sadly a familiar story with any kind of pet). So the poor little thing got less time out of it's cage and the mother and the other (older) daughter would spend some time with him, but not like before. Then they wanted a dog so the bird had to go (they had it for 6 years I believe). They gave it to my mom so she would find a new home for him. He was soooooooooo happy to get more human interaction there than he did for the last few years. Not nippy at all and would want to spend all his time on people.
My blog http://poiworld.blogspot.com/
Videos of my birds http://www.youtube.com/user/poicephaluslady
Piper ~ Lovebird
Shade ~ Senegal
Joey & Pixel ~ Red-bellied parrots
Petey & Zuri ~ Meyer's parrots
Léa ~ Cape parrot
User avatar
Natacha
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1277
Location: Ontario, Canada
Number of Birds Owned: 7
Types of Birds Owned: PF Lovebird, Senegal Parrot, Red-bellied Parrots, Meyer's Parrot, Cape Parrot
Flight: Yes

Re: Why I got a PF Lovebird

Postby Michael » Mon Oct 05, 2009 7:09 am

How about this questions then. Honestly, do you think a Senegal or a Lovebird is easier to own and better to recommend for an absolute beginner?

Like I don't recommend budgies to beginners anymore because in several way I think they are harder than Senegals. I'm still debating with myself which bird I think is easier and more suited for a beginner but more and more I am realizing that advanced parrot training skills are required to teach these little birds anything :budgie:

And what you said about mom/teen is exactly why I don't think that most children that haven't finished school should have birds unless their parents want it and will keep it if the kid gets bored or moves away to school.
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Michael
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 6286
Location: New York
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal Parrot, Cape Parrot, Green-Winged Macaw
Flight: Yes

Re: Why I got a PF Lovebird

Postby Natacha » Mon Oct 05, 2009 6:35 pm

Michael wrote:How about this questions then. Honestly, do you think a Senegal or a Lovebird is easier to own and better to recommend for an absolute beginner?


I wouldn't say one is necessarily easier than an other. Each bird has it's particularities and it all depends on what you are comfortable with.
A hand fed peachface lovebird can make a great pet and with proper interaction can be maintained that way. It could be a great bird for a beginner who has done proper research.
I wouldn't recommend any parrot to anyone who is not willing to read up on them before hand though.

Overall, lovebirds are easier to own cost wise; cages are more affordable (going all out on a cage for a lovebird will cost less than if you went all out on a cage for a sennie). Food last longer (they eat less, smaller stomach) and therefore it is also cost effective. Toys don't need to be as sturdy (sturdy enough for a lovebird is not the same as sturdy enough for a bigger parrot) and they also tend to cost less. They fit the "smaller" build and vet fees tend to be on a size scale so again, a lovebird will cost less.
I am not saying one should consider being "cheap" when getting a bird, far from it. But for someone on a budget, a smaller bird might be a better idea because this birds might get the best and it will cost less than doing so for a bigger bird. But again, one should buy the smaller bird because they are interested in it, not because of the price. But I wouldn't have problem recommending a handfed lovebird as a first bird such as I wouldn't have any problems recommending a sennie as a first bird to someone who has an idea of what they will be getting into and knows how to handle the bird.

If I'm not mistaken, Kili isn't two yet? So you still have the "terrible twos" to look forward to ;)
I'm hoping she'll be like Shade and you won't see much of a difference (Shade was a bit standoffish when hormones went a flying but she's come back to her usual lovable self). Until you've seen the full potential of raging hormones, it's easy to recommend a certain bird. ;)

Another thing to consider is bite potential which also should affect one's decision if biting can be problematic; a bite from a budgie will do less damage than a bite from a lovebird which will do less damage than a bite from a Poi (trust me). I knew people who had several budgies that were tame but weren't tricked trained and to me those birds were wonderful around kids. There are so many different factors to consider when recommending the perfect bird for someone, depending on what they want for relationship with their pet.

Michael wrote:Like I don't recommend budgies to beginners anymore because in several way I think they are harder than Senegals.


I'm curious to know what your views are on this.

Michael wrote:And what you said about mom/teen is exactly why I don't think that most children that haven't finished school should have birds unless their parents want it and will keep it if the kid gets bored or moves away to school.


I don't believe a pet should ever be bought as a kid's pet. Family pet, yes. Kid's pet, no.
My blog http://poiworld.blogspot.com/
Videos of my birds http://www.youtube.com/user/poicephaluslady
Piper ~ Lovebird
Shade ~ Senegal
Joey & Pixel ~ Red-bellied parrots
Petey & Zuri ~ Meyer's parrots
Léa ~ Cape parrot
User avatar
Natacha
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 1277
Location: Ontario, Canada
Number of Birds Owned: 7
Types of Birds Owned: PF Lovebird, Senegal Parrot, Red-bellied Parrots, Meyer's Parrot, Cape Parrot
Flight: Yes

Re: Why I got a PF Lovebird

Postby Kathleen » Mon Oct 05, 2009 6:46 pm

Budgies don't bite hard at all. It takes Duke like 10 consecutive bites in the same spot for the skin to actually split open. Even then, if you're able to hold the bird properly, it won't be able to move it's neck around to bite you, problem solved... til you let it go, then it might try to get away from you.


My family had some budgies when I was younger. I didn't understand much about parrots then. I also was given the wrong information when I tried to make some effort with them, so no success. My hands were smaller, so a budgie bite hurt more then. I guess a bite that hurts less (compared to other bird) could make them easier for kids to handle, they're less scary. But at the same time, it isn't a good idea.
Kathleen
Amazon
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 621
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Flight: Yes

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