What do lovebirds (Agapornis) eat? How long do they live? How do you raise them so they bond with you?
Nowadays more and more people keep pets, and one of the more popular ones is the lovebird. Named for its devoted nature, the lovebird is not only easy to keep but also has high ornamental value. So what do lovebirds eat? How long do they live? How do you raise them so they bond with you?
1. A brief introduction to lovebirds
The lovebird, also known as the pairing parrot, love parrot or lovebird, is a parrot that greatly enjoys living in groups and is deeply affectionate and friendly. It is the collective name for the parrots in the genus that includes the “peach-faced lovebird (rosy-faced lovebird, small parrot), the lovebird, the yellow-collared lovebird and the white-faced lovebird.” A lovebird is about 13—17 cm long and weighs 40—60 g, with a squat, stocky body and a short tail, and a relatively large beak. Most lovebirds have green bodies, with orange-red on the forehead, between the beak and the eyes, on the cheeks and on the throat, while artificial breeding and mutations have produced many colors.
Lovebirds stay inseparable from their partners, snuggling close to each other, and most pair for life, so they are generally kept in pairs or in groups. Like other parrots, lovebirds can build a companion relationship with people as long as they receive enough attention and care.
2. What do lovebirds eat?
The food lovebirds eat must be varied and not too monotonous. It is recommended to use commercial formulated pellets as the parrot's staple food (about 80% or more of the diet), and to give the parrot a variety of other foods, such as grains, fruits, vegetables, some grasses and seeds.
1. Grains and cereals: millet, rice, paddy rice, sunflower seeds, peanuts, oat groats, brown rice, buckwheat, canary seed, corn;
2. Vegetables and fruits: rapeseed greens, cabbage, napa cabbage, carrots, apples, orange peel, bananas, grapes;
3. Legumes: soybeans and red beans (cooked and mashed into paste), broad beans (fed to parrots with nutritional deficiencies), green peas (fed in summer);
4. Nutritional supplements: cuttlebone and eggshells, used to supplement calcium.
5. Forbidden foods: foods containing theobromine, such as coffee, tea leaves and chocolate, must not be fed to parrots, and avocado (also called butter fruit) is highly toxic to parrots. Foods high in salt or fat, or containing alcohol, should also be avoided.
3. The lifespan of lovebirds
The lifespan of a lovebird is about 10—15 years. Most parrots live fairly long lives and can keep us company for a long time. As long as the parrot is given enough attention and care, it will naturally build a deep bond with its owner.
4. How do you raise lovebirds so they bond with you?
Very few lovebirds can talk, but if training starts from a young age, they may be able to imitate human speech. Their calls are very noisy, sharp and piercing, but the lovebird is a relatively people-friendly parrot, and we need to teach it patiently to build a relationship of trust. Let's take a look together at how to raise them so they bond with you.
1. Method one: gently hold it, and keep stroking its head and body lightly with your fingers until it is no longer afraid in your hand. It is best to stroke it for more than half an hour, every day like this. After long-term stroking, the lovebird will gradually stand on your hand;
2. Method two: put on gloves and hold food, letting the lovebird slowly come over and eat by itself. After a period of time, even a bird that was not hand-raised can gradually build trust with its owner.
Actually, the methods for training a parrot to be friendly are all much the same. The most important thing is to be patient and to keep at it over the long term, building trust between the bird and the person, and to let your parrot know that you will not hurt it. During training, no matter how the parrot behaves, do not lose your temper with it or beat, scold or abuse it, because the more you hit it, the more afraid of you it becomes, and the harder it will be to train later.