Should I get one?

eliaggmm · Jul 9, 2020

We are considering getting a lovebird.
I have had budgies before and I am not sure if the lovebird will do well in our home.

I have two children, 5 and 2 years old. (Although I will probably not get the bird until next year, so my kids will be a bit older)

The lovebird will be home alone for 4 -6 hours Monday to Friday, while I'm at work.

I wonder ...will it do ok with my children? And being on its own for that amount of time?

I was considering getting a budgie but I do love lovebirds, and we would get a baby one to hand rear.

Thanks in advance!

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wrench13 · Jul 9, 2020

I suggest you get one that is weaned, fully weaned onto solid foods. rearing of chicks is not eeasy and can lead to the deathof the chick due to ignorance of the needs and the right way to do it. Lovebirds are not typically much of a hands on parrot, so not sure if it would be OK for little children. Hopefully others will chime in here. Why not a cockatiel?

noodles123 · Jul 9, 2020

hand-rearing is a misnomer--- it can actually harm your relationship in the long run and it is VERY complicated. You can bond just fine with a weaned baby--for sure.

In terms of whether to get a bird, have you guys researched all of the issues with respiratory sensitivites/teflon/ptfe/pfc/pfoa? You will likely have to revamp most of your kitchen and definitly change your cleaning tendancies--- household cleaners produce fumes...so do aerosols, candles, perfumes, air fresheners, plug-ins, essential oils, insense, vaping, smoking, burning food, microwaving plastics etc.

PTFE/PFCs/PFOA/Teflon is in all sorts of stuff-- pots, pans, blow dryers, curling irons, george forman grills, air frying devices, popcorn poppers, drip trays, self cleaning ovens (when on the self-clean function), heck--even microwave popcorn bags! It is VERY VERY important that you know about this because these chemicals can kill even if your bird isn't near the kitchen.

In terms of kids, your bird will need a large cage and a bedtime.. It will be like having another kid, but only this one can fly and bite...and they need 10-12 hours of sleep nightly.

They need quite a few hours out-of-cage time and they can get jealous, so kids would have to be well aware of the risks and they could still get bitten...Just make sure you understand the risks so that you don't contribute to the massive problem of rehomed parrots. They can get super weird at sexual maturity and a baby will always be sweet, but an adult will have its own independence and opinions. You should only ever pet on the head and neck and never get any of those awful snuggle huts/tents (you do not want them to have any shadowy spaces due to hormones)

I will also say that lovebirds can be a bit rough compared to other small birds.

noodles123 · Jul 9, 2020

I am saying all of this because lots of people who had budgies/smaller birds when they were younger didn't treat them like they would a larger parrot, and you really do have to. They are very very smart and they are expensive, messy and time consuming. Now, don't get me wrong, larger birds come with many additional challenges, but a small bird is still a HUGE responsibility and much more work than, say, a dog, if you do it right.

eliaggmm · Jul 9, 2020

wrench13 said:
I suggest you get one that is weaned, fully weaned onto solid foods. rearing of chicks is not eeasy and can lead to the deathof the chick due to ignorance of the needs and the right way to do it. Lovebirds are not typically much of a hands on parrot, so not sure if it would be OK for little children. Hopefully others will chime in here. Why not a cockatiel?

Thanks so much for your opinion , I appreciate it. I'm still doing my research and this helps a lot!

Enviado desde mi Redmi 8 mediante Tapatalk

eliaggmm · Jul 9, 2020

noodles123 said:
hand-rearing is a misnomer--- it can actually harm your relationship in the long run and it is VERY complicated. You can bond just fine with a weaned baby--for sure.

In terms of whether to get a bird, have you guys researched all of the issues with respiratory sensitivites/teflon/ptfe/pfc/pfoa? You will likely have to revamp most of your kitchen and definitly change your cleaning tendancies--- household cleaners produce fumes...so do aerosols, candles, perfumes, air fresheners, plug-ins, essential oils, insense, vaping, smoking, burning food, microwaving plastics etc.

PTFE/PFCs/PFOA/Teflon is in all sorts of stuff-- pots, pans, blow dryers, curling irons, george forman grills, air frying devices, popcorn poppers, drip trays, self cleaning ovens (when on the self-clean function), heck--even microwave popcorn bags! It is VERY VERY important that you know about this because these chemicals can kill even if your bird isn't near the kitchen.

In terms of kids, your bird will need a large cage and a bedtime.. It will be like having another kid, but only this one can fly and bite...and they need 10-12 hours of sleep nightly.

They need quite a few hours out-of-cage time and they can get jealous, so kids would have to be well aware of the risks and they could still get bitten...Just make sure you understand the risks so that you don't contribute to the massive problem of rehomed parrots. They can get super weird at sexual maturity and a baby will always be sweet, but an adult will have its own independence and opinions. You should only ever pet on the head and neck and never get any of those awful snuggle huts/tents (you do not want them to have any shadowy spaces due to hormones)

I will also say that lovebirds can be a bit rough compared to other small birds.

Oh thank you so much. O didn't know at all about those chemicals!
I find very interesting and relevant the fact that hand rearing the bird could damage my relationship in the long run! Could you elaborate on that? Maybe get one who was hand fed but has been recently weaned?
I had read that I must not pet anywhere but on the head, this applies to budgies too.

I have not made my decision, which is why I came here, to add your opinions and experience to my research.

The bird we get will be like our third child, rehoming is not an option in my head, so I must choose well .

It worries me if the lovebird would feel lonely while I'm at work or if it could be jealous of my kids or aggressive.

I was just wondering if anyone was in a similar situation or if it's just simply a bad idea

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noodles123 · Jul 9, 2020

Yes- a recently (but fully weaned) baby is a good bet. It is easy to screw up hand-feeding and it also can skew your relationship---breeders hand-rear and then usually sell their babies-- in the wild, a bird pushes away from its parents to find a mate, and while a bird could handle that, it can be complicated if you are a pet owner (IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE THINGS WORSE-- but it can, and the odds of success are far higher if you just get a weaned baby).... 1. If your bird doesn't have the proper nutrition/bonds/ a very solid foundation etc it can end up messed up as an adult (physically and behaviorally), but 2. birds often push away from their parents in search of a mate...if you ARE the parent, it is not entirely natural for that bird to stay close to you forever (in terms of instinct). You don't want your bird to see you as a mate, but you don't necessarily want to be the parent either.

ALL BIRDS can get jealous and aggressive...they are hard-wired to pick a person in many cases. Now, proper socialization CAN make a huge difference, but it is still not safe to say that you won't see jealously etc (it's a possibility). Often times, a bird will like one or 2 people and tolerate or even dislike the rest. It just depends on so many things, but you can never fully control it.

The chemicals are REALLY REALLY important and a pain in the butt lol! Please read over all of my posts on this link-- it talks in greater detail about diet, chemicals etc (they are long posts...but they do matter)
http://www.parrotforums.com/budgies-parakeets/86427-budgie-ok-2.html

see above.

eliaggmm · Jul 9, 2020

noodles123 said:
Yes- a recently (but fully weaned) baby is a good bet. It is easy to screw up hand-feeding and it also can skew your relationship---breeders hand-rear and then usually sell their babies-- in the wild, a bird pushes away from its parents to find a mate, and while a bird could handle that, it can be complicated if you are a pet owner (IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE THINGS WORSE-- but it can, and the odds of success are far higher if you just get a weaned baby).... 1. If your bird doesn't have the proper nutrition/bonds/ a very solid foundation etc it can end up messed up as an adult (physically and behaviorally), but 2. birds often push away from their parents in search of a mate...if you ARE the parent, it is not entirely natural for that bird to stay close to you forever (in terms of instinct). You don't want your bird to see you as a mate, but you don't necessarily want to be the parent either.

ALL BIRDS can get jealous and aggressive...they are hard-wired to pick a person in many cases. Now, proper socialization CAN make a huge difference, but it is still not safe to say that you won't see jealously etc (it's a possibility). Often times, a bird will like one or 2 people and tolerate or even dislike the rest. It just depends on so many things, but you can never fully control it.

The chemicals are REALLY REALLY important and a pain in the butt lol! Please read over all of my posts on this link-- it talks in greater detail about diet, chemicals etc (they are long posts...but they do matter)
http://www.parrotforums.com/budgies-parakeets/86427-budgie-ok-2.html

see above.

Thanks so much for your reply. I will read everything properly again tomorrow as it's nearly 1 am now here in Spain.

But this is great and thorough information and it seems like I have a lot to reflect upon! Thanks again!

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noodles123 · Jul 9, 2020

I don't mean to scare you off at all, because they can be great great great!!! but you just have to have your whole house on-board and prepare for what COULD be, along with the lifestyle changes.

Talven · Jul 9, 2020

I would suggest that a Cockatiel would be a better choice than a lovebird. Lovebirds can be a little flighty like budgies. Cockatiels are more stable and not so easily startled so better with younger children. Also being a more independent bird they will cope better with being left alone. A lovebird bite can be quite nasty as they have a surprisingly sharp beak. When my son was 3 we had Cockatiels and he did quite well with them.

eliaggmm · Jul 10, 2020

noodles123 said:
I don't mean to scare you off at all, because they can be great great great!!! but you just have to have your whole house on-board and prepare for what COULD be, along with the lifestyle changes.

I'm grateful for your insight. I actually didn't know about the chemicals. Also I found it interesting to learn about the benefits of getting a weaned bird as opposed to one who has to be hand fed . Thanks!

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eliaggmm · Jul 10, 2020

Talven said:
I would suggest that a Cockatiel would be a better choice than a lovebird. Lovebirds can be a little flighty like budgies. Cockatiels are more stable and not so easily startled so better with younger children. Also being a more independent bird they will cope better with being left alone. A lovebird bite can be quite nasty as they have a surprisingly sharp beak. When my son was 3 we had Cockatiels and he did quite well with them.

I hadn't thought of a cockatiel. I will consider it, thank you!

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noodles123 · Jul 10, 2020

eliaggmm said:
noodles123 said:

I don't mean to scare you off at all, because they can be great great great!!! but you just have to have your whole house on-board and prepare for what COULD be, along with the lifestyle changes.

Click to expand...

I'm grateful for your insight. I actually didn't know about the chemicals. Also I found it interesting to learn about the benefits of getting a weaned bird as opposed to one who has to be hand fed . Thanks!

Enviado desde mi Redmi 8 mediante Tapatalk

This member has some really good insight on unweaned babies too--she goes into some greater detail if you are interested:
http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/74363-so-you-bought-unweaned-baby.html

Should I get one?

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Do lovebirds turn their eggs?

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