Lovebirds as pets, as well as in the wild, are very social birds. Generally and in most situations, it is thought to be essential for their good health and happiness that they be kept in pairs, not singly. If keeping a single lovebird, you must provide the necessary social interaction that it is missing from another bird. These birds develop fierce loyalties to their keeper or their mate. Aside from their social nature toward you or their mate, lovebirds can be extremely aggressive towards other birds. You must be certain that all pairs get along together, and that they are true “pairs”, not mismatched. Bonded pairs constantly groom each other and will feed each other from the crop during breeding season and all year round. These little birds will chatter all day long. They will hide in their nest box if they are startled by a sudden noise, if they spot a potential predator, or if it gets cold and windy.
Handling/Training: Lovebird training is best accomplished with a young bird. To have a tame lovebird, its also best to work with a single bird. Young birds have an amazing ability to learn tricks and be affectionate. Adults on the other hand, are very difficult to tame and generally won’t learn a lot of tricks or imitate behaviors. Hand-raised youngsters are easiest to work with. They are already quite socialized and tame, but unfortunately they are not always available. Taming involves acceptance and trust between you and your bird. It means spending a lot of time with your bird daily. Start with talking softly and making slow movements. Once your bird is comfortable with you, then you can begin hand-taming. Use a dowel and push it gently against the birds chest while offering a treat to coax it up onto the dowel. This may take many tries. Once it is comfortable with stepping up onto a dowel, substitute your finger for the dowel. Lovebirds are not considered one of the best talkers, and only some may learn a few words.
Activities: Lovebirds awaken with the dawn, get a drink, eat, and then immediately begin to chirp. They will generally quiet down by mid-morning and resume their chirping in the late afternoon. These birds are very active, flying and climbing about, gnawing on wood or chew toys, and grooming themselves many times all day. They love toys of all kinds such as seed bells, swings, ladders, mirrors, shiny objects, and wooden gnaws. A lovebird outside of it’s cage will not stay on it’s playpen, they like to explore. Be sure this room is safe with no open doors or windows, no toxic plants, no open water containers, and no hot stove.