Debbie Palacios has just recently been introduced to the wonderful world of pet Love Bird ownership. Nickie, a female orange-faced green Love Bird, was hatched in July of 2005 and went home with Debbie and her family for the first time on September 24th, 2005 . Taking the plunge and deciding whether or not to consider adding a pet Love Bird to her house was a difficult decision to make, but ever since Debbie was introduced to Nickie, she hasn’t looked back! Nickie was featured in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2005 issue of Agapornis World.
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“I have always wanted a parrot, a bird that could be a real pet. You know, a bird that could share your dinner and sit on your shoulder. I knew because of my already crowed house I would have to get a smaller parrot. I have been eyeing the Love Birds in the local Petsmart for some time they are so beautiful, and when my 40th birthday came around I wanted to buy something for myself that I really wanted. So I started researching a lot on the Internet about the Love Birds and other small parrots found out this was the bird for me.”
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(Picture of baby just fed with huge stomach)
“I knew I didn't want to buy from a pet store because I had heard that a handfed baby bird was a lot more used to humans and not so skittish and easier to train. I again researched on the internet for a breeder that had Love Birds and was in my area. I came up with a few breeders and emailed each of them. Two breeders emailed me back and one had older birds and another had eggs in the nest. That is what I wanted - a baby - and to top it off, they would be ready to go to their new owners around my birthday. It was a perfect find!“
“Since this was my first Love Bird, I didn't know how to pick a baby. So I asked people on the internet who had Love Birds and they said most people pick a bird for their colors. I knew I wanted dark colors like blues or greens but the first clutch to hatch from the breeder I had chosen had only light colors, so I waited for the colors that I wanted. There were another two sets of hatchlings. I visited the babies when they were starting to hand feed. When the breeder knew what the colors of the other babies would be I visited the babies again. The lighter colored babies from the first hatch were kinda "active". I wanted a calmer bird. . The darker babies seems calmer, to me anyway, so it was between the two darker babies. It was a very hard decision, after meeting them I went home and couldn't decide which one I wanted they were both so cute and quiet. Then, when I spoke to the breeder, again she had told me the oldest dark baby was spoken for already, so that helped me decide and I took the next oldest dark baby. It was a match made in heaven!”
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(Christine and Joey holding Nickie and his sibling)
”I prepared for the day I brought my Love Bird home by getting a new cage, her required food, treats and lots of toys (I kinda went over on the toys). I cleaned and disinfected a smaller cage I had for the car ride home, I put her swing and a toy that I would put in her home cage in the travel cage so there would be something familiar for her. A couple of days before I brought her home, I washed and disinfected everything she would touch and set everything up so it would all be ready when we got home and so my other animals would get used to the cage before there was a new bird in it.”
“I don't think there was much I wasn’t prepared for. I read everything I could find on Love Birds and I did everything I was supposed to do. Oh, and I asked my breeder a lot of questions.”
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“Since bringing Nickie home, things have been great. Nickie has been such a great addition to our family. I love having a bird that I can play with and have on my shoulder when I do things around the house. It has been 3 weeks since I have had my Lovie and things did change. She is not as quiet as she was that first day. She chirps a lot, but is not too loud. She even chirps in her sleep. She lets us know when she wants to come out of her cage by going up to the side by a door and nodding her head up and down as if to say, “open this up I want out!” If we have time, we take her out. Otherwise I tell her, “not right now Nickie,” and she seems to know what I am saying. She hasn't eaten much of fresh foods yet but I do keep trying. She eats her pellets, millet spray, seeds & nuts. She also takes an occasional bite out of whatever it is we are eating when it is offered to her. She takes a bath every 2 days. I haven't actually seen her take her bath, but when I leave the room and come back and she looks like a wet rat, I know it was bath time. It is so cute! She climbs all over her cage and her toys; it is a joy just to sit and watch her be an acrobat around her cage. At about 2 weeks, she started to test us with her biting. I asked questions right away and am taking care of that by telling her, “no! no biting,” and putting her back in her cage. It has been better, she learns really quick. My house is a very busy house, so Nickie gets a lot of attention and sees a lot of action so I think this helps in keeping her entertained when we are not able to take her out. I am very happy that I bought a Love Bird! She is so much fun to have around.”
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If you would like the opportunity for your special love bird pet to be featured on the ALBS website, please e-mail pictures and stories to petspotlight@africanlovebirdsociety.com
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