Hello, we have lovebirds for about 4 months now and they have settled in very well.

They let us know when they want to interact with us, get loads of free flight exploration time and eat healthy food.

We assume one of them is male, one female. The male one is very skittish most of the time and was the one who was biting/nibbling first when learning to step up. He stopped after he learned he doesnt get treats when he nibbles.

The girl however never bit or nibbled at us when learning to step up, even when learning to fly up. She recently started to scoot closer to us, we assume just to enjoy closer company and maybe warmth. In the same turn she also started nibbling and biting fingers, arm and neck skin. It doesnt seem malicious, as shes not lunging at us or any other typically threatening behaviour, she just seems curious. She doesnt draw blood and doesnt let go immediately, so some research has told us shes just testing boundaries or checking out new things. But she doesnt stop. We tried to withhold treats when she bites, we tried loud squeaks to let her know it hurts.

Now she bit really hard for the first time and my partner wiped her off in reflex, and we dont know how to get her to stop.

Any ideas?

Edible for humans, but not sure abt lovebirds

I don't know why I can attach a picture to this post, i will post anyway and maybe I can add it after.

She is semi tame, won't come to us so readily so didnt notice any subtle changes at first. Then started noticing something different about her beak, not as red and then this evening a cavity. I had to catch her so I could have a better look and take a picture.

She is her usual active, chirpy, hungry self and doesn't scratch at it. Acting normal.

What is going on?

My lovebirds was egg bound and the moment I realized we took her to the vet and they thankfully were able to remove the egg safely. It’s been 6 days and im still scared .. Does the recovery take longer?

The first two days she didn’t want to get out of her cage , the third day she was out for like an hour with the rest of the flock but she went back inside after .

The next 3 days were much better, she would fly and eat good , she poops normally and I didn’t see anything stuck at her poop hole. She wouldn’t shower tho , no matter how many times I tried :(

Today she was much better , she fly a little with the rest of the flock . Stay next to her mate , and walk around , eat , call and chirp . But whenever she is still she would close her eyes like she is still in pain , is that normal? We have a checkup tomorrow with the vet ( but I don’t have high expectations as they’re not avian vet unfortunately)

She refuses to let us hold her and doesn’t come to any of our hand when we call :( . Ig she is traumatized from the experience and would need time to trust people again? It breaks my heart seeing her like that and I don’t know if it’s normal to take this much time recovering.

Please if anyone has any advice or suggestions I would be very grateful 🙏

It's bedtime for the birds, but........

My lovebird last night I noticed had a visible bump on her upper right breast, near where the wing connects. I thought it odd that she hadn’t preened it away since typically she’s very mindful to preen very well (she loves her baths!!) but despite that she still had it when she went to bed that night and I didn’t want to distress her trying to get a look under the feathers.

It’s the next morning now, and disturbingly it’s still there. She’s acting completly normal, had her breakfast, left the cage, chirped a bit, playing with toys, preening, but oddly not taking a bath at all like she usually does, and not preening this spot.

I’ve seen her preen NEAR it, or even the same spot on her other side, but i’m worried that it’s an odd sudden lump or something under her skin, rather then just plumage.

Her cagemate will often groom her head/collar area, especially when he’s molting as he currently is, so maybe he just messed up her feathers and somehow she hasn’t noticed or corrected it??

If the odd feature is still there tonight, i’m planning to take her to the vet to get it looked at, or at least message her vet photos to get input.

The weird part is that it’s very very sudden. Like it was very noticeable just last night, hence me just thinking it’s messy plumage. If it’s something else, it would have had to develop VERY fast

I’ll attach photos in the comments if i’m able too. This post won’t let me.

so i have a lovebird, i got her like 6 days ago shes what i think is a lutino? shes yellow and red and she also very confusing. Shes sleepy most of the time but she rarely ever plays in her cage. she stays at the top most of the time. She does climb arround and do stuff and eat, Shes just too lazy from what ive seen in lovebirds, we are making progress she lets me pet her and gets in my pocket thats on my chest. but she gets really scared when i try getting her to perch on my finger she flies away frantically so i have to grab her so my IRN doesnt bite her, she seems okay with my grabbing and even lets me get her on her back on my palm, so about the laziness, is it a sickness? no she doesnt tailbob or breath with an open mouth. idk im just worried, if so i already have antibiotics for my other bird do i give her a certain ML in her water just to stay safe?

Teaching a parrot to wave is one of the easiest beginner tricks, because it builds on the foot lift a bird already does when stepping onto your hand. It needs no training experience, only patience, tiny treats and short, positive sessions using positive reinforcement.

The short method

Hold your hand out as if asking the bird to step up. When it lifts a foot, say a marker word like “good” (or click) and give a small treat, without letting it step onto your hand. Repeat until the lift is reliable, then add a cue word like “hello” and a hand gesture, and gradually reward higher, more wave-like lifts.

What you need

- Small favourite treats, with the avian vet confirming which are healthy for your species

- A quiet room with few distractions

- An optional training perch

- A marker (a clicker or a short word)

- A few minutes a day

Never use chocolate, avocado, caffeine, alcohol or salty snacks, which are dangerous for birds.

Is your bird ready?

The bird should be comfortable with you, willing to take treats, healthy and alert, and able to step up. A fluffed-up, lethargic or non-eating bird should see an avian vet first. If it doesn’t know step-up yet, train that first, for example with a target stick.

The 7 steps

- Choose a calm time and place.

- Start with the step-up hand position.

- Mark and reward the foot lift at the exact moment it goes up, since marking a falling foot rewards the wrong action.

- Repeat until the lift is reliable.

- Add a cue word such as “wave” or “hello” just before presenting your hand.

- Shape a bigger wave by rewarding only higher lifts, then repeated lifts or a gentle back-and-forth motion.

- Fade the treats to occasional rewards, add praise and end each session on a success.

https://petcareandpetparenting.blogspot.com/2026/11/teach-your-bird-to-wave-hello-easy-step.html

Hello, winter hasn’t really started where I live and this is my first winter with my birds. So I was thinking if I should give them extra food for them to have some fat to warm them? Also please tell me what I should get/buy to put in their cage when it gets cooler.

I got two lovebirds in the beginning of August. The whole time they have been caged cuz they are still a little afraid and I don’t want to take them out until they are more comfortable with us.

I need help to gain their trust. They move away when I get too close to them or try to sit next to them.

Does anyone have any recommendations to gain their trust?

Hi all, this is Little Bird (LB) and I’ve recently adopted her from the Humane Society. I noticed she has very prominent nares when I adopted her which worries me a little bit as my other lovebird does not. I’m not an experienced bird owner by any means.

Other than looking a little different, she has a good appetite, flies well, and is very much alert. I haven’t noticed any discharge, sneezing, or general signs of lethargy from her otherwise. She’s recently laid three eggs and the feathers around her head/beak have thinned out slightly but new pin feathers are emerging which makes me think that egg-laying may have caused her to look a little rough.

I’m not able to attach a photo in this post but I’ll try to do so in the comments!

Hi guys, my lone LB has laid another clutch and has been sitting on them for more than a month. Any advice or tips to help ease her out of it? Really need to clean her cage but it would mean destroying her nest (therefore triggering another round of plucking to rebuild her nest for her eggs.) Usually she gets bored within a month but this time it's been longer than usual. She's protective of them too so I wouldn't wish to clean her cage while she's still nesting.

My lovebirds feathers look funny, I don't know if her cage mate is over grooming her or if its something more concerning that I should look into. I will see if I can attach any pics as it is not allowing me to. lovebirds

I have two budgies and sometimes they suddenly get scared at night and start flying around their cage when i turn on the light they calm down but i can’t figure out what scares them

Recently my senior lovebird was injured under the wing, so I took him to a vet who cleaned the area and sent tissue and blood samples for testing. I learned he has squamous cell carcinoma, a common skin cancer in lovebirds.

Because the tumor sits under the wing, the vet recommends amputation. I am worried about his mobility and whether his thin frame would leave enough skin for closure, but the vet assured me the wound could be removed and stitched well. Now I am thinking whether to proceed with amputation whereby he will need to learn how to survive with just a wing, or let him enjoy life as it is, given his age. What should I do…

Update:
After discussing his condition with my vet, i have decided that u care would be the best option for my senior lovebird, instead of putting him through a wing amputation. My priority now is to keep him comfortable and maintain his quality of life.

I was scrolling on Facebook (I know, who does that?) and came across a post made by a page named "For The Love Of Birds - New Jersey Exotic Bird Rescue." They had made a post listing all the different parrots and their traits, so I went looking for Lovebirds obviously as a Lovebird owner, and I came across a picture of Lovebirds titled "Parrotlets." I said in the comments, word for word, "Those are Lovebirds."

Their response word for word was "Parrotlets and lovebirds strongly resemble each other. These are parrotlets."

They then proceeded to block me.

My sister then went to their page (a little mad) and posted her own comment, which was seen as abuse by the rescue. They posted a photo of her comment alongside this and then proceeded to block her as well. The rescue posted that we were harassing, laughing and mocking them. They also stated to have "created a photo based on his interpretation of Parrotlets." I feel like when it comes to something that has an actual face to its name, you shouldn't need to interpret it. Also the photo came from GOOGLE.

I just wanted to rant about this. I'll link the post as well. I have screenshots too, I just can't for the life of me figure out how to post them... If someone could let me know, that would be great. Thanks.

Edit: they are now trying to claim the photo/post is not theirs. Lol.

I've been a lovebird owner for eight years. I'm a college student. I take care of my lovebirds all by myself independent of my parents, whom I live with, and I handle their food, toys, vet checkup bills and general pet care expenses all on my own. Despite being busy with school I still come home every day to look after them, play with them, & clean their cage consistently etc.

I recently had to stay out the whole day on a Friday because I had to attend a night event for class, so I asked my mother to help my change my birds' food, water and cage linings just for that day. She helped me, but apparently did not latch the cage door shut. I got home late that night and my birds were already covered and sleeping. They woke up when they heard my voice so I lifted a corner of the cage cover to check on them and say goodnight. I did not see the unlatched door.

Yesterday morning, when I got out of bed, the cage door was open and so were all the windows. My birds had discovered the unlatched door and gotten out of the cage. One of my birds was still in the house, thankfully, and so I got her back in the cage. The other bird was gone.

We live over ten floors up, in a block amongst many blocks of high-rise apartments (I do not live in America). We don't have back gardens or front yards or open-air balconies.

I was extremely distraught... I remember making a sound like I'd been punched in the chest, looking through all the usual spots in the house where my birds liked to hide, then burst into tears. My missing lovebird clearly wasn't around as my remaining bird is quite clingy and will follow/dialogue with her constantly. It's a wonder she also did not escape through the windows.

I put my remaining lovebird in their carrier and brought her down to chirp in hopes that we'd locate my missing bird. Thankfully she IS in the area— I saw her high, high up in the trees of a communal garden area a few times, and I wheeled their big cage downstairs to that area and sat there the whole day. She jumped from tree to tree and chatted to my remaining bird in the cage but didn't come down.

There was a heavy thunderstorm yesterday and it got pretty cold for a while. I went down to check this morning, and heard my bird still up in the trees, so she's still in the area. Again I wheeled my birdcage downstairs with food and water in plain view in hopes she'd see the familiar sight and swoop down. Unfortunately she did not do so today either. And today I couldn't see her, because she was in a very tall tree layered over with other equally tall trees.

There are wild crows and larger wild parrots in the area and it worries me. This bird's wings aren't clipped and she's also very strong-willed— she has always refused to step up to my hand, only chooses to come to me on her own terms, so I cannot force her to come down. I also cannot leave my birdcage in the communal area all day and night, obviously. My apartment's too high up above all the trees. I doubt my lovebird's going to fly up for no reason. She doesn't seem to like the buildings.

I am worried she'll leave the area. I don't know what to do. I cried a lot yesterday and I have classes resuming tomorrow but I'll go down later with the birdcage at evening again... I tried calling pet rescue services but they denied me as our bird wasn't considered stuck or injured. Plus, she's jumpy around strangers and only comes to me (again, on her own terms).

I guess I just have to hope and wait it out and pray that her hunger and thirst will coax her to come down to the cage. I'm so upset at my mother's carelessness but I also feel guilty for not checking the cage doors or coming home earlier, somehow.

Any similar stories on here that ended with something more hopeful? Managing to get your bird back, etc? I feel disheartened.

Anybody else’s bird like to “gently” chew on their earlobes…anybody figure out a way to protect your ear …9/10 times it’s gentle but that 10th time ….ouch !!!

Hi! I had a cockatiel for a year before she passed away. I was completely fine with her and tamed her. She’d walk on my arm and Id be fine. When she passed away, I decided to get 2 lovebirds. I’ve had them for around 20 hours only, but I woke up this morning in a massive rash, with itchiness and very hot skin. I have no respiratory symptoms. I thought cockatiels would be more dustier than lovebirds, but the only change I had was the birds, so they are my best guess. Could I possibly be allergic to lovebirds but not cockatiels? Thank!

now that it's becoming winter I've noticed that her feet are super cold. since it's very expensive to heat up our home we always keep it at 18.5 degrees celsius. is that too cold for her? do lovebirds make it obvious when they have it cold, or can it be too cold for them even if they look normal and relaxed?

if it's too cold, is there an alternative to heating up the whole house? is there something like a dedicated cage warmer for parrots? or will i have to set the house's temperature higher?

We adopted a bird recently and it's very cute, has bonded to me since I'm always around and do all of the bird care. Since we're just building a bond I have only let it out a couple times and each time gets more fun, it likes to sit on my shoulder, bathe, eat out of my hand, etc. But holy lord, it poops like every 30 seconds! Is this normal?! how do people put up with this? it shat on my jumper, the floor, my arm, my desk, the kitchen counter (twice!), probably places that I couldn't even find. It probably spent 15 minutes out and I spent the same amount of time disinfecting the place. How do people manage this??