Why Lovebirds?
© Mary Wilson
My first experience with lovebirds happened when I met a friend who bred parakeets. She had a few pairs of lovebirds, and I instantly thought the little birds were adorable. Small, about six inches, lovebirds are the perfect size for any household. Their cage requirements are average, and surely a bird that little couldn't eat much. Then I heard them chatter.
That isn't to say that lovebirds are noisy birds. Like any bird, if kept in a quiet environment, the bird will likely be quiet, just as bird kept in a noisy home will become loud. Still, lovebird couples chatter back and forth in their own voice. It sounds much like parrotlet chatter, I think, but since I hadn't seen parrotlets at that time I had nothing with which to compare.
My husband slept days, which made any type of noise, no matter how unobjectionable, out of the question. So I bypassed her lovebirds and gazed longingly at her parakeets.
As most of you know by reading this column, my husband eventually took a day job, and I moved into breeding parrotlets. Matthew has grown quite tolerant of the birds, which has prompted me to expand Nemglan Aviary into a new direction - lovebirds.
But, why?
I find lovebirds fascinating for several reasons. First of all, next to parakeets, lovebirds come in the most color mutations as any pet bird. From their original green with a peach face, to lutino, cinnamon, blue, dutch blue, albino, pied, you can have a veritable rainbow of lovebirds.
Lovebirds are reasonably priced. Although more than a parakeet, lovebirds range in price from twenty five dollars to several hundred for some rare mutations. These little birds are full of personality, love to play with their toys or simply spend time preening their partners. Part of their name derives from the close bond that happens between any lovebird pair. Couples will spend hours preening one another.
Lovebirds make great pets. A hand-fed baby lovebird can bond quite closely to its owner, delighting in spending time outside the cage and enjoying many of the same activities as any other pet bird.
In the coming articles, I'll be discussing some aspects of lovebird ownership, as well as eventually delve into genetics and color breeding. Does that mean I'll be abandoning parrotlets and parakeets? Not by a long shot. I simply want to give these wonderful small hookbills their moment in the sun, too.
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