How to feed lovebirds?

Pets are favorite pets that can be seen in almost every home. A cat, a dog and a parrot, as well as fish, snakes, spiders and lizards can become a new inhabitant of an apartment. Many parents give birth to pets for children, and most often opt for parrots, thinking that taking care of a bird will not bring much trouble and difficulty.

This idea is a profound delusion of adult family members, and it can provoke the disease of the bird, and sometimes its death. The feathered friend needs to ensure the most comfortable living conditions and a balanced diet. The solution to this problem will become even more difficult and time consuming if loveless people appeared in the house.

Lovebirds are one of the most beautiful species of parrots. They can live for a long time in a city apartment. The main difference of this bird from others is the developed digestive system, which is constantly working. Hunger, poor quality food and an unbalanced diet can lead to the death of a pet and the lack of offspring. On the shelves of specialized stores you can see a huge amount of cereal mixtures, vitamins and various food additives.

The main features of a quality grain mixture for lovebirds:

• the presence of the mark "for medium parrots";
• vacuum packaging;
• pleasant aroma and natural brilliance of the grain;
• lack of preservatives and dyes;
• the specified deadline for implementation;
• no mold, odor, dangerous insects and foreign debris;
• adequate price.

With self-made grain composition you need to mix millet, oats, sunflower seeds and canary seed. This recipe is basic, and if necessary it can be supplemented with other ingredients. Experienced poultry farmers recommend using not only purchased grain, but also natural products for feeding birds. The maximum level of natural supplements should not exceed ten percent.

Grain feed - the basis of the diet of lovebirds. This mixture may include the following cereals.

• Feed oats. Useful and nutritious cereal, which consists of unique and easily digestible amino acids. The main feature of the product is the simultaneous eating and strengthening of the beak.
• Raw millet. An indispensable feed, the amount of which can go up to 50 percent in cereal mixtures. It contains many vitamins, copper, phosphorus and amino acids.
• Millet. A product that can be given to birds only when cooked. In boiled porridge, you can add a small amount of grated carrots or beets.
• Wheat. A must-have product that contains a small amount of fatty acids. The value of this cereal is in the presence of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins E and B. Experts recommend that before feeding be sure to germinate the seeds for 12 hours in a warm room.
• Corn. Useful cereal, the grain of which must be soaked, chopped or boiled before serving. The composition of the grains of the "Queen of the fields" includes carotene, trace elements, amino acids and vitamin K.

Seeds and nuts are mandatory products, the amount of which should be at the level of 16 percent.

Consider the list of mandatory seeds and nuts in the poultry diet.

• Sunflower seed. An indispensable source of fats and fatty acids, as well as linoleic and linolenic acid.
• Cannabis seed. Useful product, which before use should be covered with boiling water and dried. This procedure will help remove the toxic film and make the seeds harmless.
• Flax-seed. An invaluable component that is not only food, but also medicine. Flax seed will protect the intestines from the effects of coarse fibers, as well as help cure coughing and wheezing. The allowable amount of these seeds is 2 percent.
• Pumpkin seed. Mandatory ingredient in the diet of lovebirds.
• Nuts: peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and Brazil nuts. Nutritious delicacy, which consists of fats, proteins, mineral salts, vitamins and phytoncides.

Beneficial to a pet's health will be canary seed, oatmeal, niger seed and safflower, canola, soybean, rye, fennel, dark rice, poppy seeds and sesame seed. Poultry farmers also recommend giving chopped acorns and chestnuts.

Along with dry feed, poultry needs juicy and healthy fruits and vegetables. Experts are allowed to feed domestic birds with the following delicacies.

• Cucumbers. A tasty product that contains a large amount of iodine and a small amount of vitamins. A small piece of cucumber can improve immunity and speed up metabolic processes in the body.
• Pears and apples. The most delicious complementary foods, which includes pectin, sugar, vitamin C, carotene, tannins and various trace elements.
• Oranges and Lemons. Tropical fruits that can be given along with the peel. Lemon slices can be a little sprinkle with sugar. A few drops of lemon juice, added to the water, will significantly improve the condition of the pet.
• Rowan berries. A product that can be given both fresh and frozen.
• Melons and watermelons. Bakhcha, which significantly diversifies the diet of the bird. Its composition contains fast-digestible sugar, organic acids, iron, phosphorus and potassium.

Favorite fruits and berries for birds are:

• banana;
• dog rose;
• grapes;
• Strawberry;
• raspberries;
• kiwi;
• figs;
• pitted cherries;
• grapefruit;
• lime;
• Garnet;
• peach;
• apricot;
• gooseberry;
• grapes

In winter, these vegetables and fruits can be given in dried form. It is strictly forbidden to give avocados, papayas, mangoes and persimmons to birds.

Greens and branches of trees - an indispensable component in the diet of birds. For maximum benefit from the green mass, it should be collected in ecologically clean areas and immediately given to the birds.

Poultry farmers recommend to pay attention to the following green products:

• parsley, dill and onion - products that enrich the body with vitamins and trace elements, as well as restore strength, prevent the appearance of parasites and improve the work of the digestive system;
• nettle leaves - hot food, which before serving must be scalded, finely chop, and only then add to the feeder;
• bean asparagus - useful greens, which improves metabolic processes in the body and normalizes blood composition.

Should not forget on dandelion and currant leaves, clover and alfalfa. This greens can be given not only in the summer fresh, but also dried in the winter.

Birds love to feast on young branches and buds of willow, birch and apricot. Pets in the process of gnawing twigs sharpen beak and claws.

For the full development of the body, veterinarians recommend introducing into the diet animal products that contain large amounts of protein. The most important are the following products.

• Whole milk. It is a source of calcium. Poultry farmers recommend boiling porridge on it or dipping small pieces of bread into it.
• Boiled egg.
• Crumbly curd mass. Useful lure, which should be given in very small portions, and if necessary, mixed with honey.
• Fish fat. Source of vitamins such as A, D, as well as iodine and phosphorus. This supplement must be entered in cooked cereal.

During the period of pen change and nest formation special attention should be paid to mineral additives, which can serve as the following products.

• Cretaceous rocks. It is an indispensable source of calcium. Only use clean feed product.
• Eggshell. Source of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. This additive should be given in a crushed form, pre-washing and heating the feeding.
• Shellfish shellfish.
• Dried plaster. A good source of calcium and at the same time sharpener for beak.

Wood or activated charcoal, bone meal and lime will be beneficial to birds.

Special attention should be paid to the pet's drinking regime. The cage must be equipped not only with a drinker, but also with a place for swimming, where you need to pour clean, fresh and filtered water daily. Birds love to feast on freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, rosehip tea and chamomile tea, in which you can add a little honey.

Poultry farmers recommend to pay special attention to prohibited products, which categorically should not be given to parrots:

• bitter pepper;
• caramelized fruit;
• mayonnaise;
• ketchup;
• fast food;
• fried food;
• chips and crackers;
• alcoholic drinks;
• tea and coffee;
• salt;
• spicy spices;
• meat;
• a fish;
• seafood;
• butter;
• hard and melted cheese;
• milk cream and sour cream;
• potato;
• bones of all fruits;
• eggplants;
• sorrel leaves and rhubarb;
• onions and garlic.

The period of incubation of eggs is an important stage in the life of lovebirds. In order to get healthy offspring, you need to surround your pets with the care and attention as much as possible, and also make the right menu. The basis of the diet of birds is to become grain mixtures and mineral supplements. The female needs in eggs, cottage cheese, meal worms, pea and rice porridge, walnuts, honey and sesame seed. The female should always have sprouted oats and wheat.

Before feeding, all fruits and greens should be washed with clean water and then cut into the necessary lobules. A prerequisite for maintaining the health of the bird is the removal of old feed and washing the feeder every day.

After the appearance of chicks, which after a short period of time will be able to eat not only from the mother’s goiter, but also the father’s food, birds should be given loose crumbly and sprouted grains. Vitamin complexes must be added to the products. In case of problems with feeding the chicks to the parents, the owner of the birds must perform the procedure on their own. With artificial feeding, the chicks grow larger and stronger, in contrast to the young, who grew up with their parents. For feeding small chicks need to purchase a small syringe and a special mixture, which before each feeding will need to be diluted depending on the body weight of the ward.

To feed the chick, you need to take it in your hand, fix the head, and take no more than 6 ml of porridge in a syringe. The mixture should not be too cold or hot.. In the upward raised beak, you must place the tip of the syringe. The nestling should choose the rate of eating food. End of feeding - swelling of goiter. Mandatory procedure after eating is wiping the beak with a clean towel. Like young children, after eating chicks love to sleep.

Pets are not only a source of positive emotions and fun moments. First of all, they are living beings, who need care, attention and proper care. Before acquiring a bird, one should carefully study its character, habits, diet and way of care so that a defenseless pet does not become a burden and frustration.

For more information on how to feed lovebirds, see the following video.