Love birds are super intelligent and gorgeous. They have been one of the most loved African parrots for centuries. They are very loving and create an attentive bond with their mates.
Since they are small in size, they are often called as ‘pocket parrots’ and are one of the most colorful birds. These love birds belong to the genus Agapornis and Psittaciformes, thus making them cute small parrots.
Love birds are in total nine species. Fischer’s. Black-masked and peach faced love bird are the most common kinds. These are super popular pet species. They make excellent companions and are very charming. The fact is that, it is not essential to have a pair of lovebirds to keep them happy.
How Much Do Love Birds Cost in India?
In India, love birds are available between Rs.350 and Rs.2500. Some particular love bird species like Violet Par blue Opaline can cost you a lot more, between Rs.20,000 to Rs.25,000. The price of the love bird can vary depending on the species, breed quality, colour, training, the place you are buying from as well as rarity.
Factors affecting the Love birds price
Hand Raised Birds
Love birds that are raised by humans are costlier, but the best part is that they are simpler to train and may even learn to talk. If you are looking to get a love bird that is hand raised, ensure to go with the one that is hand fed by the breeder. This is because, a hand fed love bird is used to the human touch and sound.
Love birds that are human raised should not be left alone at home for an entire day because they are social and need companionship.
These love birds are costlier compared to the ones that are raised in a pet store with other birds. The ones that are raised in a pet store are trained only to be comfortable around other birds. The breed and age of the love birds also affect the prices.
Age
One of the most important factors that determine the price of love birds is the age. Younger birds are slightly costlier because they are simpler to train and can adapt easily to new surroundings.
After one year, it is almost impossible to understand the age of the love bird without a band or any other detail from the breeder. You can know if a love bird is young if they have more grey feathers on their face, eventually disappearing. They will shed it all soon.
When a love bird is around 6 months old, it should not have any grey feathers on its face and all its features should be bright and colourful.
Buying from Breeder vs Pet-store
The love birds that are raised in pet stores are less costly than the hand-raised ones. If you are looking to get a love bird that is more good-looking than friendly to humans, then you can go with the less expensive option of getting it from the pet store.
About and History
Love birds are one of the smallest members of the parrot family. Generally, most love birds are between 5 and 7 inches tall when they are mature, measured from they are beat to the end of the tail feather.
Its small size is one of the most popular factors because this makes them living in small spaces and apartments possible. It is also easier to keep and care for them when compared to other larger parrot species like cockatoo and Macau.
Love birds belong to the forest and the savannas of Madagascar and sub Saharan Africa. It is said that fossils of ancient Love bird species have been found in South Africa, which are are around 1.9 million years old.
Fischer’s love bird is the smallest parrot species of genus Agapornis. They are named after the German Explorer Gustav Fischer and were first discovered in the late 19th century
Appearance
These birds are known for their blunt and short feathers. This is one way of differentiating them from budgerigars. They even have a stockier build.
You can find love birds in different colours from peach to teal to Green to White. Usually, their heads and faces are of different colour than the main body. Most popular pet love birds have green plumage.
The Madagascar, red-faced and Absynian lovebirds are dimorphic, which means that by looking at its features you can tell if it is a male or a female. is stuffed speech because they look nearly identical and monomorphic.
Some Lovebird species have a particular white eye ring, which is the unique feature of parrots. The Swindern’s and peach faced lovebirds do not possess this characteristic.
Temperament
Lovebirds are playful, active, curious and a fun personality in a small size. They are very social and have a deep connection with their owners.
They can also be aggressive, jealous, territorial when not trained and tames properly. A few experts state that female lovebirds are more jealous and territorial than males. Love birds are not as loud as other parrots but can still produce high pitched screech, particularly when they want their owners attention. Developed to chatter and their normal squawks and chirps are not very loud.
Love birds or not known for many King speech of sounds but yes there is always an exception. A few experts state that females are more appropriate to mimic speech and sounds compared to males, while both the sexes have the potential to chatter
Trainability
The name tense love birds are very social and are lovable species. It is easier to train a young Lovebird compared to a mature one and this is why most bird lovers we’ll go for a young pet lovebird.
Irrespective of their species birds are difficult to train. you need lots of patience and positive attitude to train the bird. if you have a hand raised bird, the task would be simpler because the bird would be used to human sounds and touch.
It is very important to get your love bird to trust you. Make sure to create an environment where the two of you can connect. It is important for the love bird to see you while you are training it. Make sure to be patient and do not ever shout at them during the entire training process because they have a sensitive personality.
Make sure you are consistent with the training even if your love bird doesn’t want to interact with you initially.
Grooming
Just like the birds love birds need occasional grooming. Make sure you wash the love bird with with room temperature of water and pat dry gently.
Trimming its nails and beak is important. Make sure to keep its head free while trimming the nails and also talk to your pet bird to reassure that all is well. We recommend you take the bird to the vet if you are unsure about trimming the nails and beak.
Also for clipping their wings, we suggest you go to the vet. These simple points will help keep your lovebird happy and healthy.
Caging Lovebirds
A minimum of 2 feet wide, 2 feet long and two feet tall. however we will actually recommend a larger cage because it is always better for the bird. If you’re going with the larger cage, make sure there is more length than height. This ensures that your bird can spread its wings freely and can even fly across the cage.
Avoid getting round cages as it can damage their tail feathers. Keep a variety of perch sizes and materials including a natural branch to keep their feet strong and healthy. The bar should not be spaced more than ½ to ⅝ inches. Ensure to keep it horizontally so that the birds can climb to the sides.
Can lovebirds talk?
Lovebirds love to chirp and chatter but not talk in the way that you would expect them to. Unlike other parrot species, this one is not known for being the ‘talkers’. Even if they are not known for talking, their song is more enjoyable than other component parrots.
Lovebirds are chatty, they love to whistle and sing all day. Relax with Nature has captured 60 minutes of LoveBirds sounds and it is beautiful. They are very vocal at Dawn and Dusk.
These words love to talk to each other, so if you get more than one lovebird, be prepared for a noisy surrounding.
Conclusion
We hope to have helped you understand more about love birds aspects which will make you take the right decision. As the name says, lovebirds are lovable, affectionate, playful and super intelligent.
Make sure to understand the factors that affect the price of the lovebirds. Also, understanding loverbirds’s temperament, personality, and what goes into training them, will help you make the right decision.
Image source – wikimedia [Ripton Scott], [Magnus Mansake]