LOL!  And here I thought Hopitus was talking about the pics of ME.  So much
for my ego! heheh.

My first experience with a parakeet was in 1963.  My oldest brother found
one down by the creek in the backyard.  It had a broken beak.  He named it
Robinson Crusoe.  In 1966 I was given my first 'keet for my birthday.  That
bird travelled across these great United States from New Jersey to
California to Virginia.  When we were transferred to Thailand he went to
live with my grandparents in Ohio.  They loved that little guy!

Since then I've had many, many 'keets.  Some that talked, but most were just
content to talk to themselves.  My best buddy, "Buddie", would ride around
on my shoulder and play with the chain around my neck.  He was also a
foundling and a little goof; he lived 14 years.

After that I had several more parakeets over the years.  They were
delightful.  After my last one died I told myself I wouldn't get another
bird.  After all, I have Persia, right?  But after a few months I realized I
missed the sound of having a bird.

So, lovebirds.  I did some research before deciding on one.  No, they aren't
known "talkers" although I swear Peaches sometimes is trying very hard to
say PEACHES when she chirps.  They are the smallest of the African parrots;
as parrots go they are relatively quiet birds.  Everything I've read about
them indicates they live close to 30 years.

Lovebirds don't fling seed all over the place like budgies do.  They also
don't require grit at the bottom of the cage.  They do require a cuttlebone
or mineral block.

It's a myth that lovebirds must be in pairs.  They do, however, need lots of
toys.  Peaches adores toys with leather strips and wooden beads and bells.
I hear ring-a-ding! all day long when she plays with her bell toys.  She
also loves to take baths.  Sometimes I catch her bathing in the water dish
and I use the squirt bottle (formerly for cat training heheh) to "help" her
wash her back.  She loves being squirted!  She fluffs and then usually jumps
back in the water dish for another dunk ;)  It's too cute.

Now about nutrition.  I feed her a pellet diet.  A couple of times a week
she gets fresh greens like a leaf of cabbage or kale or celery leaves.  For
a treat every couple of weeks I buy her a Gala apple and give her a slice
every few days; more often than that they can develop diarrhea.  Oh, and
millet spray and flax seed - she adores that!  Occasional treats include
something the avian vet gave me samples of - Avi Cakes.  Kind of a
seed-honey treat.

Also, unlike budgies, you cannot determine the sex of a lovebird by the
colour of it's nose/cere.  In fact, they barely have any noticible nose.
DNA testing is required to sex the bird.  I call Peaches a "she" because she
looks like a pretty woman to me.  For all I know she could be a he.  Heheh.
Peaches is altogether a wonderful, cheerful little bird.

Jill