A friend of a friend......... wanted rid!
I am the very proud owner of a pair of love birds.
Mango, green with an orange chest and face. Peachy yellow with tinge of green wing and tail feathers and orangy face.
It is Peachy I am concerned about -
1)the feathers on the top its head seem patchy thin.
2) the nostrils are clearly visible, but not on Mango.
It is taking so much effort to get all the dried dirt off the cage, I have put new rest rails in - covered in sandpaper .
I have removed the cat litter and shall be using sandpaper on the bottom.

ps. do love birds like mirrors, or would one cause distress? what toys would they like?

48 views and no response,
so, Peachy's appearance is part of normal love bird expectations?

I have no experience with Love Birds I'm afraid, but I would assume they would love a mirror - I think any bird does! My Budgies certainly do

As for toys - any type of parrot toys (ropes etc) you get from pet shops or warehouses...

Sorry I'm not much help.

Hi, I can't believe your love birds were given cat litter for there cage, sounds like they have a much better home with you already

Don't cover the perches with sandpaper though it causes bumblefoot, just get a small pedi perch for them to use as well as natural perchs, I would not recommend sandpaper in the bottom of the cage either, newspaper is fine, they will enjoy shredding it, then you can replace it everyday so easy to keep clean too.

I would get them them lots of chewable toys, I'm sure a mirror will be fine too but not necessary, bell's are always good. There are so many toys on the market now, most bird toys for small to medium birds should be fine for them. As long as they have lots to keep them amuzed when they are not out of their cage flying around.

Make sure they have a good diet, with little sunflower seeds. Lots of fresh fruit and veg everyday and regular sprays ;o). I'm sure they would probably enjoy bathing in a bowl of water too.

If the cage is really as bad as you say it is it might be worth trying to jet wash it or even think about replacing it.

Would love to see some pics

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Bumblefoot? I was only aware of that for chinchillas!

Their cage has come clean - but arent they messy ? do they eat the seed or just throw it about

Peachy and Mango both love to bathe, i put water in a coop cup for them, Mango looks very be-draggled after the bath, his green feathers take on a black appearance. Tho I must say watching them fan their wings out to dry is beautiful.

I have read that love birds should not have anything plastic in the cage as toys as they will destroy it causing self harm so they have wooden ones, with bells on, but not got a mirror yet

Sorry for asking a question in your thread... but my Budgies have 2 perches that have sandpaper rolls (the johnsons ones you can buy from pet shops) will this harm them??? I thought it was better for them

My friend has love birds so I asked her about the soft plastic as I've not heard about that being a problem before.

"Mine have acrylic toys and stuff from pine4parrots. I wouldnt go for anything soft plastic but they have a hard plastic cat ball with a bell in the middle which they play with."


RoseForTheDead

Essentially bumblefoot refers to inflammation/infection of the bottom of the foot and is fairly common in budgies. Initially, the signs are a thinning of the skin on the foot bottom and redness. As it worsens, ulcers can develop on the pads of the feet. When the condition gets more serious, the feet swell and there can be necrotic (dead) tissue. When it progresses even more, the bone of the foot can also become infected.

There are several causes of bumblefoot, the most common being hard plastic perches, sandpaper perches, poor nutirition (e.g. vitamin A deficiency), and unclean perches where bacteria builds up and infects the budgie's feet.

Bumble Foot

Hope this helps

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I know its late freebird, at the end of a long day, but where can i read that sandpaper perches are a cause of bumble foot?
Not in the link there?
I like the sandpaper cover as i can remove it and replace, keeping their cage as clean as possible.

I have provided different sized perches for foot exercise.

Well what I posted under RoseForTheDead was another quote from a website, if you still choose to use them, then that is your choice.

All you need to do is do a google search under bumblefoot in pet and avairy birds, you will get many sites all confirming bad perches/sandpaper perches will and may cause it. If you have a variety of perches so the bird doesn't sit on the sandpaper perch for long periods of time you should be ok?

If you are worried about cleanliness on the perches, I wipe my mine down every day with warm soapy water? You can also use baby wipes to wipe them down every day. If they are left for several days then yes you will have problems keeping them clean.

Hope this helps.

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Having continued to be concerned with Peachys lack of feathers around 'her' beak, I have been using Cage Bird Tonic.
Peachy is much better, Not same appearance at all.
AND
If anyone wants an environmentally friendly paper shredder Mango is the tool for the job. My sister in law really thought i had put shredded paper in for them!
As soon as I put fresh water in then Mango fills the bowl up with freshly shredded paper, i think 'he' is damping it in the water and drops some.