What a African Love Birds | Opaline should eat changes across its life more than most owners expect. Portion size, not brand, is where most first-year problems start.
What “social” means day to day
The African Love Birds | Opaline is described as social, feisty, affectionate. Of those, social is the one that shapes an ordinary day most. It is easy to read as a selling point and harder to live with than the word suggests, because it does not switch off when you are busy.
Planning for about 12 years
A African Love Birds | Opaline is with you for about 12 years. Budget and routine both need to survive that, including the last quarter of it when a tiny bird needs more veterinary attention than it did young.
Storage in an Indian climate
Humidity spoils dry food faster than the printed date suggests. Smaller quantities through the monsoon, sealed, and look at it before it goes in the bowl.
What the diet should be
For a African Love Birds | Opaline: a seed-heavy diet is the commonest cause of illness; pellets and fresh veg instead. An all-seed bowl is the commonest cause of illness in pet birds.
Changing food
Phase any change over a week. An abrupt switch upsets the gut and tells you nothing about whether the new food suits a tiny bird.
Never feed
Avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol and salt are toxic to birds.
Low-shedding, and what it costs
The African Love Birds | Opaline sheds little. That is why the coat needs more work rather than less: hair that does not fall out mats against the skin instead, so clipping becomes a scheduled expense.
