A good item to have on hand in case your lovebird starts to show signs of illness is a makeshift hospital carrier. You can purchase a plastic reptile container for this purpose. These are inexpensive and come with brightly colored tops with small slits for air. Also purchase a small stand-alone perch and a heating pad. You can place a lovebird into this brooder and set it onto a heating pad to help your lovebird retain body heat. Maintaining body temperature is essential. Put a towel between the carrier and the heating pad to transmit the heat more evenly. I prefer to put the heating pad under only one side of the container so the lovebird can move away from the heat if it prefers. Be sure that you check the lovebird every five minutes at first until you are sure the temperature has stabilized. If the lovebird is panting, the pad is too hot. You can either put thicker towels between the brooder and the heating pad or lower the temperature.

Place a few layers of plain paper towels onto the floor of the brooder. Place small, heavy bowls in the bottom of the brooder with water and your lovebird's food. Do not put fresh food into here because the added heat may encourage bacterial growth. Small glass custard dishes work well for this purpose.