Lovebirds need exercise just as other living creature does. If you supply your lovebird a cage of sufficient size and add a variety of swings and toys, your lovebird will spend quite a bit of time swinging, climbing, and showing off in its cage. A separate play stand with various perches can also be a good place for your lovebird to climb and play.

Your lovebird will be happiest when you and the family are home. Even if you are too busy to take your lovebird out of the cage, you can make it feel like part of the flock by talking to it and watching its antics. Lovebirds are clownish creature and love to perform. They will swing from toys and leap from branch to cage wall. They will ring a bell to see if you react. If your lovebird feels you interact with it during these times, it will be less likely to act out and demand attention, although on occasion most lovebirds will try to get you to take them out of cage.

Playing with your lovebird regularly is important. However, do not play with the lovebird constantly for the first few weeks or months and then, when the novelty wears off, barely handle it. Try to figure out how much time you think you will have for your lovebird over the long haul, then give your lovebird periods of focused attention out of the cage.

The remarkable intelligence of lovebirds requires that they have a varied and stimulating environment. If you put one plain wooden swing and one hanging toy in the cage indefinitely, your lovebird will become bored. Put as many toys as you can reasonably fit into the cage but still give the lovebird room to flap its wings. I have one Fischer's lovebird who likes to fly in his cage; he literally hovers in midair, furiously flapping his wings. He also loves my reaction to this and will repeat it over and over if i watch and tell him what a wonderful flyer he is.  I would not want to overcrowd his cage with toys and perches because this would make hovering without hitting his wings difficult.

Lovebirds who neglected and live alone in a cage can develop a number of behavioral problems. They can become nippy and aggressive. Some will being to pluck themselves bald, even going so far as to break the skin. Once such a behavior becomes ingrained, it can be very difficult to reverse the problem.

If you consider your lovebird a member of the family and treat it accordingly, you will generally have a well-adjusted, fun pet. Remember that lovebirds are largely confined to their cages between play sessions. Dogs and cats are free to roam about the house and sometimes even have free access to a yard. They are not locked in a cage until the owner decides the lovebird can come out.

A certain lovebird shop I have visited keeps lovebirds from the smallest finches to the largest macaws. Many of these intelligent creatures are housed in too-small cages without a single toy. One large cockatoo looked utterly miserable. A friend's daughter, a teenager with a strong bond to animals and lovebirds, could not stand to see this. She went over to the toy section and picked up a toy, then put it into the cage. You would have had to have seen the transformation in this lovebird's mood to understand how clearly it hungered for some type of play and stimulation. We left with smiles on our faces, imagining the store workers scratching their heads, trying to figure out how this lovebird managed to secure the toy. Certainly, a lovebird that appears happy and playful will sell better than one sitting miserably on his perch, crouched down and depressed. Giving the lovebird the five-dollar toy made much more sense to help sell this lovebird worth well over a thousand dollars.

Lovebirds are not objects to make living rooms more colorful. They are living, thinking, feeling creatures and deserve respect and the best care and attention humans can give them. If you are unable to do this, you should not keep them as pets. Needless to say, I warn people about this store and have come to call it a medieval prison for lovebirds. Do not buy even bag of seed from any store that treats living creatures this way.
If you do see signs of neglect or abuse in a store, report them to your local humane society immediately.

Time Away from Home
If you are gone for long periods during the day, you might consider leaving the radio or television on for your lovebird. Keep the volume low so the lovebird can enjoy the sounds but can also take little naps during the day. Many lovebirds love music with tropical sounds, such as rain forest or mood music. The waterfalls and lovebirds chirping in the background can be very soothing and comforting to a lovebird alone at home all day. Remember that when you first come home, your lovebird will want immediate contact. Even a few words and greetings can be a welcome gesture. If you completely ignore your lovebird for the first hour you are home, you may start to notice the lovebird squawks for you. The official term for this is a contact call. It is basically the lovebird touching base with the flock. You have been gone all day, and now the lovebird wants to confirm that you are with the flock again. In the wild, these contact calls are used to keep track of other members of the group. Some larger species of parrots have contact calls that can reach across miles of dense woodlands or rain forest. Lovebird species use their voices for a purpose. If you understand this , you can avoid a situation where vocalizations become excessive or overly disturbing. Many times I have noticed that when one of my lovebirds calls to me from another room, if I just give a quick answer, they quiet down. However, I never reinforce screaming by yelling back at the lovebird.

If you have a very long work day and are gone on average more than 12 hours a day, you might consider having a pair of lovebirds rather than a single one. However, you will sometimes have to work a little harder to keep them both tame because they will often become more interested in each other than in the humans who live with them.

Most people find that a lovebird has a short attention span. It can become extremely active, almost agitated, when out with its owner. Short play sessions a few times a day work better than one long, extended play session. This gives the lovebird time to eat and drink between sessions and helps you avoid the nippiness that can come from an overtired or overexcited bird. It also helps establish the rules of going in and out the cage. The lovebird will begin to see that going into the cage is not the end of all play for the day. Even short, five-minute play sessions can do much to improve your lovebird's behavior and level of contentment. If you have only a minute, do not waste it. Take your lovebird out for a minute and give it a few strokes around the ear. Although it might want more time with you, if you do this frequently, lovebird will come to understand that you plan to handle it again during the day.