Problem: Article: The right food size for your lovebird will be indicated by the image on the label of these bird foods. Look for bird food that has high quality seeds that are hulled and bound together with supplements that contain vitamins and minerals, such as pellet foods. The average lovebird should have 2-3 teaspoons of pellet or seed based bird food a day. You can also give your bird seed mixes. But keep in mind loose seed mix allows your lovebird to pick and choose what seeds it eats. Nutri-berries, Avi-cakes, and Pellet-berries require your lovebird to work to pry off a piece, so your bird is more likely to get a variety of seeds. Look for seed mixes from your local pet store that contain canary seed, millet, rice, oats, safflower and a small amount of sunflower seeds. Corn is often a big hit with lovebirds, as well as sprouted seed. Pellet foods and seed mixes should be given to your bird on a daily basis, but should not be the only food you give your bird as they do not provide proper nutrition. About 5-10% of your bird's diet should be bite-sized fruits and vegetables. Give your bird healthy fruits like apples, grapes, berries, papaya, and mango. You should also feed your bird vegetables like carrots, broccoli, zucchini, squash, cooked sweet potatoes, and dark leafy greens like kale and romaine. These include cooked whole grains, like brown rice, whole grain pasta, multigrain breads, and sugar free cereals. When you feed your bird fresh foods, make sure you remove anything in their cage that is uneaten so the food does not spoil. You should also wash the bowls in their cage before using them again. It's fine if your lovebird shares many of the foods you eat. But limit her consumption of fried, greasy, sugary, and salty foods so she stays healthy. Do not give your bird tap water or unfiltered water. Most cages come with a water attachment so your bird has access to water all the time. These substances can kill your lovebird, even in small amounts. You should also avoid giving your bird avocados, rhubarb, asparagus, onions, raw legumes like beans and peas, and dairy products.
Summary: Give your bird high quality bird food. Integrate fresh fruit and vegetables in your bird's diet. Feed your bird healthy treat foods. Make sure your bird has access to clean, fresh water throughout the day. Never give your bird alcohol, chocolate, or caffeinated beverages.

Problem: Article: Determine how fluent you want to become and set small goals that will help you gradually reach your desired level of knowledge. Small steps are easier to work through. For example, if learning 40 new words each month seems intimidating, tell yourself to learn 10 new words each week. The smaller goal might be easier to work toward. Change your goals if you need to. If your current goals are too stressful and difficult to meet, you'll become discouraged and may quit your studies as a result. On the other hand, if your current goals do not challenge you enough, you may become bored and quit your studies because of that. Practice your verbal (listening/speaking) and written (reading/writing) skills each day. Schedule your practices for one specific time each day, and commit to studying during that time. Tell your teacher, classmates, friends, or relatives about your schedule and ask them to check on your progress. You might feel more motivated to stick to your schedule if you're worried about the consequences of straying from it. Take an actual English class or find a small group of other English students to practice with. Studying the language with other people will allow you to learn from each other. Formal English classes work well because they are led by professional teachers. Trust your English instructor. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or ask questions; correcting you and answering those questions is part of your instructor's job. When learning English informally, try to work in small groups instead of large groups. Smaller crowds may make you feel more comfortable and less embarrassed. Don't be afraid of making mistakes when you practice your English. If you stop yourself from practicing because you feel insecure about your current skill level, you won't be able to improve. When you don't feel confident, review the progress you've already made with your English studies. By realizing how much you've already accomplished, you might feel encouraged to continue improving yourself. Learning English can be its own reward, but if you have difficulty motivating yourself, find other ways to reward yourself for reaching your short-term language learning goals. The reward can be related to your English studies, but it doesn't have to be. For example, you might reward yourself after reaching a major goal by visiting an international festival or other event that attracts English speakers. You might reward yourself after reaching a small goal by buying your favorite snack or visiting your favorite restaurant, though. At the beginning of your studies, learn enough basic grammar to express and understand meaning. Focus on learning more advanced grammar after you learn how to speak English conversationally. Don't worry about memorizing the rules of grammar and using each rule in every conversation or piece of writing. If you try to apply every rule of grammar, your English might seem too stiff and unnatural. Thinking about proper grammar as you try to communicate will also prevent you from conveying your thoughts quickly. Be patient. Learning English easily does not mean that you will learn the language quickly. Take as much time as you need to understand the language instead of trying to speed through the learning process. Practice consistently. If you do not study or review past lessons on a regular basis, you might forget about the information you learned. Regular practice is the only way to remember English on a long-term basis. Don't be discouraged about how long the process takes. No one can fluently speak or write English after only studying for a few months, and you will probably need to study for at least one or two years before you can hold conversations in English. It will probably take an even longer amount of time before your English sounds natural and fluent.
Summary: Set goals. Schedule daily practice. Study with others. Be confident. Reward yourself. Improve grammar gradually. Keep practicing.

Problem: Article: Pay attention to how long the muscle twitches are lasting. Most muscle twitches are short lived and do not impact your quality of life. However, if you are having strong twitches or you are having twitching often or constantly, you should think about getting a medical evaluation. Track the frequency of the twitches. If they are happening daily and are lasting more that a minute or two, and you have no exacerbating factors, such as stress, then you should contact your doctor. If you have long lasting muscle twitches that are impacting your quality of life and are not stopping, contact your doctor and get a check up. While rare, there are some serious illnesses that can cause muscle twitching, and you will want to rule them out as the cause of your twitching. Your doctor will likely do a general medical evaluation and then run specialized testing if they think there might be an underlying medical condition. Some serious, yet rare, medical conditions that can cause muscle twitching include Tourette syndrome, Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophies, spinal muscular atrophy, Isaac's syndrome, epilepsy, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, brain tumors, liver failure, kidney failure, nervous system disorders, and genetic disorders. Medical conditions that cause muscle twitching should be treated by a doctor. Depending on what medical condition you have, muscle twitching will oftentimes be controlled when the condition is controlled. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can sometimes cause muscle twitching. Once these imbalances are fixed, the twitching should cease. There are some rare progressive neurological illnesses that begin with symptoms such as minor muscle twitching. With these illnesses, such as Lou Gehrig's disease, the twitches may get progressively worse and will be uncontrollable. Since tumors can cause muscle twitching, having surgery to remove them can eliminate the twitching. If treating your underlying medical condition does not minimize muscle twitching, there are medications that can be prescribed that can target the twitching specifically. Medications that are commonly prescribed for controlling muscle twitching include muscle relaxants and neuromuscular blockers. Talk to your doctor about whether one of these medications will work with your larger treatment plan.
Summary:
Assess the severity of your muscle twitches. Have a medical evaluation done. Treat the underlying condition. Take medication for muscle twitching.