Breeding any kind of bird is fun, especially when the babies are born, but there’s something extremely appealing about breeding a bird that is considered a “love bird.”
Finding the perfect pair
You want your attempt at breeding lovebirds to be as successful as possible. To make sure that it is, you need to pay close attention to the basics. First of all, you need to make sure you get at least one female and one male bird. This sounds rather obvious, but you can’t tell by looking at lovebirds if they’re male or female, which increases your chance of getting two birds that are the same sex.
Look at the birds while they’re standing on their perches. Females tend to stand with their legs farther apart then the males. They also tend to have wider pelvic bones, which you can feel by gently touching the bird. As you can see, these differences are not obvious and they don’t always hold true. However, there is one surefire way to see if your breeding lovebirds are the right gender.
The best way to make sure you have one female and one male lovebird for breeding lovebirds is by getting a DNA test. If you get your birds from another breeder, the birds may have already been tested. If not, you should get them tested especially if you’re not 100 percent positive the birds are a different gender.
Putting the nesting area in order
Breeding lovebirds requires a lot of cage space. The birds need a lot of room to breed, play and have their own space. They also have a mating dance that requires them to expand their wings and lightly touch them together. This goal cannot be achieved in a small cage.
The cage should also have what is called a nesting box. The nesting box is where the breeding lovebirds will build their nest. You have to place nesting material in the cage so that the two birds can construct a nest. Remember that they are not in the wild so they need a little assistance getting the basics together.
Breeding lovebirds like nesting material that consists of dry grasses and unscented, soft material such as paper towels or toilet paper. When the birds are ready they will mate and then the hen (female bird) will take a few days to lay about 4-6 eggs. If the breeding lovebirds are successful, you will see some baby lovebirds pop out of the eggs in about 23 days.
