What kind of Lovebirds do I have?

[Sully]

Can anyone tell me by looking at my picture of what kind of Lovies they are?:confused:
Thank you.

https://picasaweb.google.com/thegoodz77/LovebirdsAndParakeets?authkey=Gv1sRgCKbfs7zDuezwlg E&feat=directlink

[CHIris83]

Dude is a black cheeked personatus lovebird (i think not sure if personatus or nigregenis) and Dooky is an ancestrale green peach faced roseicollis lovebird... i would suggest you to separate them as they are different species and its not advisable that they breed... there are hybrids but since there are many differences between the 2 species... also how do you know they are male and female? cause to me it looks like they are 2 females...

[linda040899]

One is a Green Masked and the other is a Green Peachfaced.

[Sully]

Dude is a black cheeked personatus lovebird (i think not sure if personatus or nigregenis) and Dooky is an ancestrale green peach faced roseicollis lovebird... i would suggest you to separate them as they are different species and its not advisable that they breed... there are hybrids but since there are many differences between the 2 species... also how do you know they are male and female? cause to me it looks like they are 2 females...

So they do not look like mutations? ( was my edit )

Ok, as far as sex...the Man we bought them from said you can tell from the "Separation of the pelvis" he had me feel the area and "Dude's" was definitely closer together almost touching than "Dookie", meaning I could feel the difference. I looked this method up online when I got home and method seems fairly accurate for the age I was told they are 7-8 months.

As far as breeding goes,I have not had a chance to read any posts there. I was under the impression if you do not intend to breed, you can remove the eggs when the clutch is complete.?
Thank you very much for your reply.:happy::happy:
Sully

Can't think of anything clever. "Sig coming soon"

[Chickobee]

Your birds are different species so they should not be paired with each other. Any babies from pairing these two birds would be hybrids, and infertile (like mules). Even though two lovebirds of different species can mate and have babies they are often very confused because different species build different kinds of nests and do other things differently.

If you do have a male and a female you can prevent any eggs from hatching by boiling each one for two minutes after it is laid and then replacing it in the nest after it cools.

The eggs should not be removed because most hens will immediately lay another clutch of eggs to replace the ones that are gone. It is better to let the hen incubate the eggs, even though none of them will hatch, until she either abandons them or for approximately 25 days. Then remove the nestbox and the eggs to prevent another clutch right away. Note: This doesn't always stop a very determined hen. Laying multiple clutches close together is very unhealthy for a hen because it can severely deplete her calcium levels.

I have two peachfaced lovebirds together who have very different pelvic bone spacing but they are both males. Also, since you are comparing two different species of lovebirds, the accuracy of this method is pretty unreliable even though you do have a 50% chance of being correct. LOL

[CHIris83]

Exactly what Chikobee said!you can do the pelvic test and be accurate if both were peach faced or if both were black masked but since black masked tends to be smaller then peach faced... this method is not very reliable in this case...

[personatus]

green masked (Agapornis personatus)
green peachface (Agapornis roseicollis)

Both are the wildcolour forms and not mutations.

Pelvic bones will change dramatically when the bird is in breeding condition. You can sex a 5 year old bird this way and be certain it's a male, but as soon as that birds reaches condition they can pop wide open and scream female! However, the green masked looks like a male to me, based on shape and build. Don't have a clue about the peachface though.

They should never be allowed to breed, ever. It's wrong. If you prevent them from nesting then there's no reason why you can't keep them together. A caged pair does not mean they will breed, just means it's certain they will 'try' if allowed. With the correct actions, you can prevent it. Saying all that, you could well have 2 males and not need to worry :)

[Sully]

green masked (Agapornis personatus)
green peachface (Agapornis roseicollis)

Both are the wildcolour forms and not mutations.

Pelvic bones will change dramatically when the bird is in breeding condition. You can sex a 5 year old bird this way and be certain it's a male, but as soon as that birds reaches condition they can pop wide open and scream female! However, the green masked looks like a male to me, based on shape and build. Don't have a clue about the peachface though.

They should never be allowed to breed, ever. It's wrong. If you prevent them from nesting then there's no reason why you can't keep them together. A caged pair does not mean they will breed, just means it's certain they will 'try' if allowed. With the correct actions, you can prevent it. Saying all that, you could well have 2 males and not need to worry :)

Thank you for all the replies.
I have no intention on breeding them. I may post this question in the Breeding section.
But for now here goes ..... If I do not provide any materials to make a nest,so no "Shredding Toys" obviously no nesting box will that discourage nesting?
I would really hate to have to separate them,they eat together and sleep together.
The cage they are in is the type with a wire bottom and pull out tray,I couldn't see that as a comfortable place to lay eggs :happy:
As of now I am concerned.
Thanks
Sully

As an afterthought ...does my wife need to worry about her Parakeets? She was told the blue one is male and the green one is female, by the adult daughter of the same man we got the lovies from.
Link to pics is in my 1st post. ( I know this is not a Parakeet area ... but you all seem so knowledgeable)

[Mummieeva]

The blue Budgies is indeed a male as his ceres(the area over the beak) are blue. But I could not see the green budgies ceres to tell. If the others ceres are brown or pinkish then it is a female. If they are blue then it is another male.



Steph

[Sully]

The blue Budgies is indeed a male as his ceres(the area over the beak) are blue. But I could not see the green budgies ceres to tell. If the others ceres are brown or pinkish then it is a female. If they are blue then it is another male.



Steph
Thank you, that is what we were told. Zoe's is brown. As for the different colors? Do we have to worry about mutations and different breeds with them?:confused:

[kimberly1985]

http://budgieplace.com/

This site helped me out a lot about parakeets. I couldn't remember if I gave you this link or not...

and this link on there helps with the male/female thing. http://budgieplace.com/mf.html

[Chickobee]

Your lovebirds are different SPECIES, not different mutations (colors) within one species. This is why they shouldn't breed with each other. Even though it is possible, this wouldn't occur in the wild, and we shouldn't mess with Mother Nature. :)

The budgies are one species so there is no problem with allowing them to breed, Please also keep in mind that it is not a good practice to allow siblings to breed either. This can result in a higher probability of defects because both birds will have inherited many of the same characteristics from the parent birds--both good and bad traits.

[Sully]

http://budgieplace.com/

This site helped me out a lot about parakeets. I couldn't remember if I gave you this link or not...

and this link on there helps with the male/female thing. http://budgieplace.com/mf.html

Yes,
Thank you Kim my wife has looked at the site .....her Parakeets are young.
I just got all freaked out about my 2 Lovies I asked about them ( Parakeets ) knowing I would get a quick answer from this site and I did.
Thank you Chickobee!

I am reading the breeding posts and such ....
I do not want to breed mine...so I will do what I need to to prevent it.
Thanks
Sully

[Sully]

Hi,
I took them to http://www.thebirdshoponline.com/
I was ready to do the DNA test. The lady that worked there did the Pelvic exam and told me
I did not need to spend the money on the DNA test. She also told me I really should separate them.
Now that they are separated, should I have the cages next to each other or away?

Please help :confused::confused:

[personatus]

Why did she say you need to seperate them? If you spend alot of time taming the birds, then they would be fine alone. If they spend quite a bit of time in the cage, leave them caged together so they have company.

I would get them DNA sexed still. NOBODY can be 100% sure about the sex of a lovebird based on pelvic positioning, especially in a bird thats far from fully grown. Send samples yourself to avianbiotech and you can have results emailed to you within a few days.

[Sully]

Ok thanks for the reply.
I work 8 hours a day. That is why I got 2 so they have company. I am ignorant and did not know that 2 of different species could not breed together. I have done what I can to discourage breeding.
As far a the DNA test goes, they do it there for $30 and I was there with cash in hand, so I would figure that she was pretty certain if she talked me out of a $60 sale. She said they look to be Healthy and over a year old. As this being a shop that does only birds (and I did not buy them there) I tend to believe what she said, same thing alot of folks on this thread have replied.

I live where I work .... so during the day I interact with them a bit as I will come home for a break now and again. Give them the brocoli they love and such.

I am going to make a thread in the training taming section later.:happy:
Thanks
Sully

[Enko_chan]

Depending on where you live, there are places where you can send in feather samples and very small blood spot samples to have DNA tests done. Avian Biotech has locations throughout the world. The tests range from $20-$25. No one can tell by looking, pevlic exam, no matter what they tell you- or any other means except surgical which is risky with such a small bird and expensive.

If it turns out they are both male, you do not have to worry about separating them. It is my personal opinion that if one is female, that no matter what you do to try and prevent it, you could very well end up with a laying hen. Some hens will lay no matter what you do. In that case, as others have stated, you could boil the eggs as they are laid, but still you are in that space dealing with two birds of different species in a breeding situation together, and once you have the information you need to decide, it will be your decision to make based on what you've observed about your birds and the knowledge you've collected. No matter what, though, I would avoid allowing any chicks to hatch out of this situation.

[bird-brain]

I don't have a lot to add except to say that I have two known male female pairs and have not had one egg as there is nothing for them to nest with. On the other hand, I have a hen that will lay eggs on the cage floor. It's going to depend on the individual hen honestly and time will tell.

The OTHER option is to get matching species for them! :D ;) lol