Brother and Sister

[tonyo]

Hi Guys,
I have two masked lovebirds that I hand reared myself.One is about a year old now and the other one is three months younger. I was so sure that they were both male at first but, It looks like one would be a female. The older one has started mating with the younger one, only problem is ,they come from the same parents. They do have separate cages though. I was just wondering if this is Ok or would you not recommend it? I do take them out of there cages so they can fly. That's when they start pairing up.
Hope you can advice me on this.
Thanks ,
Anthony

[kimsbirds]

Mounting is not an indication of a M/F pair.
Have the birds DNA'ed to determine course of action.
Either way, both are too young to be breeding.
Can you seperate them until DNA results come in?

[tonyo]

I am in the process of DNA sexing to make sure. They are separated. It's only when they are let out that they do this.
Thank You for the advice but , I want to make sure if it would be recommended or not just in case.

[personatus]

Breeding brother and sister is a big no-no. Mating is not always a sign of breeding though. My birds can often be seen humping like mad, but they don't lay any eggs or try and nest.

Keep changing the cage around, especially of the female, and make sure she has nothing in her cage she may see as a nest and try to lay an egg in.

[tonyo]

Thank you for that, Is it Ok to distract there attention to one another by getting another unrelated bird?
Once again thank you for the advice. Ill keep them separated till i get the DNA results.