I just find this wierd..

[Adonai21]

Hello everyone! I'm new here and also new to breeding love birds. I just started around a month and bought 2 pairs of lovebirds, so I really hope to learn a lot. The first pair from a petshop owner which he claimed that the 2 were actually mating pairs and he taught me how to tell the females from the males (by feeling the pelvises) and for the second pair which i bought from a breeder. I actually have two things to ask:

1. For the first pair, they spend most of their time on top of their nesting box (except when they're eating and grooming), sometimes the female enters the nest for a couple of minutes (with the male still on top of the nesting box) then comes out and spends her time with her pair again on top of the nesting box. Could this be a sign that they're actually a "true" pair (male/female)?

2. For the 2nd pair, the other one got away while I was trying to feed them. So I brought the one that was left to a local petshop and asked for its gender which the petshop owner said was a male based on the pelvic bone. So I bought a female from him to pair them. Now the funny thing about this pair is that they both spend their time inside their nesting box, somewhat the opposite of the other pair. I understand that based on my research, feeling the pelvic bone is not an accurate way of telling a lovebird's gender so I still have doubts on my bird's genders. This behavior of my 2nd pair, could this also be an indication that they're a "true" pair or can this be a sign that their both females?

If anyone has any feedback or suggestions, please let me know.

[linda040899]

Hi and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community! We are happy to have you here with us. :)

As a retired breeder, I can tell you for sure that pelvic sexing is, at best, a guess and you have a 50% chance of being right or being wrong. Even behavior sexing is not always accurate. With certain mutations, you can sex genetically but that only works with cinnamon, Creamino, Lutino and Opaline. I would have all 4 of your lovebirds DNA sexed to see what you have.

As far as behavior, females are the ones who build the nests. If you have a pair that stay in the box and you see no signs of nest building, chances are that you have a pair of males. Males can live together and be very happy campers, and I've seen this with hens, as well, although it's not as common.

Hope this helps.

[Adonai21]

Oh I see. Anyway thank you for the answer and welcoming me here. I'm actually from the Philippines and avian DNA testing can be quite a challenge to find. But I hope to find one as I would really like to know the genders of my birds.

Uhmm.. Would it be fine if I got a few tips for breeding as a beginner? Thanks a bunch Mrs L. :)

[linda040899]

By all means, feel free to ask questions! Many years ago, I was a beginner, as well, and was lucky to find another breeder who shared her knowledge and expertise with me. What I share comes from first hand experience.

[Adonai21]

Wow. Thanks a bunch for the encouragement! While I'll be finding a person who does avian dna testing, I still hope my pairs are "true" pairs. I know both pairs made nests inside their nesting boxes as I placed some nesting materials in their cages for me to find out their gender. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see if any of them carried the materials under their wings to know which are the females. I was surprised to see that the nesting materials I placed were already inside their nesting boxes.

[linda040899]

Are your lovebirds Peachfaced Lovebirds? If so, the female will weave nesting material into her rump feathering and carry it to the nest that way. Males will try to do this but are nowhere near as good as the females. Peachfaced aren't big nest builders. They create something that is bowl shaped and not very elaborate. Eye-ring species, on the other hand, carry material to the box in their beaks and build large, elaborate chambered nests. I had one pair of Masked Lovebirds that used 8-10 palm fronds for just one nest!!!

[Adonai21]

Oh wow! My first pair are peachfaced and my 2nd pair are both eyerings. Actually, I confirmed that my peachfaced pair is a true pair as for my eyerings, I'm still not sure.

By the way, something intresting happened this afternoon. Prior to me buying my 2 pairs of lovebirds, my mom bought a pair of peachfaced lovebirds approximately 11 years ago (a lutino pair to be exact). The female laid her first clutch with 4 eggs, unfortunately, none survived. :( After around 3 years, the male got away when my mom was cleaning their cage and the female was alone eversince (her name was Pica by the way). I was asking a couple of local breeders and some petshop owners that there's no way that we could buy a male and let them bond in the same cage as Pica was already alone and tends to be territorial for the past 8 years and she might not mate anymore due to her age. So I decided not to buy a pair for her. However, this afternoon, I found that that she was doing the lovebirds' "mating" dance and the male peachfaced (from the first pair I bought) from the other cage was going nuts while his "partner" was like chirping and chirping while looking at the male.

Could this be an indication that Pica can still be partnered with and lay eggs? If yes, how can we do that if she's territorial? Should I put a "wall" between the two cages so that they will not see each other? Because I'm afraid that this will affect the "partnership" of the first pair because the male might not mate with his pair because he's attracted to Pica. What should I do?

[linda040899]

Obviously Pica is still interested and I think you have a good chance of pairing her with another male. I would look for one that's a bit older/more mature. So she can get to know him, put them in side by side cages until you see them starting to sit near each other in their own cage. At that point, I would either put them both in a neutral cage (put him in first) or you can let Pica go into his cage. Since she's cage territorial, she's less likely to accept him in her cage than she would be in his! If you choose the neutral cage, putting her in first will give her a 30 second opportunity to establish cage dominance. It's only a tiny window of chance but I've seen it happen!

[Adonai21]

Thanks so much for the tips. While I'll find her a partner, should I place a solid "wall" between their cages? I just hope this doesn't affect the relationship of my first pair.. :(

And I hope Pica's eagerness for mating doesn't have an expiration date! lol

[linda040899]

Observe minimum 60 day quarantine (30 days is OK, 60 is better, 90 is best) and then put cages side by side, no barriers between them. You want them to get to know each other up close and personal, just through the cages bars for safety first.

As lovebirds get older, the sex drive does diminish but I had one male become a dad at age 13!

[Adonai21]

Oh wow! Considering their lifespan of 20 years, that seems pretty mature! lol.

By the way.. What should I do with the male from my first pair of lovies? He seems attracted to Pica while Pica was dancing. Will his attraction with Pica affect his relationship with his true pair? Should I keep Pica and the others out of sight while I haven't bought Pica a "date" yet?

[linda040899]

I've seen some pretty strange things with my lovebirds. I have "pairs" of hens that get along just fine. I have males who enjoy the company of other males. I've had several males who serviced 2 hens and everyone got along just fine. For now, I would move the pair where the male seems interested in Pica to a different location so he pays attention to his own mate. It's quite possible that he would accept a second mate but question becomes will the hens get along? Don't think I would chance that right now.