Got My 2 Lovies As A Gift..How Do You Kno If....

[SooBirdy]

How do you know if they have been hand fed or not?

Also how can you figure out thier age? I don't really know how old they are but the store the person got it from said they were babies.

What time does your Lovies go to bed?

It is funny because the hut/tent they sleep in, I remove it out from the cage during the day and put it in during the night. By 9pm or so, I put the hut/tent back in the cage and they both jump right in and go to bed.

At the moment my birdies are still sort of scared of me. I think they know who I am since I been feeding, changing water, and clean the cage. Also they had a long ride home when I got them from Las Vegas, NV and drove back to San Francisco, CA.

Bambam is more brave than the other because he seems to be curious of what I do and the other one, Tiki seems to be shy and likes to hide.

I think Tiki is a girl because when I got them a bigger cage to live in while trying to grab her to move her to the new cage she bit me a couple of time. Luckily I had leather gloves on so it didn't really hurt. And as for Bambam the brave boy I believe, he lets me grab him and move him to the new cage and did not bite me watsoever.

What do you think? Do I have a boy and a girl? (I know the only way to tell is DNA testing)

TIA!

Also posted is new pics of them!

[Timmy]

If I may share my thoughts dear friends.....

How do you know if they have been hand fed or not?

Lovies that are hand fed are not that afraid to approach a human being; most of the time they will be so curios that they tend to explore either your feet or your hands...whichever is nearer to them

Also how can you figure out thier age? I don't really know how old they are but the store the person got it from said they were babies.

Its quite hard to pinpoint the exact age of lovies but for roseicollis, youngs below 5-6 months old usually have dark patches on their beaks; they usually disappear when they reach 7-8 months old.

What time does your Lovies go to bed?

Lovies usually sleep when they sense nightime or when the darkness comes.

In my experience, female birds are the ones that tend to explore; they also become territorial when another bird is introduced to a flight; this is also true to one of my female hand fed lovies who is overly eager (either that or just plain aggressive) when you introduce another lovie.

DNA testing is said to be a surefire way of determining their sex; we don't have it here in the Philippines (as far as I know...) so we have to rely on palpating the bird and basing also on their behavior, males usually tend to regurgirate more.

I do hope you have a true pair in both Tiki and Bambam....do post pictures as it is always a sight to see..... :cool:

[kimsbirds]

How do you know if they have been hand fed or not?

Unless the breeder told you/showed you they were handfed, you don't know. Parent-raised lovebirds can very much be socialized by people and become just as friendly as handraised's.

Also how can you figure out thier age? I don't really know how old they are but the store the person got it from said they were babies.

Most peachface mutations will have black strips or solid patches on their upper mandibles before the age of 4 months. After the first molt, the peach face or peach brow appears (around 5-6 months of age.) Otherwise, there is no guessing unless of course you were given a hatchdate or the bird came with a legband to trace/read.

What time does your Lovies go to bed?

Mine get lights out at 9 pm but they do tend to go with the rising and setting of the natural sun.