Question

[Nora]

I'm still confused about the genders of my current lovebirds..
Is there a way to tell their gender? Lately I've been noticing that one bird keeps trying to get on top of the other. Does this mean that one of them is female and the other male? I've also read somewhere that two lovebirds of the same gender will fight a lot which mine don't do.. am I lucky enough to get little baby lovebirds? :D

[Mummieeva]

The only for sure way to know for sure if you have one boy and one girl is to get eggs that hatch or DNA tests(well and if you get 12 eggs good chance both are girls). Two males can get along very well. But two females not as well..But some 2 female couples are fine. Just remember if you do get baby birds more cna come. Lovebirds like to make babies..lol.




Steph

[Nora]

Yeah.. I remember my lovebirds back 7 years ago.. they got new baby lovebirds every few weeks.. sadly most of them didn't survive that long. :( At what age do love birds start laying eggs?

[Susan27]

I have 2 female lovebirds that a currently coupled, sharing a nest box and both laying eggs.

Kiko would spread her wings and lift up her tail at Touki, which I think is an invite for baby making. I never saw them mount each other...but obviously Kiko thought Touki was a boy.

Currently they seem to be getting along, both being females, in the same cage....but only the future will tell if that will last.

For what age lovies will lay eggs, another flock member will be more knowledgable, but I believe it would be at or around a year old (true for Kiko at least).

Susan

[Mummieeva]

A lovebird should nto lay eggs before they are one year old. Risk of egg binding is to high. I belive 18 months is the best age to breed. My lovebird was 1 or 2 when she laid hers(adopted so age is not for sure). Make sure to read out library section well if you do find out they are one of each.



Steph

[Nora]

Thanks for the replies. :)
I will go check the library now.. mine are only about 6 months old so I guess they won't be laying eggs soon then.. :D

[Janie]

Nora, hopefully one or both won't be laying this early but it is not unheard of. Definitely should be discouraged though.

I have three males and they do flirt with each other and I've seen one of the two younger boys mount my much older lovie. My older bird is around 10 and has not been DNA'd but at this point, he would have laid an egg so it's safe to assume that he is a he. I did have the other two DNA'd before I bought them. As Steph mentioned, males usually do get along better than two females.

[mjm8321]

I've currently got 4 lovebirds about the same age (6 months) and they are going through a good molt as well as hormones are kicking in for the first time. Two of the males are displaying and mounting everything and each other.:lol I would definitely suggest having them DNA'd as well find out if they are siblings or not. I would not allow them to breed until at least a year old, preferably 1½.

[emmab]

our birds get on top of each other but its mostly when we get too close.
is there something about the size of them? are females supposed to be bigger?

[mjm8321]

Some hens are bigger than males, others not. There are breeders that swear they can tell the sex of a bird with a pelvic check. I've had 50/50 luck with it myself and been completely wrong. DNA is the best way to determine. What type of lovebirds do you have? Peachface, masked, Fischers?

[emmab]

not sure if you're asking me but I have masked lovebirds - Pink (the one we think is female) is actually getting a lot bigger than blue (corny names! LOL), they must be about 6 months old now :-)

[mjm8321]

The reason I asked about the breed of lovebird is that some breeders ( like Linda) are pretty good at telling the sex of eye ring series lovebirds by the shape of their eye. By the eye, I mean the actual eye itself, not the fleshy, white ring around it.

[Nora]

I have peachfaced lovebirds and they're siblings.. they're also 6 months old now so I guess it's probably just the hormones :D
I do have this nest like box in the cage and they just used to sleep in it but now one of the lovebirds is spending almost all day inside the nest, is this a sign of breeding? I also know they're a little too young.. how can I avoid them to breed if they really are?
Btw thanks for all the advice. :)

[Venoma]

Nora, you should remove the nest box immediately - if one of the lovies is female, having a nest box can encourage nesting behavior - lovies are rarely well developed enough to lay eggs safely at 6 months, there is too much chance of egg binding or other problems.

[Janie]

Nora, you should remove the nest box immediately - if one of the lovies is female, having a nest box can encourage nesting behavior - lovies are rarely well developed enough to lay eggs safely at 6 months, there is too much chance of egg binding or other problems.

Ditto to that!

If you do have a hen and a cock, you will not be able to stop them from breeding (eventually) unless you put them in separate cages. If you choose to keep them together, you can boil the eggs and then return them to the hen. That will keep them from hatching and if it's done right after each egg is laid, you will not be destroying a chick. You can also remove each egg after it's laid and replace it with a plastic egg that is as close as possible in size to the real egg.