He is a she?

[Estee]

Toady, I gave Tutti Frutti a piece of paper. "He" proceeded to tuck bits of it under his wings.

Does this mean he's a girl? From the other posts I've read, it looked like it.

And if so, what should I do? In my ignorance, I wasn't expecting any egg laying from any lovebird, boy or girl, at 5 months old.

[Janie]

It's a big.....MAYBE! :D Some males have been known to tuck so it's never a sure thing without DNA OR waiting to see if an egg is laid. My oldest lovie was never DNA'd but he's about 11 and has never laid an egg so at this point it's safe to assume that he is a he. All three of my males do like to check, corncob style, paper but none of them tuck.

[Estee]

Would a 5 month old lay an egg?

[Janie]

No, most hens don't lay before they are a year old but some have laid as early as 8 months (not healthy), maybe sooner and some have not laid before they are between 2 and 3 years old.

Read the breeding section. Even if you don't have a hen and aren't planning to breed, it still contains a whole lot of great information about the maturing of hens.

[Estee]

Okey doke, will do. I haven't read much in that section.

[Janie]

It's a funny thing about the breeding section......if you have a single bird or are not planning to breed a pair, it seems like the information would not be important. But, it is! :D Even in the Lovebird Resource Library, the section on breeding is really good info. to know.