[INFO] Breeding African Lovebirds

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<b>What is a Lovebirds?</b>

The name Lovebird stems from these birds' bright, caring personalities. This is reflected by the bird's name in other languages: in German, "die Unzertrennlichen," and in French "les inséparables"- "inseparables." For this reason, many people feel strongly that lovebirds in captivity should be kept in pairs. Others believe that lovebirds, like other parrots, are social animals who can bond with human companions when given care and ample attention. Recommended foods include a pellet based diet along with fruits, vegetables and grains.

Lovebirds are about 13-17 cm in size, 40-60 grams in weight and characterized by a small, stocky build and a short, blunt tail. This puts them among the smallest parrots in the world although their beak is rather large for their overall size. Most lovebirds are blue, green, or lutino although color mutations can feature many different colors. Some lovebird species, like Fischer's, black cheeked, and the yellow collared lovebird, have a white ring around the eye. Lifespan is said to be 10 to 15 years.

Lovebirds have the potential to make great pets for those who have the patience and time required of any parrot species. Because of their inclination to bond, they can form great long-term relationships with people. Lovebirds are more energetic and healthier than some other parrot species.

Provided with space, toys, and love, lovebirds become cherished companions. They love to snuggle and can often preen their favorite people.

<b>Where did lovebirds come from?</b>

Lovebirds originally came from africa

1) Madagascar Lovebird Agapornis cana - Is found on the island of Madagascar( Malagasy Republic).

2) Red-Faced Lovebird Agapornis pullaria - This species is found in equatorial Africa, ranging from Sierra Leone to Lake Albert in Uganda. In the west of it's range it extends down as far as northern Angola.

3) Abyssinian Lovebird Agapornis taranta - Found in central and eastern Ethiopia and southern Eritrea, where it inhabits quite high altitudes.

4) Swindern's Lovebird Agapornis swinderniana - One of the rarest lovebirds, This species is rarely seen in captivity. There are three subspecies known which occur in Liberia, the Camaroons and Zaire.

5) Peach-faced Lovebird Agapornis roseicollis - Found in and around Angola

6) Nyasa Lovebird Agapornis lilianae - The Nyasa Lovebird is found in parts of Zambia Malawai and Rhodesia.

7) Black-checked Lovebird Agapornis nigrigenis - Found only in a small part of Zimbabwe

8) Fischer's Lovebird Agapornis fischeri - This species comes from northwestern Tanzania, south of Lake Victoria.

9) Masked Lovebird Agapornis personata - Found in northeast Tanzania

<b>Why Lovebirds?</b>

Perhaps you have been pondering about buying a lovebird or lovebirds for quite some time but are wondering what the advantages lovebirds have over the larger species of parrot.
Just continue reading and I will tell you...

Lovebirds are the perfect size

In comparison lovebirds are so much smaller than their larger parrot counterparts; they don't take up much space and don't need a huge expensive cage (unlike larger parrots).

Since lovebirds are so small they ar ideal for both houses and flats (Apartments), Lovebirds are very hardly little guys (or gals) and don't really suffer from that many illnesses if kept clean and fed nutritional balanced diet; I have had lovebirds for over 4 years and I have never had a sick bird.
Larger birds like the Macaws have large beaks and can chew up baseboards, phone cables, books, doors ect and take great delight in doing so; since lovebirds are so small this makes chewing on large objects like doors and books a unlikely occurrence.

 

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Breeding Lovebirds Do's and Dont's

One important Factor to consider in Breeding Lovebirds is how much Time you have to do this. Breeding Lovebirds can be rewarding and Heartbreaking at the same time. We need to consider our pets diets, home, environment and spaces. Breeding Lovebirds can be both expensive or cheap depending on the breeders techniques in breeding.

Getting a pair of Lovebirds for Beginner Breeders

For those of you beginners out there, it's probably confusing for you how to get a pair of lovebirds. Your probably thinking that it's just like buying a fish in a petshop. Well it's not quite like that. Because you need to be sure that the pair that your buying is a true pair. A true pair means that the pair have the capability to breed and propagate, and a true pair is one male and one female. But Lovebirds are sexually monomorphic, meaning the male and female of the species look alike. So just to make sure that you are getting a true pair of lovebirds, we recommend you to get a pair of lovebirds that has already raised their own babies. By doing so, this will eliminate the doubt of having same sex pairs and the fear of your pair not breeding.

Cages

Now that you have a true pair of Lovebirds, the next thing to think of is where to put them? For beginner breeders we advice you to get a breeding cage. What is a breeding cage?

A breeding cage is made up stainless steel that enables easy cleaning. It is also advisable to get a breeding cage that has a larger opening, to let you add the necessities of the cage and a cage with a bottom tray to catch bird dropping and other waste. It is important to keep the cage clean, to eliminate infections and diseases. A standard breeding cage is 40cm x 40 cm x 40cm. But of course bigger is better. There are a lot of Breeding cage types available in some pet shops. It's up to you to choose which of those types soots the space where you are going to put it.

Cage Necessities

A cage alone is not enough for our beloved pets. We need to add some accessories and necessities to our bird cage for the comfort of our pets and for effective breeding.

1. Food and Water containers - There are breeding cages with built in water and food container. but for cages without this necessities, it is advised to use ceramic bowls as food and water containers. Plastic is not advisable cause it is easy for our pets to tip it over. Also ceramic food trays are 100% non toxic.


2. Perches - Perches are very important to your lovebirds. They need perches cause they often use this as a resting place. You need to make sure that this perches are intact and are not moving because in most cases, lovebirds use perches in mating. Moving perches may lead to infertility because the cock may not have a good contact with the hen if the perch is moving. Fig 2.0 is a customize perch but you can create your own perch using tree branches like, Guava and Mango branches. In Choosing Lovebird perches you need to consider the size of the perch. It is important that the feet of the birds are not totally grasping the perch. They are comfortable that way.

3. Cuttlebones - Your probably wondering what is a cuttlebone. A cuttlebone is a hard, brittle internal structure found in cuttlefish. Cuttlebone is composed primarily of calcium carbonate. Cuttlebone is a main source of Calcium for our birds. Calcium is important for good bone and egg development.

4.Bathtubs - Lovebirds love to take bath, they often use their water bowls in bating. So a bigger water source would be a good idea.


5.Nest boxes - Among all of this necessities the nest box is the most important. Lovebirds use this to lay their eggs. The nest box helps the bird to maintain constant temperature which is essential for hatching eggs.

Putting it all together

Now that you have all the Necessities of your bird cage the question is how are you going to put it together... Here is what you need to do...

Nest box: The Place for the nest box is alway at the top portion of the cage. Always remember that your taking care of birds and birds love high places. But this works only on standard cages like on the photo. But on bigger cages, better put in on mid high position. Just for safety pusposes.

Perch: Place the perch in front of the nest box for easy access to the nest.

Water Container: Is placed below the nest box to prevent bird poops from getting into it.

Food Containers: Is placed on the opposite side of the of the water container to prevent excess foods or food pealing from getting into the water container.

Bathtub: is placed on other corner opposing the food container just to prevent other materials from getting into it.

Cuttlebone: is placed on the corner of the cages for easy access.

Fresh Foods: are placed at the bottom of the cage also for easy access.

Keeping it Clean

Cleaning the cage and it's necessities are part of a breeder's daily routine. We need to keep it clean to prevent bacterial infections, viruses and diseases.

For easy cleaning put an old new paper on top of the the bottom tray for it to catch the bird droppings.

Make sure that the surrounding of the cage is also clean by sweeping it regularly.
If not eaten, remove fresh foods such as Fruits, Vegetables, and Green foods two hours after serving.
Clean the bathtubs regularly

By doing this simple steps, we will be able to maintain a clean environment for our birds which is essential for effective breeding.

 

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What to Feed your Birds

Now that your cage is properly set, the next thing that we need to think of is what to feed them. Every time that I visit other website and do researches on bird diets, the only thing that they keep on saying is we need to give them variety of foods. Birds don't live on seed alone.

There are birdseeds available in Pet shops and are already mixed for our lovebirds.

But beside this we can give them variety of foods such as fruits, vegetables, and and eggs. We can also give them meal worms which is a good source of protein for the birds. But you might be wondering if sometimes the food that you offer are not being eaten by your pet. The reason for that is because the birds may be new to the type of food that you are giving them. It is recommended that when introducing new food to your birds, mix it to their regular food and wait for them to get use to it.

Advisable fruits that you can give to your birds are the following:

Apples, pears, bananas, grapes, strawberry, oranges, tangerines, kiwi, , melon. If you get dried
fruits, be certain they are sulfite free.

AVOCADO is a big "NO NO" for our lovebirds because it is toxic for the birds.

Advisable Green foods that you can give to your birds are the following:

Lettuce (not iceberg), green peas, spinach, endive, mango leaves, strips of kohlrabi, carrots, carrot tops, fresh corn, tomatoes, radish, red beets, parsley, dandelion, clover, chickweed, sprouts, watercress, broccoli, cucumber, dried peppers, and kale

Wheat grass is a wonderful food for lovebirds as it is high in chlorophyll and a number of vitamins and minerals

Advisable Seeds that you can give to your birds are the following:

Millet, canary grass seed, hulled oats, niger seed, flax seed, sunflower seed, rape seed, safflower, soybeans, rye, canary seed, whole wheat, whole brown rice, fennel, caraway, poppy, sesame.

Don't overfeed sunflower seeds,because some lovebirds pick it up first and disregard the other seeds. This can lead to an imbalance in the diet.

Do not feed your lovebirds with the following:

Foods containing sugar, fast food items, greasy foods, foods high in fat, salty foods, chocolate, coffee or teas, colas, alcohol, (if you think intoxicating a pet bird is amusing, you don't
deserve to own the bird), and ice cream. Milk is also a big no no for this birds.

FRESH FRESH FRESH WATER!

Make sure that you are changing their water everyday. Fresh water is a must for our pets.

 

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Are your Lovebirds Ready?

Breeding Lovebirds is easy. But I'm telling you it will require patience, patience and more patience. It can be rewarding, heartbreaking and frustrating. If you think your ready to breed your lovebirds and you feel like everything that they'll need is complete. Then great! all you have to do now is to check if your Lovebirds are ready to breed.

You need to check your lovebirds for pairing rituals. Lovebirds that are ready for breeding will always:

Seat together - A pair of lovebirds will spend almost the entire day seating together
Groom each other
Feed each other - The male usually feed the female by regurgitating the food.
Cock trying to get onto the back of the hen - once you see this activity this only means that your lovebirds are trying to mate and are almost ready for breeding. Try to observe them more when you see this.
Hen opening its wings while the Cock is on her back - Definitely a sign of mating.
Nesting - this part will require a little effort from you. You need to give them some nesting materials such as bamboo strips, malunggay or “Moringa” stems, or plain white papers. Try to observe the hen. If the hen is nesting you will notice that the hen is making a strip from the materials that you gave them and stuck it into her back feathers. Once you see this, it only means that your hen are building their nest.

Once you see this mating rituals, try to observe them very often preferably from a distance. If your Lovebirds are constantly mating, observe the place where they do it. If they are mating on a perch, make sure that the perches are not moving to prevent infertility. If your lovebirds are mating at the bottom of the cage make sure that there are no obstacles for them so that they can move around. Also you need to make sure that they can flap their wing without hitting anything.

Setting up your nest boxes

A Nest box is the most important thing that you need in breeding lovebird because here is were they will lay, brood and hatch their eggs. So we need to set it up it properly. The hatching and growth of your baby Lovebirds will also depend your nest box.

(You can do this before you put your lovebirds on their breeding cages)

We need the following to Set up our Nest box:

Nest box
Care fresh (if available in the Philippines) alternative are paper shredding or wood shavings.
Toilet Rolls (unscented)
flat form (depending on the cage your using)
bamboo strips, malunggay or “Moringa” stems, or plain white papers


Step 1. Put a layer of toilet rolls inside the nest box. Make sure that it is enough to cushion the nesting materials that you are going to put. By doing this we will be able to prevent splay legs.

Step 2. Put your preferred nesting materials. Either Care fresh, Paper shredding or wood shaving. We recommend you to put just a little nesting material, just like a foundation to the nest. Let your Lovebirds do the rest of the work.

Step 3. Depending on the cage that you are using set up the nest box. We recommend beginners to put it inside the cage especially if your lovebirds are not tamed. Just to prevent them from escaping. Use the flat form to support the nest box. Remember that the nest box should be intact and secured.

Step 4: Put either of this at the bottom of the cage, whatever is available: bamboo strips (natural color), malunggay or “Moringa” stems, or plain white paper. Observe the hen create strips from this materials and observe if the hen will tuck it in to her feather and put it in the nest box. This is the hens nesting rituals.

Are they going to lay their eggs soon?

Here is the most exciting part, and the biggest question the we often ask. "Are they going to lay eggs soon?". What are the the symptoms that the hen is ready and or going to lay eggs soon. Base on my observation the Hen is ready to Lay eggs if:

The Hens size increase compared to it's natural state - The Hen once "eggnant" will increase in size especially in the abdominal region.
Heavy breathing - Observe if the Hen is breathing heavily that usual.
Size of the Buttocks increase - the size of the Hens Buttocks increased in size.
Keeps on nesting
Spend almost the entire day inside the nest box.

Once you see this symptoms there is a possibility the your hen is ready to lay eggs! Congratulations!

Will the egg hatch?

Alright!!! Your question now is "are they going to hatch?".

A hen usually lays an average of 6-8 eggs, but for first time parents they often lay less. The incubation period of the bird starts once the last eggs has been laid or sometime it will start once the two or more eggs are laid. Incubation period is more or less 21 days, depending on the humidity and the environment. They says that if an egg is not hatched after 30 or 40 days there is less possibility that this eggs will hatch. But ill tell you not all eggs hatches. A Hen lays it's eggs alternately everyday, and because of this the first batch of eggs often get the best nutrition, which is probably one of the reason why the last eggs of the clutch don't hatch. During the incubation period it is recommended to not disturb the birds quite often. Peeking on the eggs is not a bad idea but do it if the hen is not on the nest, this is to prevent you from getting bitten, because lovebirds tend to be territorial during this period.

Fertile and Infertile eggs

There are steps to know if the eggs are fertile or infertile. The process is Candling. Candling is the process of putting the eggs on a light source to see what is inside the eggs.

How To Candle Eggs

To candle your bird's eggs, you will need the following:

Something soft to carry the eggs in: a dish with a dishtowel folded in the bottom of it, perhaps.
A flashlight that shines a strong light.
Somewhere to put the parent birds: a pet carrier or spare cage, perhaps.
A room that is fairly dark.

Here is what you do:

Remove the parent birds into the pet carrier or spare cage.
Gently put the eggs in the dish or other egg carrier.
Take the eggs and flashlight to the dark room.
One by one, hold the eggs up to the light of the flashlight. Ideally, you should look at the egg with the flashlight behind it, so you see only the light that comes through the egg.
return the eggs to the nest and then return the parents.

Make sure if you will candle the eggs, do it in the less amount of time. Cause some parent birds tends to abandon the eggs if disturbed.

How to interpret what you see:

Interpreting What You See

This is what you might see if you have a freshly laid egg. The egg has a small air space at the wide end. You may be able to make out the yolk, vaguely, as a yellow blur somewhere in the center. If the egg is over a week old and still looks like this, it is probably not fertile.

This is what you will see if your egg is fertile and is about 5 days old. Notice the fine lines, like red veins, that you can see when candling. They may be faint, but they are definitely there. This is the blood vessels of the developing chick. If you see this, congratulations! You have a fertile egg.

An egg that is opaque could mean a couple of different things. First off, it could mean the egg is fertile and the chick has developed to the extent that you can't see through the egg at all. A fertile egg that is over a week old starts to get opaque like this. Notice that there is still that little air space at the wide end. A day or two before hatching, the air space disappears altogether.

An egg that looks opaque could also be an egg that is rotten inside, or an egg in which the baby has died. You can't tell, so leave the egg in the nest till it is far overdue for hatching!

An old bad egg, as we just discussed, but it has a large, off-center air pocket. It could contain a dead-in-shell baby, or it could be an old rotten egg.

An old clear egg is an old one that was never fertile. Nothing ever developed and so the egg stayed clear. The air pocket is too large and off-center.

 

[myk859]

Thank you po any dami ko pong natutunan beginner pa lang po ako

 

[TSAMTSAM2016]

Sir may ebooks ba kayo anything related sa african lovebirds? like ito po Lovebirds Compendium (2016) – Dirk Van den Abeele?