Things You'll Need
- Aviary
- Nest boxes
- Soft bedding materials
- Various nesting materials, such as straw, twigs, leaves, and grasses
Instructions
Place the male and female lovebirds, one sea green, the other yellow lutino, together. Male and female lovebirds usually look very much alike. Although there are a few ways to try to determine gender through behavior, the best way to tell if you have a male and female is to bring them to a veterinarian. The veterinarian will be able to use a probe or DNA test to determine gender.
Provide a large aviary for the breeding pair of lovebirds. A single pair of lovebirds can be successfully housed in a cage that is 30- by 20- by 20-inches. However, larger aviaries also work well. At the very least, there must be room for a large nest box, as well as room for the lovebirds to flit about and flap their wings.
Place a large nest box in the aviary. One nest box should be sufficient, although, if space allows, you can place several differently sized or shaped nest boxes in different places around the aviary. This allows the breeding pair a choice in a nesting spot. The nest box must also have a small hole where the parent birds can enter. Nest boxes can be built or purchased.
Fill the bottom of the nest box with a layer of soft bedding. Peat or wood shavings will both absorb dropping. The peat will also help retain humidity, which is good for the lovebird eggs. The layer of bedding should be about 2-inches deep.
Place nesting materials, such as fruit tree twigs, straw, palm fronds and other safe leaves or dry grasses around the aviary. The female lovebird will gather these items up and use them to build the nest in the nest box.
Wait for the birds to breed. Lovebirds tend to breed in the summer, but indoor lovebirds will often breed at other times of the year. Four to six eggs will be laid. These eggs will hatch within about 23 days.