How to Propagate Love Birds

Lovebirds, which are small, beautiful parrots, can live for 10 years or more. They have no talking ability but are voracious chewers. The two types of popular pet lovebirds are peachface, which have green bodies and a reddish colored head, and black-masked lovebirds, which have green bodies, a yellow throat, black heads, orange beak and a white eye ring. Both are indigenous to Africa, but the two types should not be mixed in a breeding aviary. Avoid fancier colors; the normals, as described here, tend to be hardier and are recommended for beginning breeders.

Things You'll Need

  • 10- by 16-foot aviary
  • 10 or more large parakeet nestboxes
  • 4 large water dishes
  • 1 large seed feeder
  • Commercial nestbox bedding
  • 20 peachface or blackmask lovebirds
  • Long-handled bird net
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Instructions

  1. Aviary Essentials

    • 1

      Construct an aviary in a way that dogs can't get in and birds can't chew their way out. Ten feet by 16 feet is ideal for 10 pairs. Build it in full sun; light triggers breeding behavior. Provide 4 feet of sheltered area, including sides, and cover everything else with see-through quarter-inch hardware cloth. The door should be low, so that you have to duck to get inside and birds can't escape overhead. Consider a double-door design.

    • 2

      Place water and food dishes. One-inch-high baking dishes work well for both drinking and bathing. Scrub them daily. Clean water must be available to birds at all times. Use commercial bird feeders that fill from the top and empty into a feeding tray. Place them about waist height.

    • 3

      Hang perches securely at both ends, and hang nestboxes shoulder height in the sheltered area. The hinged lid opens for inspections and cleaning. Put a large handful of bedding in the bottom of the box.

    • 4

      Provide nesting materials. Lovebirds use the fronds of fan palm trees. Collect and wash these and hang them in the aviary. The birds will shred them to carry in their wings. Fresh material is needed by the birds as their chicks grow.

    • 5

      Once the birds are installed, feed them. Besides seed mix, lovebirds need fresh vegetables, fruits and cuttlebone. Try growing wheatgrass and sunflower sprouts. Forage dandelions, seeding grasses, and berries daily.
      When eggs hatch, the young must be fed. Soaked cracked corn makes this easier for parent birds.