Trouble Breeding New Lovebird Pair

I would definetly add fruits and veggies, along with sprouted seeds and cooked food to their diet. The healthier the pair is, the healthier the offspring will be when they are ready to mate.

How active is the active area they are in? They may not be used to the commotion yet. Do you plan on having them in this area when they are breeding? If so, leave them be. If you are planning on moving them, I'd put them wherever you will have the nesting location at.

14 hours of daylight is good. Do you have a UV lamp on them or just regular lights? How do you administer the vitamin and mineral suppliment? I highly discourage putting things in the water all the time because you cannot control dosage. My one exception to this is liquid calcium with vitamin D added a few times a week since this is more readily absorbed than a mineral block or cuttlebone.

You can also add hard boiled egg, crushed with the shelll to their diet, this is very good for them! Just not as an every day treat. Egg needs removed after an hour because of bacterial growth.


Something is definitely wrong, because normal healthy lovebirds do not hide in
their nests, and usually the females spend more time in the nests than the males.
Also, examining the pelvic bones of non-breeding birds is highly inaccurate.
Since I do not know anything about the background of the birds, and the conditions
which they were produced, all of my comments are just guesses.

Thanks for posting the pictures.

1. You could have 2 females. Obviously, they are not compatible.
2. Is the darker bird on the top the agressor ?It could be a 3-way cross: fishers/black-masked/peachface.Occassionally, black-masked/peachfaces are fertile. You will see the black from the black-masked as well as a red-orange band in the front (from the peachface). This might mean that your bird could be 25% peachface. (This has happened in my friend's aviary, when he was given an obvious hybrid.)These birds do not follow the usual nest-building process.
3. Getting birds (free ?) from a friend of a friend sometimes means that you inherited someone else's problems.

Lovebird Traning Questions

I breed Lovebirds, and out of all of my birds they are the loudest. If you get one they aren't so bad, but the more you have the louder they are. I have moments where I can't hear the TV because of two little pairs lol. On the other hand, I love my Lovebirds dearly. They are my absolute favorites with their huge characters. I would really look at getting a single hand-raised Lovebird, if you get two chances are they won't want to spend any time with you. Then you have the chance of breeding and so forth, overall one makes for a better pet. I would make sure the breeder has a health guarantee even if it's only for a few days, that their birds are well kept and sanitary, the breeder can correctly name the mutations, and the birds are not related. Those are anything a good breeder will have/offer. I would also pick one out that has JUST finished weaning in the last few days, often times breeders will stop weaning and stop handling the birds. They lose their tame status often through this.

Love Birds

They are aggressive little buggers, but are personally my favorite. A Lovebird can do a lot of damage to a Cockatiel, and if it's a female Lovebird chances are she'd be more then happy to. My males are very calm and relaxed, and my females will draw blood if they feel you are a risk. A Lovebird that is bonded to you will be very jealous of other birds, heck it can take months and months to get two Lovebirds in the same cage. Don't get discouraged, separate rooms are best! Many of my birds can not be in the same area together out. As for the cage behavior, it's called a bored bird. My Lovebirds are trained to stay on their cages, if they were locked inside all day they'd go nuts. I remember one day I couldn't let Lawney out and she spilled all of her food, water, worked at the rawhide knot holding her toys until it came down, and then banged the dishes. They are like any other parrot, they need lots and lots of attention. Spyros will bang his food dish until you let him out in the morning as well. They are highly intelligent creatures, they know how to get your attention.

Love Bird Questions

It's common for a new bird to be awfully quiet. My newest pair took a long time to finally get to the point where they were comfortable. It's worse when they are non-tame, because human interaction is frightening. Where as a single Lovebird who was hand-raised will chirp and screech for attention. You can try playing videos of other Lovebirds singing and chirping for her, and whistling to her is great also. Lovebirds very easily pick up trick whistles too. You need to have her out of the cage to get her to a tame state. Open the cage and offer millet from your hand, start at a stem length and over time get down to a small piece from the palm of your hand. Once you have reached that trust mile-stone you should be able to slowly work in petting the bird while she eats from your hand. Once she finally has hand trust down, you can start asking for the step up. It just takes time, and a non-tame Lovebird is one of the hardest birds you can take on to tame.

Introduction to Lovebirds

Personatus, you surely know more than me when it comes to Lovebirds. I just don't think it's a good idea to suggest to people that these birds should ever be introduced. I have no doubt that you would be able to successfully introduce two, but I just don't see it as being one of those things you should suggest to everyone. It's definitely not the same as introducing some of the other Parrots. I had no issue introducing my Cockatiel to my Quaker or my Conure... and I wouldn't have an issue saying to give it a shot if it were a different species. However, unless this was a very calm well mannered Lovebird I just don't see it ending well. The size difference is huge as well, it's not like introducing a Conure to a Cockatiel as I mentioned, it's an African Grey to one of the smallest parrot species in the world. There is no guarantee that your going to get a calm, non-territorial, docile Lovebird. They are known for getting into trouble! Even the chicks I sell with a no bite guarantee wouldn't necessarily get along with another bird. I had one little male this time around who was bullying a Cockatiel by 7 weeks, even though they had been around each-other and other birds from week 2. It comes with the species, and I feel it's one of those boundaries you have to respect personally. Although there will always be exceptions, I don't suggest specifically introducing a Lovebird to an African Grey you don't know much about.

Why Don't all Bird Eggs Hatch

Infertility, poor nutrition, hen doesn't sit on eggs (cold eggs), bacterial infections, etc. It is not always easy to determine why some eggs just don't hatch. In my experience, usually one or two eggs simply don't hatch. It's usually the last eggs laid. Consider the obvious: a hen lays six eggs. The first few are going to get the "best stuff". This might sound simplistic, but in nature, the smallest baby often does not thrive; hence, the term "runt." I have had a few runts who did quite well in the long run; they simply required a longer weaning time and more care. Some of my best and sweetest babies have been the runt of the clutch. Nature knows best. Not all eggs are meant to hatch. Obviously if none of your eggs are ever hatching, you should be concerned. But I would not be overly concerned about one or two not hatching in a clutch; I think many people overreact to this. Believe me, in nature all the eggs do not hatch every time.

Cage Considerations and Nesting Boxes Love Bird

There are two ways to breed lovebirds: in large aviary groups or by individual pairs in separate breeding cages. Because I want to carefully control the color mutations in my lovebirds I use the latter method. Besides, it is much easier to "keep the peace" among lovebirds when they have separate cages. You can remove pairs from flight cages at breeding time and place them in smaller cages more suitable for breeding. Obviously, the bigger the cage the better. The birds should be able to "beat their wings" without hitting something every time. They should be able to climb and play for exercise. If you don't have enough room for this, you're probably not in a position to breed birds at this time.
Many people think that supplying toys and the like will distract birds from mating. I don't find this to be true, and birds with a varied environment are happier and hence more likely to make good parents. Don't forget: lovebirds are very playful, clownish creatures and they need an appropriate "stage" for their antics.

The nestbox is your next consideration. While many people use a large parakeet or cockatiel box, I have found that I get the best results with English budgie nesting boxes. These open on the side via sliding, two-part door. They have a little raised platform at the entrance, then a lower area for the hen to nest. These are nice because the hen can have company while nesting (the cock will sit on the perch over the raised platform or will sleep directly on the raised platform) without being crowded. I think it also makes it less likely for eggs to be cracked if there's ever a panicked rush into the nestbox because they dive on the raised platform first, then move down to the nesting area.

Make sure you nesting box doesn't have sliding doors that are "swollen" as this makes it very difficult to inspect the eggs. If the doors are very tight in the grooves, I remove them, file or sand down the edges a bit, then put them back in and test for easy sliding. It will be less agitating to your hens if you don't have to wiggle and force the door every time you want to peek in. It's your choice if you want to leave in the concave wood piece that is traditionally included with budgie nesting boxes. Lovebirds make quite elaborate nests, so you don't generally need them. However, if you have a lovebird who's a lazy nestmaker, you may want to keep this wooden piece so eggs don't roll around in the nestbox.
I hang the nestbox on the outside of the cage, then use wire clippers to cut a hole in the cage wall. Make sure you file down any sharp points on the cut wire. Make sure the nestbox will not get wet in the rain. I use plexiglass to cover my outdoor cages year-round. It keeps out harsh sunlight in mid-summer and keeps them dry during the rainy season.