Lovebirds in Your Garden

Lovebirds are also ideal subjects for the garden. They need a secluded shelter in which to roost. Newly imported birds must spend their first winter in a minimum of 15 degrees celcius (59 F). In the summer, it is best to have nest boxes, where it is moister. In the winter, they should be placed in the shelter.

You can keep several pairs in a wooden aviary, as long as they are all placed in it together. Later, remove any surplus males or females. Two birds occupying a nest box are not necessarily a breeding pair; sometimes two males, or two females, pair up. As a rule, any superfluous birds sleep alone in a box. You can close up all the entrance holes in the dark, and in the morning discover where the isolated birds are. Of course, you must have enough boxes, all hung at the same height.

From four to six eggs are usual, incubated by the female for twenty-one to twenty-five days, depending on the species. The young leave the nest after four to six weeks and are fed, mainly by the male, for a further two weeks. Once they are independent, remove them, because they will cause problems when the parents breed again and maybe attacked by them.

Young birds mature at around ten months. You will always have more females than males. If you are keeping species together, hybridizing may occur. This is not recommended.