Nesting Material: Perfect Way to Start Lovebird Breeding

Please make sure that there is always plenty of nesting material around that is suitable for the birds you breed. Suitable materials for nest building include dried grass, hay, plant roots, coconut fibers, and sisal twine, dried moss, leaves, animal hair (of rabbits, dogs, horses, and cattle) and little twigs.

Most members of the budgerigar family don't build nests. Place a layer of damp peat-moss or some rotten wood on the bottom of the nest box. This keeps the eggs slightly moist-dehydration is fatal- and also stops the eggs from rolling to the sides.

Destructive species of birds like to gnaw a lot, especially parrots, a large number of parakeets and cockatoos have a tendency to "remodel" their nest box with their sharp beaks. They do not always set about this in a clever way. They sometimes gnaw away the entrance hole to such an extent that it becomes a half-open nest box.

A lot of parent birds do not leave the bottom of the nest box alone, either. Extra protection, possibly with hardwood or with some metal strips, might help.

Always give these birds plenty of material to gnaw on during the breeding season, you could for example give them some fresh willow tree twigs.

Where Can You Best Buy Your Birds?

You can buy a bird from a pet shop, a trader in birds and sometimes even directly from bird shows, and from breeders of course.

Where you buy your birds will to some extent depend on the species of bird you are looking for and what you are planning to do with them. Common species, such as budgerigars, lovebirds, zebra finches, or canaries, can be bought at virtually any pet store.

If, however, you are looking for a somewhat rarer bird, a bird with a particular type of coloring or a particular type of characteristics, then your average pet shop will not be able to help you.

This will most certainly be the case if you want to use your birds for breeding purposes and want to enter them for shows.

The demands that are made in respect of a bird’s appearance at shows are very high and you will almost certainly not able to find birds you can enter in shows in your average pet shop.

In that case you had better contact your local bird association. The members of the secretariat can usually refer you to a breeder who has the birds you are looking for.

You could also pay a visit to one or more bird shows. At these events you can admire the different species and type of coloring and get in touch with the bird’s owners or breeders.

You can contact a local bird association or the national bird association to find out more about when and where these bird shows are to be held. Bird magazines, also provide useful information about these shows.

Lovebirds Behind Glass?

Most of the lovebirds owners are asking - shall I keep my lovebirds behind glasses? It is possible to buy cages made (partly) of glass or perspex, the so-called glass cages. These cages have two important advantages.

The first one is that you can observe the birds without being hampered by bars. The second one is that loose feathers, droppings, empty husks, and the like stay inside the cage.

There are number of disadvantages when your lovebirds behind glass, too, however. In hot weather, the temperature inside the glass cage may become excessive.

You can tell when a bird is hot as it will then keep its wings slightly away from its body and its beak open. As a result of the high temperature and the minimal amount of ventilation the bird may also start to experience breathing difficulties, it may even start to look a little "sweaty".

You can prevent this by placing the cage in a spot that does not get any direct sunlight or only gets the sun early in the morning.

Need of grit for lovebirds

Seed-eating birds like lovebird have a special digestive system. The seed is ground in the gizzard, making it easier for the bird to digest. The bird, however, needs sharp grit for this.

If there is no sharp grit in the gizzard, then the bird cannot grind the seed. Sharp grit does not stay in the gizzard permanently. Over the course of time, the sharp edges of the grit wear down and the bird secretes the grit. The bird will then have to eat some more sharp grit.

You have to make sure, therefore, that you always have some grit for your bird. You can buy special grit or a grit mix from the pet shop. The advantage of the latter is that it also contains digestible grit, among other things, charcoal. It is therefore always preferable to use a grit mix of this kind.

Your lovebird can then chose the substances it needs from the ingredients. It goes without saying that you should buy a mix that is geared to the size of your bird; mixes for small tropical birds are finer than mixes for lovebirds.