Breeding of Masked Lovebird

It is better not to try breeding masked lovebirds before they are one year old. a suitable nest box will have surface area of 10 sq. inches (25 sq. cm) and a height of 12 inches (30 cm) .

They build a nest from all kinds of coarse materials. They will produce 3 or 4 eggs that the female will incubate for between approximately 18 and 20 days.

Fledging occurs after 45 days. A couple of weeks after the young have left, the parents may start acting aggressively towards them so it is better to remove the young birds in good time. These birds may well produce a number of clutches per year, but you should be careful not to exhaust them by removing the nest box after the second clutch.

Cage Position For the Lovebirds

Regardless of the kind of material it has been made of, the birdcage should never be placed in direct sunlight or in a dark place. It is important for the birds well-being that it gets enough light.

A little morning sun usually does a bird a great deal of good. Most birds like to sit in a high place, from which they have a good view of what is going on around them. This tends to make them safer. You should, therefore, preferably place the cage on a stand or on a table rather than on or just above the ground.

Never place a cage in a draft or a place that might get a draft because of open windows and /or doors. Birds are extremely sensitive to this. A birdcage should never be placed in or near the kitchen.

Birds' lungs are extremely sensitive to poisonous substances. Bird lovers have known for some time that a number of gases are released when Teflon-coated nonstick pans heated and that these gases can kill birds fairly quickly, especially members of the budgerigar family. It is less generally known that this may also happen with pans made of other materials, nonstick ovens linings, and table grills.

It is for reason that a cage should never be placed in or near a kitchen. There have, however, also been a number of instances in which birds died even though they were a couple of rooms away from the kitchen. You, should, therefore, always be very careful.

Providing Baths for Lovebirds

You can buy ready-made baths, which you can hang inside the cage. These are perfect for smaller birds, such as lovebirds and Zebra finches.

But for bigger and stronger species of bird it is better to provide a different kind of bathing facility. This is because parrots and members of the stratling family can easily lift these baths or push them away, making it possible for them to escape.

Moreover, most of these ready-made baths tend to too small for these birds. For bigger species of bird, you would therefore be better off buying a glazed earthenware bowl instead.