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.

Breeding Management of Lovebirds

Breeding a lovebird pair is really an enjoyable task. Seeing the hairless youngones in the nest will definitely bring about happiness not only among your family members, but also for the parent birds. The chicks will keep the parents busy to bring enough feed to them and also care to provide heat to their hairless body. Here you can get few points for an effective breeding managemt of lovebirds.

Breeding Cage

Minimum size: 70 cm long x 40 cm deep X 50 cm high

Cages for Lovebirds

• Individual cage is a better choice for the breeding pair
• Stainless steel wire cage or chromium plated cage mounted over a rough plastic bore is a perfect choice
• The base and wire part of the cage is to be attached with special clips; so that basal part could be removed easily for cleaning purpose
• Cages shall be placed in raised position, so as to provide the birds the feeling of security
• Minimum size for a pair of lovebirds should not be less than 50 cm in diameter and 70 cm tall

Note: - A square or rectangular based cage is a better choice due to availability of increased volume.

Nest Box

Any form of compact activity (earthern pot/wooden box) with an entrance hole of about 5 cm in diameter is more than sufficient to lay eggs.The size of box is 15-17.5 cm square and 25 cm high. One nest box for each pair of birds. In case if you've taken the nest box for cleaning purpose, an alternate one should be kept in the same position for roosting of birds. Breeding is damn easy with peach faced love birds and mass breeding is successful in most species of lovebirds.

• The entrance hole should be just below roof.
• A short perch should be affixed below entrance hole, so that bird can rest before entry (or) exit.
• Access door (with rain proof facility) is a must, so that nest may be examined in case of emergency.

Eggs of Lovebirds

• Usually 1-4 eggs will be laid by a female lovebird, which is the usual clutch size. (9 eggs from a single bird is also recorded). Incubation period is 21 to 23 days.
• Laid every two weeks
• Serious incubation will not commence until after the 2nd and 3rd egg has been laid, thus hatching time of all chicks occur within a day or two.