Lovebirds are a symbol of romance all over the world. If you own lovebirds and want to breed them, proper mating between them is essential. In general, many of them are monogamous, which means that their mating requires a lot of commitment. However, lovebird mating becomes uncomplicated if you know how to pair them and take care of their eggs.

Table of Contents

Getting Ready To Mate

When you decide your lovebirds are ready to mate, make sure you start by preparing for the actual process. You have to arrange and maintain the following steps beforehand:

  • Read, and learn about lovebird’s behavior before and after mating. It will help you understand what’s going on behind the curtain during the process and also allows you to provide them with everything they need.
  • Arrange all the supplies that you will need for them to mate.
  • You will need nest material, cages, dishes, etc.
  • The cage needs to be ready and set for the pair to live comfortably.
  • Find suitable mates and avoid mixing breeds.
  • Visit the vet (often vets have great advice for mating!

These are some of the essential steps for Lovebird mating!

Step By Step Mating Process

Visit the Vet

The first step is to check the health of the lovebird pair. Make sure that both are healthy and ready to mate. It would help if you discussed it with the vet that you’re planning on mating your lovebirds. Your vet can give you helpful guidance for your specific lovebirds.

Quarantine Them

(This step is only necessary if the birds are unfamiliar with each other.)

Isolation is essential for lovebirds to mate, especially when you introduce a bird from another household. Let them spend some time together. It will ensure that they are healthy and the female is comfortable with the male for mating. However, if you have the pair already, you do not need to isolate them. This is how lovebirds mate in the wild, so try to mimic this in their home environment!

Introduce Them

You know that both are healthy at this stage, and they are getting along quite comfortably. It is the right time to introduce them to each other. You have to slowly go through this step because, just like humans, birds also take a few days to get used to each other.

Here are a few things that you can do:

  • Place the pair in different cages that are of medium size. Usually, they will stay close and get familiar with each other.
  • After a few days, you can transfer them into the same cage.
  • Ensure nesting material is in their cage already. This way, they can start the nesting process naturally.
  • Make sure to keep an eye out for bad behavior from both birds. If either bird shows symptoms of rejection or being uncomfortable, immediately separate them.

Signs She IS Ready To Mate

Lovebird mating behavior is quite visible because they are very productive reproducers. You can observe the mating by noticing the following signs:

  • Interest in nest building by shredding material.
  • Holding nest material in her feathers.

Supply Nutrition

lovebirds are under physical strain during mating. Therefore, they need foods that are rich in nutrients and minerals to keep her body healthy.

Here is a list of foods that you should feed them include:

  • Formulated or organic pellets(as normal)
  • Certain vegetables (uncooked or steamed, No added extra oils or condiments)
  • Apple slices
  • Barley
  • Kelp

The stress on her body is tremendous during egg production. This means that her nutritional needs should be double what they usually are. She is eating for two at this stage!

Experts say that pregnant lovebirds are as sensitive as their new-born during the process.

Check the Eggs

At this stage, you should check the eggs in the nest. Normally, lovebirds lay their egg after a week and a half or precisely 10 days after mating. Then they brood or incubate the first egg before laying the second one. You should check their nest every morning.

“She usually lays her eggs at night!”

After the first egg is laid, she will produce eggs every other day. Overall, a lovebird can lay up to 6 eggs. Be aware that sometimes lovebirds can lay eggs that have not been fertilized.

Let Your Birds Do Their Thing

You should know that lovebirds, after laying eggs, brood for at least 25 days. It would be best to let them incubate their eggs without disturbing them for a minimum of 10 days. It is her time to rest! She will only leave her eggs to eat or drink.

In some cases, he will feed her while she is brooding. Therefore, she will not leave the egg at any time.

Test The Fertility Of Eggs

When lovebird couples are too old or too young to mate, the chances of infertile eggs are very high. You can still give them a chance and check the eggs after she completes 10 consecutive days of brooding her egg.

Here are the steps to follow for testing the fertility of eggs:

  • Place the egg in front of a light.
  • Look for the membrane. This is the first sign the egg is fertile!

Let The Eggs Hatch

Hopefully, after all this effort, your eggs are fertile! The best we can do at this stage is to wait for them to hatch! Hopefully, after 25 days of incubation, everything is healthy, and they hatch. Try to stay away from their eggs for roughly a month.

All you need to do is:

  • Supply nutritious food to the mother so that she can feed the hatchlings.
  • Take out any eggs that did not hatch.

Recap

If you’ve made it to the end and are now reading the recap! Thanks for reading! In this section, I like to cover the article’s highlights and go over the necessary information.

Highlights of the Article

  • What is needed for lovebirds to mate.
  • Understanding the ideal situation for them to mate.
  • How they interact during mating.

Any Questions you have relating to this article or just for me in general, leave a comment down below in the comments section.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on bird behavior or bird diet. These methods should not replace getting expert advice in any shape or form. If your bird does show any adverse reactions to any foods, seek a veterinarian’s guidance as soon as possible.

Amazon Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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