Male Lovebird regurgitating food...

[monapica]

I have two lovebirds- male and female. Yesterday, I was watching them eat their veggies, and the male regurgitated some of the food and fed it to the female..it was so cute! I was wondering if this is just a sign of friendship, or does this show that the male is ready to mate?

[monapica]

They are both about 8 months old now.

[CrazyBirdLady]

Chances are, he's showing her that he can take of her and feed her; possibly thinking about starting a family. However, siblings feed each other and even in times when pairs aren't actively mating, laying eggs or nesting; males will feed their chosen mate.

Eight months is a bit young to begin breeding, so if you are thinking of letting them breed in the future, you might try to put them off until they are at least a year old.

[elizastarbuck]

I have a question related to add to this. I have a 11 month old female lovie, and she seems to be getting all geared up to mate. She does the regergitation thing towards me every time I go to let her out of her cage and sometimes she even goes so far as to rub her tail on my hand as if trying to mate. I'm thinking of getting her a male friend, but I'm not sure how to introduce the two of them, and the male will most likely be a good deal younger, probably a baby. Do I need to do anything to regulate their breading practices, or will nature just take it's course, and they will mate when they are both mature enough?

thanks,
Eliza

[birdlady49]

I absolutely agree that eight months is much too young to breed any birds, much less lovies. I would suggest that they be at least 18 months or two years old before you set them up for breeding. I think one year old is still too young.

Yes, the regurgitating is a sign of friendship at this point. But, as said earlier, it's also a sign of bonding and future desires to mate.

To Eliza: Are you sure you have a female? It sounds like the behaviors you're describing are those of a male? As far as introducing a new lovie, after quarantine you should put their cages side by side for several weeks. Then let them out under strict supervision to watch them interact. Then again, after several weeks, rearrange the contents of the cage you want both to share. This'll look like a "new" cage so neither will have territorial rights. Again, under strict supervision, watch them interact in the closed cage. I'd only allow them to be in the same cage for a few hours at first, then separate them. Gradually increase the time they spend in the same cage until you're absolutely certain they're compatible.

No, don't let nature take its course. You want the "male" to be mature enough if you're going to mate them. Otherwise, the hen will lay infertile eggs and that's pretty taxing on her little body.

[monapica]

Thanks for the reply. I also heard that lovebirds are usually over a year old when they mate. I didn't know at first if the male was courting the female, but as I can see now, they're always playing around. Sometimes they steal food from each other, which is also very cute :)