Sick Baby, I think?

[joyndan]

i have a pair of black masked lovebirds. i came home today to feathers all over the floor around their cage. the male has pulled out all his belly feathers and now has a bald belly. he is moving around and behaving normally. i have never had this happen with one of my birds and i hope someone can shed some light on this problem.

[swanwillow]

do you have a nest box? have they been doing the naughty behind your back? have they ever been to a vet?

[joyndan]

yes, they have a nest box. their breeding appears to be normal and they have had 2 clutches with only one fertile egg, the baby died when only a few days old. to this point, everything appeared normal. i placed a fertile egg from one of my peachface birds with their last clutch and the baby first left the nest two days ago. the baby is normal; of course, still being fed by the male.

[birdlady49]

He could have pulled the feathers to line a nest. Are you sure it's the male?

[ROYJOY]

sometimes a female will pull out a "brood patch" on her front, to get her body warmth closer to the eggs/chicks, but my males never do that.

[CrazyBirdLady]

Male eye ring lovies differ from peachface lovebirds in that they are more involved with nest building. He may very well be "helping" his mate try to start on a new nest for a new clutch of eggs. Now would be the time to remove the box. I have a male Fischers that like to pluck his mate's head when he and she start getting hormonal. You might just give your vet a call and ask their opinion as safe is always better than sorry.