My lovebirds ???????????

[gothic]

i have two lovebirds i have come to the conclusion one is male and one is female.......because one is bigger then the other one plus i have be doing some research....but i might be wrong....

anyway i have i small box in my birds cage and now the bigger one is chewing twigs and paper not the small one he just looks for food in there...she is always in there...she likes to sit on the edge of it while the male is doing his own thing

when do you know there ready to mate or have eggs????

am i right or wrong bout the bigger one being female and small one being male???

[Emmilyy]

The only way to know for sure if they're male or female is through DNA testing, I beleive.

[tabooh]

Originally Posted by Emmilyy

The only way to know for sure if they're male or female is through DNA testing, I beleive.

This is exactly right, you must have them DNA'D by a vet. Good luck!

[gothic]

anything else you guys can tell me just by looking at them

[misty83]

dna is your best option or another thing you can do is wait and see who lays the eggs then you will know lol

[Eliza]

Originally Posted by tabooh

This is exactly right, you must have them DNA'D by a vet. Good luck!

No need to involve a vet for DNA testing. You can send for a kit from Avian Biotech or Zoogen. $20-25 per test, using blood from a toenail or feathers plucked from their chest. There may be other companies that offer DNA testing but those are the two that come to mind. The breeders that I've dealt with have used Avian Biotech.

[Eliza]

Originally Posted by gothic

anything else you guys can tell me just by looking at them

Not really. There is anecdotal evidence that female peach-faced lovebirds sit with their feet further apart than the males and that they flare their tails while males often don't. Female peachies also shred paper & tuck it in their tailfeathers but males usually don't. These aren't hard and fast rules, though. DNA testing is your best bet.

[expressmailtome]

There is one other way. Are either of them sex linked mutations? If they are and you know their parents mutations then it can be possible.

Matt

[gothic]

today i have been watching them..........and the big one i think is female was doing this funny move were she would jump on the catch role her head and slide down........

and they were trying to mate but the female never let him.......and was trying to get behind him

[Jag]

Originally Posted by gothic

i have two lovebirds i have come to the conclusion one is male and one is female.......because one is bigger then the other one plus i have be doing some research....but i might be wrong....

anyway i have i small box in my birds cage and now the bigger one is chewing twigs and paper not the small one he just looks for food in there...she is always in there...she likes to sit on the edge of it while the male is doing his own thing

when do you know there ready to mate or have eggs????

am i right or wrong bout the bigger one being female and small one being male???

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!! Remove the box and any other nesting materials you have in there. Get a second cage, and seperate them. Get DNA testing done to find out the sex of your birds. Get testing done to find out if they are healthy. Find out from where you got them how old they are if you can. READ, READ, and READ. If you're in the US, go onto Craigslist and Hoobly and look at how many lovebirds are on there needing a home. It sounds from what you've posted that you don't know a lot about the birds you have. You need to do a lot of learning before even considering breeding them. You need to form a bond with them (which means spending time alone with each of them. If you don't do this... and NOW... you will have two birds that you can't touch, and will become aggressive towards you because you've created a 'love nest' for them... and with that, they won't want or need you touching them or having contact with them.

With the little that you've posted about them, I don't know if your intention is to have them as pets or a breeding pair. Breeding isn't easy, and you need to know the breed up down and sideways to be a good breeder. You need to have two health birds of the opposite sex. At LEAST one isn't healthy or happy because of the plucking. Sliding down bars can be nothing more than a game. Rayne does this all the time. If you're wanting to breed... do you know how to raise a baby bird? Handfeeding... keeping them warm... banding... the vet bills involved? There is a LOT to breeding. It's not like... OK, they had eggs, and so I'm going to sell them. If not properly socialized, you'll have a bunch of babies that you can't touch...so no one will want them. Do you know that the parents can kill the babies? Do you know why or when this could happen? Do you know about egg binding... that it could cost you your female's life if you don't recognize the signs early enough and get a vet to intervene? Do you know how to help prevent it?

I don't mean to sound harsh...but it seems you're missing the big picture here and all the nasty complications of it. If you REALLY want to breed, then please get your birds to the vet...do the DNA..seperate them for now and learn all you can about their needs, care, etc. Then get in contact with an experienced breeder and ask to spend time with to get an idea of what all it takes. In the meantime, spend time forming a bond with your lovies. I hope that you'll slow down with the breeding part, and do what needs to be done first.. and keep them safe from each other in the meantime.