Most of the info. on this page was submitted by Club Member, John Gregg,
 who is a very knowledgeable Owner and Breeder of Lovebirds

Nearly all the photos on this page are "Thumbnails"
 - Click on them to see a bigger picture and press the "Back" button to get back to this page.

INFO on the BREED 

• Lovebirds are known as an "eye-ring species" and originate from Africa.

• The "Eye Ring" group, as they are known, are made up of four separate and distinct species of Lovebird

• The Masked, Fischer's, the Black-Cheeked and the Nyasa Love Birds. 

• They are not sexually dimorphic, so it can be difficult to know if one has a true pair without the presence of fertile eggs or without having the birds DNA sexed.
  
  

• In their natural coloration, all four species have characteristics that make them similar in appearance: 

  • The eye-ring, a red beak and a green body.

  • The Masked and the Fischers are about the same size (6 inches long), with waxy red bills and blue-colored rumps. 

  • The Black Cheek and the Nyasa are smaller (5 inches long), with light-green rumps 

  • (any discoloration is a sure indication of hybridization with Masked or Fischer's Love Birds). 

  • They have a distinct brown iris, and their bills are red at the tip and gradually fade to a
    pale pink at the base.

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SPECIES PECULIARITIES

• All Lovebird species can be colony-bred. 

• In fact, some breeders believe these birds thrive and breed better in colony settings. 

• Black-cheeked and Nyasa Love Birds are extremely peaceful in colony setting. 

• The only possible problem is that Nyasas have been known to attack the youngsters of other pairs that are emerging from the nest box for the first time. 

• The masked and Fischer's Love Birds are also peaceful but can occasionally show aggression toward lone, unpaired birds. 

• While the Masked and Fischer's are fairly hardy, black cheeks and Nyasas should be wintered indoors. 

• Prolonged cold and damp weather can be deadly to them.

• So a frost-free shelter/shed is essential

•  + roof over the Aviary - perspex or wood.

• Clear Perspex up the exposed sides of the Aviary, which can be removed when weather improves.
  
  

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MASKED LOVEBIRD

• They originate from N.E. Tanzania.

• Have a look at the photos above and notice the wide, white ring around the eye. 

• The head should have a solid black "hood" over it, with yellow around the neck, and a red beak. 

• The flights are black.

• A Blue Masked will have the eye ring and black hood, but a blue body with white around the neck,
  and a pink beak.

• Legs : grey

• A Dilute Masked Lovebird, is very similar. 

• The differences being that the Dilute has more white on the head and body and white flights.

• Masked can be prone to pluck their youngsters while they are in the nest.

• Masked are perfectly hardy and can be wintered outside in a covered Aviary, with dry frost-free shelter but don't require extra heat.

• They can stand low temperatures but damp conditions are another matter and must be regarded as
  a major health hazzard!

FISCHERS LOVEBIRD

• They originate from S. Kenya & N. Tanzania

• They are hardy, easy to house, feed and breed.

• An excellent bird for novices to start with.

• Mainly grass-green in colour.

• Forehead : bright red

• Rest of head, face, neck and breast are an orange-red with a faint olive-green suffusion.

• Beak : Red

• Legs : Grey

• Sexes look alike and need DNA test to identify sexes that you are unsure of.

• Fischers can be housed as separate pairs or in a colony.

• They also are a hardy bird and require similar housing to the Masked Lovebird. (see above)

• Young Lovebirds can be reared without addition to the adults' normal diet.

• They originate from South & S.W. Africa

• Approx. 6" (150mm)

• A popular species with Bird Breeders.

• Probably the easiest for Novices to start with.

• Mainly Apple-green in colour

• Under surfaces :  Yellow-green

• Forehead : rose-red

• Sides of head and throat : salmon -pink

• Rump : sky-blue

• Beak : Yellow

• Legs : Grey

• Sexes : alike  - DNA to certify sex.

• They are "Free Breeders"  but . . .

• NOT Suitable for Colony Breeding!

• They like to roost in their nest boxes throughout the year inc. Winter and this can lead to eggs
  being laid out of season with risk of egg-binding, Dead in Shell (D.I.S.), + Chick mortalities.

• The require similar housing conditions to the Masked and the Fischers (except at Breeding times,
  when they must be housed in pairs).
  
  

DIET :

• They thrive on Small Parakeet Mix and Millet Sprays.

• They are very similar to Cockatiels to feed.

• Cuttlefish, Iodine blocks (the pink ones) and grit must be freely accessible at all times 

• It is esp. important to make sure they have ALL the above, leading up-to and during the Breeding season.

• They appreciate Egg-food and "Ad Herb" added to the Water when conditioning.

• Fruit and Veg is a must to keep them healthy and provide vits and minerals.
  
  

  • They love apples, broccoli, cabbage, kale, carrots, parsley, and spinach.

  • whole grain breads

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SEXING:

• They are very difficult to Sex as both sexes look virtually the same.

• The pelvic bone can help to tell them apart when in "Breeding condition".

• The Hens may appear to have a wider pelvic bone area.

• This is not always a 100%  way of telling them apart.

• You can use trial and error - i.e. put "pairs" together and wait and see if you get chicks 

• or let them pick their own mates, if you breed "en-colony".

• If you get fertile eggs then obviously they are a true pair.

• If you get lots of eggs you could have 2 hens, esp. if they are all infertile!
  

DNA Sexing is the only sure way. 

• You need to pull a fresh "blood feather" from the birds' chest 

• or prick the birds' knuckle and take a tiny drop of blood.

• Then you send either (or both) of the above to Avianbiotech or similar to get them
   DNA Sexed.  

• It costs approx £13 per bird (2007)
  

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TELLING A LOVEBIRDS AGE

• The best way is to have them closed ringed as chicks.

• The second clue as to age is the first moult. 

• This happens at about 4 - 6 months.

• Until this happens they have their immature plumage.

• The young bird loses its immature colour as it moults into its adult plumage. 

• The first sign of what is sometimes affectionately call "measles."

• Once the "measles" passes they have their Adult plumage and cannot be aged reliably without a dated closed ring or DNA testing.

  Pictures of some young Lovebirds - the 2 on either end are only a few weeks old.                              The 2 in the middle are going through their first moult.

  After first moult they start getting little speckles of colour on their foreheads - see the middle two!

  
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PREPARATION for BREEDING:

• You can breed "en-Colony" or in Breeding Cages (except the Peach-faced - see above)
  
   

COLONY BREEDING

• You put several pairs in your Aviary (the No. of pairs depends on the size of your Aviary).

• Then the birds pick their own mates and therefore you should end up with true pairs.

• Altho. not necessarily the pairs you may have selected, if you were choosing pairs to breed in cages.

• When you put Nest boxes in you must make sure they are all of similar size and design.

• The Nestboxes are a similar size and design to a budgie nest box but they have a little "sentry" box
  on the end with a perch inside.

• This is so that the cockbird can sit in there and guard the nest while the hen sits it's eggs.

• The Sentry box end makes it look like a double nest-box but it has no front to it - so it's just a
  shelter area, with a perch.

• Hang them all the same height to stop fighting.

• They all want the highest one!

• You must always put in more boxes than pairs - some people suggest 1/2 as many again. i.e. if you
  have 10 pairs then you put 15 boxes in.
  

• To help stimulate the birds into "thinking" breeding you need to add Willow and Fruit tree twigs and branches.

• They need a continuous supply of "sappy" branches as HUMIDITY in the Nest box is paramount
  to the successful incubation conditions of the eggs.

• When a pair is ready to mate, they will select a nest box and the hen starts stripping  whatever nesting material is available (newspaper, willow, fruit tree, & hawthorn  branches, palm fronds) with her beak.

• She will begin tucking them in her rump feathers, just above her tail, to carry back to the nest.
  (see photo)

• The birds then start to strip the bark and use it to build a nest in the nest box.

• The hen will take these into her box and arrange them just the way she wants them. 

• She makes a "bowl" in the back half of the box and a wall of sorts, to separate the front and back
  of the box, with a little passage way on the right for going in and out.

• She will keep going back and forth until she either is satisfied with the results or runs out of material.
  
  

• The bird's protein levels should be upped in preparation for breeding:
   

• Egg-food + Frozen, cooked sweetcorn + Vit and mineral supplement (inc. a calcium supplement once or twice per week - follow instructions on tub - do not overdose on calcium as this can do more harm than good).

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FOSTERING EGGS AND CHICKS

• All of the Love bird species make excellent foster parents for other Love birds.

•  If they are on eggs, additional eggs can be added, or chicks can even be added to an existing nest of young.

• Just make sure that the eggs or chicks, are within a week of the same age of the those in the nest that you are adding them to.

• Also, no more than five young should be in the total clutch. 

• Infertile pairs can also be used to foster eggs and raise young.
  
  
   

INTERBREEDING BETWEEN THE 4 SPECIES (Hybridization)

• All four species will freely interbreed with each other, and their off-spring are fertile. 

• It's a tragic mistake to make. 

• It was thought that the "eye-ring group" was simply one species with four sub-species. 

• This has resulted in massive hybridization in an effort to produce a variety of colour mutations.

• This is unfortunate because it has become increasingly difficult to find 100% pure stock.

• An example of this hybridization is found in the "ino" factor (lutino and albino). 

• The only true natural occurrence of the "ino" factor has been the lutino Nyasa lovebird. 

• All other mutations, such as the lutino and albino Masked and Fischer's, and the lutino Black Cheek, have hybrid blood in them from the Nyasa.

•  Hybridization has also occurred in the blue series  -  the blue Fischer's and blue Nyasa originated from the blue masked. 

• The same holds true of the dilute mutation (yellow and white) of which the Masked is the legitimate origin of this color, and the dilute yellow Fischer's is ultimately of hybrid blood.

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FURTHER INFO.

• They love baths - so make sure they have bathing facilities with clean water, daily.

• They do not mix well with smaller finches or canaries etc., as they can nip their legs clean off.

• Be careful if adjoining Aviaries contain smaller birds.

• Make sure they are double-meshed to prevent such accidents.

• 19g small mesh ideal and helps prevent vermin getting in too.

• Lovebirds (Masked & Fischer) are very hardy and do not need to be kept particularly warm all the time, but should not be exposed to freezing conditions.

• They are fairly consistent in their breeding efforts. 

• With a little luck, patience and conditioning one can expect about a dozen young each year from a steady, compatible pair. 

• These birds are fun to watch - they seem to be little clowns, always showing off.
  
  

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