Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 3/8/2006

Question
Hi, I have a male peach faced normal green lovebird, He is handfed and friendly but I'd like to get a female handfed later this year to breed him with. I was wondering if he is friendly now and the female is friendly when I get her and I let them out and play with them daily(expet when there on eggs) will they still be friendly when they arent laying eggs? I plan to handfed the chicks... there isnt much demand for parent raised babies around here... I understand why there very nippy. How old do they need to be to breed? my guys only three to three and a half months old(had him since six weeks old). Also one last question.... if I breed a green or blue pied to him will the babies in the clutch be of assortyed colors?

I thank you for any advice you can give.

Answer
Hi.  Thanks for posting.

To answer your first question about whether your pair of lovebirds will still be friendly when they aren't breeding...it depends on the personalities of the individual birds.  Also, the best pet bird is a single bird in the home.  Once you introduce a second parrot, the 2 parrots usually prefer each other to their human(s) because birds prefer other birds to humans.  There are always exceptions to this, but this isn't something someone can predict in advance.  It's a chance we take when owning more than 1 parrot.  Sometimes tame parrots revert back to tameness after breeding season is over; sometimes not.  

Male lovebirds are able to breed when they are about 6-8 months old, however, females should not be allowed to breed until they are at very minimum 1 year of age...better for them at 1.5-2 years of age.  

The phenotype (coloration) of the babies of a green or blue pied to your normal peach faced depends on what other genetic phenotypes run in their families.  In other words, the coloration of the parent birds does not necessarily dictate what color their babies will be.  Phenotypes of hatchlings not only depend on phenotype of parents, but also phenotype of grandparents, etc.  Therefore, I can't predict with any certainty what colors the babies of the mating will produce.

Chrys