Lovebirds
By Charlie Plaza, CPbirds.com
Lovebirds, scientifically known as members of the Agapornis genus, are small, charismatic parrots that have captured the hearts of avian enthusiasts worldwide. Their charming and affectionate nature, coupled with their vibrant plumage and endearing behaviors, make them highly popular as pets.
Species Diversity
Lovebirds belong to the family Psittaculidae and are native to the African continent. The genus Agapornis comprises nine species, each possessing unique traits and features. Some of the most recognized species include:
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Peach-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis): Known for their vibrant peach-colored face and green plumage.
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Fischer’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri): Distinguished by their bright green body and orange face.
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Masked Lovebird (Agapornis personatus): Characterized by their black “mask” and vivid green body.
Natural Habitat
In the wild, lovebirds are found in various habitats across Africa, including savannas, forests, and grasslands. They are social birds, often seen in flocks, and are known for their strong pair bonds.
Care Requirements
Caring for lovebirds involves providing a suitable environment, a balanced diet, and regular social interaction. Here are some essential care tips:
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Housing: Provide a spacious cage with horizontal bars for climbing. Include perches, toys, and a nesting box.
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Diet: Offer a balanced diet of pellets, fresh fruits, vegetables, and occasional seeds. Avoid foods high in salt, sugar, or unhealthy fats.
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Socialization: Lovebirds are social creatures that thrive on interaction. Spend time with them daily and provide toys to keep them mentally stimulated.
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Health: Regularly check for signs of illness and consult an avian vet for routine check-ups.
Behavior and Interaction
Lovebirds are known for their playful and affectionate behavior. They enjoy interacting with their human companions and can be trained to perform simple tricks. Their strong pair bonds mean they often form close relationships with their owners or other birds. Choosing a baby bird that is hand fed a socialized will give you the greatest chances of having a very friendly and social bird. Lastly, at CPbirds.com we recommend that you only house one lovebird per cage if you want to have a friendly pet. Having two in the cage will make the lovebirds bond with each other instead if you, the owner.
Breeding Lovebirds
Breeding lovebirds is a very rewarding experience. They breed readily easy with some tips and tricks that I have developed over the years. The first thing to consider is to start with babies. Babies sexually mature in as little as 8 - 12 months. A lot of breeders waste time "guessing" the birds sex by using several outdated methods such as feeling the pelvic bone, using a pendulum and waiting for the string to either go around in a circle or go in a straight line to indicate the sex or even trying to put a group together and waiting to see if the "kiss". My preferred method and arguably the most reliable way of sexing is by drawing blood and sending it to a DNA sexing lab. The blood is examined and you will get a report back from the lab certifying the sex of the bird. The second thing to consider is to get a spacious cage of at least 30" long x 18" wide x 18 " tall. My preferred nest box size for lovebirds is a 7" long x 7" wide x 18" deep with aspen shavings inside the box. (be sure to put a wirecloth "stairs" on the inside so the birds can climb out of such deep nest box). Lastly, I recommend increasing the fat content, adding vitamin E and vitamin S to the soft foods such as egg food every day at least 4 weeks after you give them the nest box to breed in. Discontinue the vitamin E and S as soon as they have laid the first 3 eggs but continue supplying the egg food until you remove the babies from the nest.
I must add to ensure you have a good plan to find homes for the babies as you do not want to be stuck with babies that you do not know what to do with. This is a crucial part of breeding responsibly.
Understanding Lovebird Mutations
The word mutations has an intimidating connotation because it is a bit complicated to understand however, I will try to do my best in breaking it down to simple terms that are easy to understand. For the record, I am no expert or consider myself a scientist. There are a lot more qualified people in this matter that are a lot more proficient than I am but I have bred birds and lovebirds for some time to know the basics which I will try to explain here.
I specialize on the Peach Faced Lovebirds (Agapornis Roseicollis) and this information, although can be applied to other types, mostly apply to Peach Faced Lovebirds.
Let's discuss what a mutation actually is. Mutation is a genetic variation of color in birds that causes the bird to look "different" than the wild type or "normal" color. So, a bird that looks different than the wild type or "normal" bird is a mutated bird and these mutations are either Dominant, Recessive and Sex Linked. These three types of mutations basically define how the mutated colors are passed down to their babies.
Dominant Mutation means that in order for that color to be passed down to the babies, you only need 1 of the parents to be that color mutation. There are no "splits" of this dominant mutation. One example of this dominant mutation is the violet. Only one of the parents needs to be visually violet to produce more violets.
Recessive Mutation means that in order for that color to be passed down to the babies, you need both parents to be that color visually or to be carrying that mutation in their blood. We call that "split". When the parent bird is a different color but it carries the mutation in their blood because in past generations their ancestors carried that mutation and it passed down to that one bird, internally.
Some of the most common recessive mutations are the Orange faced which is a bird where the face color is orange instead of red, the aqua or blue which is when the face color is pink with a green/bluish body and colored nails and feet, and the turquoise which is an almost white face with turquoise wings and blue body.
Sex Linked Mutation is when males carry double of the Z chromosome and females carry ZW chromosome. That means that when the male carries only one Z Chromosome, the bird "carries" it (Split) and when it carries both ZZ, it is visual but because females only carry one Z, the female either is or is not visual. They cannot be "split". A perfect example of this is the lutino (yellow) gene. Males can be visually lutino (yellow) or can be "split" to lutino in their blood but be a visually green bird. On the female side, if a female is green, it cannot be "split" to lutino. It MUST be visually lutino yellow in order to pass that gene to the offspring. If you put a male lutino (yellow) bird with a green female, all of the lutino babies that come out of that pair will be females, hence being a "sex linked" mutation. Now, if the female is lutino yellow and the male is green and not split to lutino "yellow", you will get all green baby birds but all the males out of that pair would be visually green but carry the lutino "yellow" mutation in their blood hence what we call "split" lutino. Now, if both parents carry the gene (Male is green "split" lutino "yellow" and female is visual lutino "yellow") then you can get both sexes Males and Females lutino "yellow". Same goes when both parents are visual lutino "yellow".
I hope this helped you in learning the basics about genetics of the Peach Faced Lovebirds.
As always, if you have specific questions, please reach out to me using the CONTACT US page.