Breeding LOVEBIRDS (Part One)

Masked Lovebird (Agapornis personata) at Auckland Zoo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lovebirds are especially affectionate parrots. There are nine species of lovebird, eight from Africa and one from Madagascar:

• Madagascar Lovebird
• Abyssinian Lovebird
• Red-headed Lovebird
• Peach-faced Lovebird
• Masked Lovebird
• Fischer's Lovebird
• Lilian's Lovebird
• Black-cheeked Lovebird

It is the long monogamous relationships that these birds have that gave rise to the name lovebird.

Their precise scientific classification is:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Aves
• Order: Psittaciformes
• Family: Psittacidae
• Subfamily: Psittacinae
• Tribe: Psittaculini
• Genus: Agapornis

It is hard to describe the color of lovebirds because they have been bred in so many different colors, but basically, they are mostly green with different colors on their upper body. They are really small birds which grow up to seventeen centimeters in height and sixty grams in weight - along with budgies they are some of the smallest parrots. On average they live for up to fifteen years.

In this three-part series, we take a look at what is involved in breeding these lovebirds.

Caring for parrots takes on a higher level of involvement when you make the decision to start breeding. You need to have very healthy specimens, kept on a special diet, and kept in very clean conditions. Of all of these factors, the most important is the diet, because not only is this important for fertility, but also for ensuring that the young a very healthy.

The first step to breeding lovebirds is getting a male and female, no easy task since these birds are sexually dimorphic and require scientific sexing to tell the male and female apart.

In the next article, we will discuss what special steps owners need to take for successful breeding

By Danny Oakes. Danny Oakes writes on http://parrotcare.tropicalpets.com/ about all aspects of parrot care, for those that keep parrots as pets. Article Source: EzineArticles

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