Question:i have bought a breeding box and tried different nesting matterals but the birds keep threwing it out of the box.i also bought egg food also tried boiled eggs and the birds show no intress in it.any help will be greatful.
mike
Answers:
I bet they are still young birds and cannot breed at this time because they are so young .
But what you can do is try giving them all sorts of material they would like, and letting them tear it up. Some types would be: paper, twigs, wood, or any type of cloth you can find. They also will not care for the egg you place inside because they know you put it in there and they also know it's not their's.
So i advise you to observe when they begin to showing sexual matureness in them ... for your birds to even start mating."
Perhaps it is not the breeding season for them. Perhaps they are not mature yet. Birds don't just hop into a nest together like people tend to do (so to speak), so it may take awhile.
More than likely, they are too young!
Breeding is never easy.
Why do you want to breed?
To better the species? Fine, do your research and purchase unrelated birds from a breeder.
Because you think it would be fun? HORRIBLE reason, this is the birdie equivilant to having a puppy mill!
Birds are an expensive and time consuming hobby. Poor breeding practices result in chicks that are not healthy or are predisposed to health problems!
Next, what will you do with the chicks? Pet stores won't buy zebra finches most of the time because they breed so quickly. Cockatiels and budgies (parakeets) end up in shelters, abused, or killed through neglect or improper feeding. Seed diets kill birds!
Do you have an extra $200+ to drop at a vet's office per bird if they get sick or eggbound? Just because the bird is small doesn't mean that the vet cost is less!
Please, for the animal's sake, do your research before jumping head first into an expensive and time consuming hobby.
Feel free to email me through my profile if you have questions.
Hi Mike - couple of things - three birds together is not a good idea. There can easily be conflicts that would interfere with breeding. Do you know how old the birds are? Are they of breeding age?
More important - do not put nesting materials into the nest box. Let them choose their own. I use a small cardboard box as a nest box and they shred some of the cardboard and newspaper strips I hang from the cage top.
Newspaper ink is made of soy beans so no need to be concerned about it. I cut a 2 inch hole near the top of the box and set the box in front of one of the tree branches I use for perches. The branch is just in front of the opening so they can land, then jump into the box. My lovebirds laid 6 eggs in May and hatched 5 baby birds. I am hand-feeding them all now so they will be tame pets. If I can help you any further, please contact me by email which you can find if you click on my 'photo'. Good luck - Bobbie F
Have you ever been the proud parent of a nest of little birds. I hope you have a lot of time on your hands, the little ones need to be feed every two hours. Also, and this is the more important point, they won't shut up! All baby birds do is cry to be fed the whole time they are awake. It's a wonder the parent birds don't push them out of the nest before their time.
They're likely too young...they need to be at least 18 months old.
Did you have them DNA tested to determine a male/female pair? Lovebirds are not visually sexed.
I suggest you read up on the pros and cons of breeding. I have bred lovebirds for 7 years now and I'm definitely not making money off of them. It's a hobby, not a moneymaker!!
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