Cara Ternak Lovebird Koloni

Cara Ternak Lovebird Koloni

Cara Ternak Lovebird Koloni - Housing your Breeder Lovebirds

My recommendation is to start small when it comes to your breeding stock. Start with one pair and expand if you like at a later stage.

Lovebirds will generally breed well when kept as single pairs. Some lovebird species can be bred in a colony setting. The white eye-ring group of lovebirds are particularly well suited to colony breeding. This being said, the peach-faces are equally easy to breed in an aviary / communal setting - particularly if there was plenty of room for all. The major drawback of communal breeding is the fact that one has less control over the pairings. But if the caretaker isn't too involved in the genetics, that probably won't matter to many.

If indoor / cage breeding is preferred, get a good-size breeding cage - a cage that is large enough for you to put the nesting box in.

The cage / aviary should be large enough for natural branches, toys -- I love creative, fun homes for my birds. They spend their lives (or most of their days in their cages) -- make it a fun environment. SPACE IS IMPORTANT. The lovebirds at the very least should be able to "beat their wings" without hitting something every time. They need to be able to climb and play for exercise. I have heard the theory that supplying toys and the like will distract birds from mating or parenting. This is not so. The happier a bird, the better a parent it will be. Besides, we are not talking about automatic "breeding machines" -- birds are living beings. They deserve better than being exploited without consideration of their happiness and welfare.

Alternatively, if your preference is a larger aviary, please visit this website for samples of very attractive and functional outside and inside aviaries, including instructions for you to build them yourself -- if you are handy enough. It also has links to suppliers and ready-built aviaries / flights, if this is your preference.

Lovebirds are usually pretty social birds and many breeders keep a colony of lovebirds in one aviary. Because of their gorgeous colors, they make very attractive aviary occupants. However, they can be pretty noisy -- this is something to be considered if your neighbors are close and "noise-sensitive."

 

Nesting

Lovebirds reach sexual maturity around one years of age. Many can be sexually mature earlier - but it is not wise to breed them younger than a year.

Setting up the Nest Box:

I have always used a cockatiel nesting box; although at times they have settled down in a parakeet nesting box. But I always preferred to use the cockatiel box since smaller boxes would get messy quickly, and as the chicks grow, parakeet boxes get VERY crowded.

I provided my lovebirds palmfonds, tree twigs/branches, dried grass, leaves, spray millet, eucalyptus (refer to "safe woods - some caution advised), shredded / unscented / white paper towels, and even newspaper to tear up and carry into their nesting box. Decomposed non-toxic saw dust, wood shavings or other suitable materials are great to line the box with, to soak up any droppings.

Nesting log / nest-box material: Add about 2 inches of decomposed suitable nest box litter to the bottom of the box to help stabilize the eggs and absorb the droppings from the chicks.

Options for suitable nesting material are decomposed non-toxic saw dust, corn cob, shredded newspaper, clean straw / dried grass or wood shavings (i.e., Aspen shavings or wood chips). The larger wood chips the better, so the parents don't feed it to the babies or the chicks accidentally ingest it.

Please note that some wood shavings - such as pine, cedar and redwood - give off aromatic hydrocarbons (phenols) and acids that are toxic and can cause dermatitis, allergic symptoms and irritation of the digestive tract. They should not be used in cages, aviaries, or nestboxes.

Do make sure not to give any poisonous or chemically treated (insecticides / fertilizer) plant material to your birds. This website will provide you information on toxic and safe plant material for your birds. For non-toxic insect and weed control, please visit the Green and Healthy website.

If space allows, offering a choice of nest boxes, and placed in various locations within the aviary, can allow the parent birds to make their own choice.  Once a pair has chosen a specific nest-box and been successful in it, offer that one to them each breeding season.  Try and keep that one for their exclusive use.  Once a pair has chosen its nest-box, the other ones can generally be removed.  If the "spare" boxes are to be removed and moved to another flight, ensure the nest-box is cleaned to ensure the receptacle has the minimal contamination of mites, parasites and pathogens.