Building a Nesting Box

[CarlotaPita]

Hi everyone!

I have two lovebirds, a male and a female. They usualy don't interact that much, in spite of sleeping always together. The other day, I noticed that the male was allofeeding the female and today I caught the male on the female, trying (I don't know if it was sucessful) to fecundate her.

I actualy don't want them to reproduce, because I wouldn't know what to do with the babies... I don't have enough room.

If I don't put a nesting box in their cage, will it do any harm to the female?

If it does indeed harm, what size is apropriate for a lovebird nesting box?

Thank you

 

[GaleriaGila]

I don't know much about lovebird nesting, but I expect somebody who does will be along soon.
My hunch is that the nesting box wsill only encourage mating, and I doubt that the lack of it will harm the female. Most likely, the only way to avoid babies will be to take the eggs away. I would also advise that you make sure the birds, especially the female is on a good, calcium-rich diet.
My personal favorite system is...

Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.
Another couple of ideas...
My ol' man is an athlete and health nut. He actually EATS all the good stuff, so it's always around. I find that tossing various stuff into the food bowls at random is good... the variations and differences seem to stimulate curiosity and attention.
The other idea... if you can stand it (lol) EAT the stuff in front of the birds, yes. That encourages them. I have also found that if my ol' man eats stuff in front of the bird, the bird WANTS it for himself. Kinda a rivalry thing!

 

[itzjbean]

Thank you for the post and reaching out before acting on your own. Don't put the nestbox in If you don't want babies. Gail above is right, adding a nest box to their cage will only encourage them to breed. They can still live perfectly happy, healthy lives without reproducing.

And you are so right, taking care of baby birds is a daunting task, especially when the mom or dad end up hurting the babies or not feeding them or something. That's what happened to my last clutch of cockatiels, there was a runt getting picked on so I had to separate (he was getting his feathers plucked and not being fed) and handfeed him on my own. He would've surely died if I didn't have the knowledge of hand feeding but luckily I was able to wean him out just fine.

 

[CarlotaPita]

@itzjbean and @GaleriaGila Thank you so much for your help! What if I don't put the nesting box, won't she lay the eggs on the floor of the cage or something? In spie of not being the perfect situation if they reproduce, I don't want the babies to die...

 

[itzjbean]

@itzjbean and @GaleriaGila Thank you so much for your help! What if I don't put the nesting box, won't she lay the eggs on the floor of the cage or something? In spie of not being the perfect situation if they reproduce, I don't want the babies to die...

Remember that just because they lay eggs doesn't mean a baby will hatch. There is always an incubation period of at least a few weeks where mom has to keep babies warm and then if conditions are right, they'll hatch. When eggs are laid on the floor of the cage (if she does) simply reach in and remove them. You can toss them in the trash and no harm done. If mom is trying to incubate eggs, wait until she leaves/goes to eat/loses interest and then dispose of them.

 

[LordTriggs]

@itzjbean and @GaleriaGila Thank you so much for your help! What if I don't put the nesting box, won't she lay the eggs on the floor of the cage or something? In spie of not being the perfect situation if they reproduce, I don't want the babies to die...

Remember that just because they lay eggs doesn't mean a baby will hatch. There is always an incubation period of at least a few weeks where mom has to keep babies warm and then if conditions are right, they'll hatch. When eggs are laid on the floor of the cage (if she does) simply reach in and remove them. You can toss them in the trash and no harm done. If mom is trying to incubate eggs, wait until she leaves/goes to eat/loses interest and then dispose of them.

as a word of warning this can sometimes lead to them laying more and more to replace the missing eggs, a method I have seen is when the parents aren't looking to quickly pick up the egg and shake it to destroy any embryos inside it. I know it may seem controversial but no different really than throwing the egg in the trash. Ultimately if you don't want babies you'll have to do something at some point to stop them developing