Lovebirds Mating and Behaviour

nomayyy · Aug 30, 2019

Hi all!

I have recently adopted a pair of bonded lovebirds that are both approximately 3 years old. My partner and I have named one of them Mango and one of them Thunderpants.

The previous owners did not know the sex of the birds, and they had not laid eggs before.

This past week, I have noticed the birdies mating.

My question is, is it normal mating behaviour for the birds to switch positions? Sometimes Mango is on top, and sometimes Thunderpants is on top? I don't know anything about mating lovebirds! Ah. I sure hope they don't start laying eggs, although I'll freeze them since I can't take care of baby lovebirds at this moment in time.

Thanks for any insight!

Have a great day everyone :green1:

itzjbean · Aug 30, 2019

Lovebirds are named for their excessive mating behaviors and prolific breeding tendencies. Bonded birds that are the same sex can and will mate and switch positions. I don't normally see male and female switching positions though so it seems to me that both are one sex, could be both male or both female, but with no eggs yet I'm assuming both males.

However, only way to know for sure is to get their DNA tests done. You can go to a certified avian vet for this or get them online for relatively cheap at around $10.

I would NOT advise you to get a nest box or do anything to encourage mating if you are new to birds and caring for them. They can be happy together without reproducing (assuming they are female and male) otherwise they can be notorious for practicing a lot lol.

nomayyy · Sep 2, 2019

itzjbean said:
Lovebirds are named for their excessive mating behaviors and prolific breeding tendencies. Bonded birds that are the same sex can and will mate and switch positions. I don't normally see male and female switching positions though so it seems to me that both are one sex, could be both male or both female, but with no eggs yet I'm assuming both males.

However, only way to know for sure is to get their DNA tests done. You can go to a certified avian vet for this or get them online for relatively cheap at around $10.

I would NOT advise you to get a nest box or do anything to encourage mating if you are new to birds and caring for them. They can be happy together without reproducing (assuming they are female and male) otherwise they can be notorious for practicing a lot lol.

Thank you very much for your response!

I am finding that one of the birds is becoming very aggressive lately, and I think she's a female since she is more bitey and she is good at shredding paper with her beak.

Question for you! Or for other owners of bonded lovebirds - Is it nearly impossible to do training/trust building with owners when the lovebirds are mating? Because I am finding they are much more territorial of their cage and are trying to bite myself and my partner more, after we noticed they have started mating.
*I also want to note - there is no nest or anything where the lovebirds can hide in, to promote their mating behaviour.

nomayyy-albums-mango-thunderpants-picture21712-img-9684.jpg

Thank you!!!
-Nomi :green:

Lovebirds Mating and Behaviour

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