How to Tell Male and Female Lovebirds Apart? A Few Practical Methods

Lovebirds have a fierce temperament and bully the weak, with females in heat being even more aggressive. Their calls are loud and varied, sometimes noisy and disturbing, and they may attack other birds. At this time, if a female is paired with a male for breeding, their calls drop sharply and their temperament improves, so it is best to keep lovebirds in pairs. Now let us take a look at how to tell male and female lovebirds apart!

How Much Do Lovebirds Cost?

Lovebirds are very affordable. Common brown-headed lovebirds cost about 60 yuan per pair, yellow peach-faced lovebird chicks cost 80 yuan per pair and adults 120 yuan per pair, green black-headed and blue black-headed lovebirds cost about 150 yuan per pair, green peach-faced lovebirds about 200 yuan per pair, while violet (ink blue) lovebirds, rainbow lovebirds, golden silk-headed lovebirds, white red-eyed lovebirds and purple-red lovebirds are more expensive and generally rare, with no fixed price.

How to Tell Male and Female Lovebirds Apart?

1. Head shape: The male's head is occipital, pointed, and slightly smaller. The female's head is flat, smooth, and purely round, slightly larger than the male's.

2. Body shape: The male is thin, with tight feathers, active and aggressive, with a greater distance between the eye ring and the top of the head, and the eyes appear smaller. The female is plumper, with slightly loose feathers, less active, with a shorter distance between the eye ring and the top of the head, and the eyes appear larger.

3. Tail feather tips: The male's tail feather tips are more pointed, forming a V shape. The female's tail feather tips are forked, forming a W shape.

4. Cloaca: The male's cloaca shows a small distance between the pubic bones and has a protruding ridge (that is, a pointed structure). The female's cloaca has a large distance between the two pubic bones, especially in adults where a middle finger can fit in, and it is flat with no protrusion. This method of identification is particularly accurate; an experienced person can correctly distinguish male from female even in young birds.

How to Prepare Lovebird Feed

1. Egg millet: Mix 1 kg of millet with 4 egg yolks, usually accounting for 40% of the total feed.

2. Rice: Rice with the husk still on is best; lovebirds really like eating the seed coat of rice, which can supplement starch, protein, trace elements and various vitamins, and can also strengthen the beak's chewing ability. It usually accounts for 30% of the total feed.

3. Millet: Millet generally accounts for 10-15% of the total feed.

4. Others: The remaining portion can be fed with hemp seeds, barnyardgrass seeds, melon seeds, etc. Based on practical experience, feeding 10-20 raw melon seeds per day is best.

How to Best Keep Lovebirds?

1. Lovebirds mostly eat husked millet and like cereal grains with husks, but feeding only millet will leave the parrot undernourished, so a mix of various grains must be fed, such as rice, hemp seeds, barnyardgrass seeds, melon seeds, red millet, black millet, yellow millet, safflower seeds, sorghum, etc. Note that melon seeds should not be fed too much; feeding 10-20 raw melon seeds per day is best.

2. Besides grains, lovebirds should also be given some clean fruits and vegetables. Fruits should be cut into small pieces before feeding. Also pay attention to supplementing calcium for the parrot; you can buy some cuttlebone, or crush eggshells and mix them into the food. But be careful about the amount of food; the parrot should not be kept too fat, otherwise it will not breed easily.

3. Pay attention to cage hygiene and clean the parrot's droppings on time. You can spread some wood shavings or fine sand at the bottom of the cage to prevent bacterial and viral infections and reduce parasites. At the same time, pay attention to the cage's location; choose a quiet place free of disturbance, without environmental pollution, and with good, fresh air circulation. Indoors is not suitable for keeping parrots. Because parrots like to bite the cage, you should also prepare a chewing stick for the parrot, ordinary wood will do, to prevent the parrot's hooked beak from growing longer and longer and starting fights.

4. Chicks reach sexual maturity after about 6 months and can then breed, so you should prepare a wooden box or breeding box for the parrot. However, lovebirds do not breed in the hot summer; all other seasons are fine. Generally, a female lays 6-8 eggs per clutch, and the incubation period is about 19 days.

5. Lovebirds also need drinking water, but note that the water must be changed every day. If conditions permit, you can feed a little nutrient sand. Nutrient sand contains calcium, iron and many kinds of trace elements and nutrients, and helps strengthen bone firmness, make the feather color glossy, and supplement calcium, etc.