upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

Hey everyone.

I have two peach face loveys. I have seen them breeding today and I was wondering how long after they breed that I should see a egg. Also what would make a good nest? Should it be hanging or on the ground?

And if there is an egg (or more) then how long until they hatch and what should I do then?

Help me! Thanks!

It usually takes a couple of days until the first egg is laid, then they will continue to mate and the hen will usually lay an egg every other day or so. The hen may not start to incubate the eggs until a couple are laid. They usually hatch 21-22 days after incubation. If you do not have handfeeding experience, let the parents raise them. Did you plan on breeding? Are these birds proven or DNA sexed? They may be a same sex pair if you do not know their sex for sure as sometimes you will see mating behavior in same sex pairs. Are they mature? If not, you might not see eggs at all or they may not be fertile anyway. Make sure you are ready to take on the responsibility of raising babies (not saying that you are not but just in case this is your fist time). I put my nest boxes up, but in an emergency I will put them on the floor of the cage. It also depends on the cage itself. The aviary I have a couple pairs in is rather tall and so I put the boxes at the top, hanging from nails in the side of the aviary. I also have a flight cage (longer not tall) that I had a pair in and until I could get them into a different cage with a different box, they had a box on the floor of the cage.

I don't have handfeeding experience, so I will let the two of them handle it. But I have also been doing some reading and I do know that sometimes the mom turns on the hatchlings, so there maybe a need to handfeed (but not a want).

No I didn't plan on breeding, and no the two are not DNAed, I thought they were both girls (by what the past owners had told me, I guess one is going to have to be renamed)

I was wondering about the same sex pairs acting like a breeding pair, so it can happen? I may still have two females?

I was told the one lovey was/is 5 1/2 months old when I got her, about a month ago. So she may not be even able to have eggs (I had read that they need to be over 10 months old) Should I have her in with the other one? Will early mating be bad for her? or would nothing happen until she is mature?

I am a stay at home mom, so if worst case happened, I would be able to spend a far to large amount of time taking care of them.

I have a cage that has a side door, I also have a handy man for a dad, so I can have a outside mounted box made. The size of one I am still not clear on.

The young one is definately not old enough to have babies. Nothing bad will happen, you just won't have eggs. Yes, you may still have 2 girls. If neither one is sexed, you may even have 2 males. Is the older one doing the mounting? The older one may be male or female as females can sometimes mount a mate to show how it is done. If they get along and you don't mind the possibility of losing them as pets, then you don't have to seperate them. If you don't want them to breed (if they are in fact male/female) you don't have to add a box and hopefully the breeding instinct will slow down. When you add something like that, the instinct is stronger and the older one who is ready to mate may start to pick on the younger one.
Lovebirds usually make good parents but sometimes they will turn on their mate and the female can kill the male. I personally have never had this happen. I have always let the birds choose their own mate (they have never chosen a sibling or another species, granted I only have Peachface Lovebirds). Hens are usually very devoted parents and you probably wouldn't have a problem with them raising their own babies. But once they start, it is hard to get them to stop (at least in my experience).

Yes the older one is doing the mounting.

I would love to have the younger one stay hand tame and my pet, but the older one never really was interested in being touched. I am still going to have her out of the cage for some solo time with me each day. I take her out of the sight of the other one and she seems more willing to be held.

Ok I don't have a box now, so not adding one is a very good possiblilty I just wanted to make sure if I need one that I had one.

Thanks for all your help.