LOVE BIRD Infomation...

The African Love Bird is unusual in that some species are relatively new to the world of Aviculture, A few basic facts to remember about Love Birds are, first, they are small in size, second, they originate from Africa and its adjacent islands and third, all Love Birds are members of the parrot family. This stout little parrot with its short rounded tail comprises a total of nine different species. While some species are nearly as common as budgies, others remain as rare as the most elusive bird in the wild.

Life Span: You can expect a healthy African lobe bird to live around 10-15 years or even longer with good nutrition and care. 

Sexing: Monomorphic, 
Whether you choose one Love Bird for a pet, or a pair, you will want to determine the sex of the bird. Generally, the hen has a broader head, shoulders, and pelvic span than does the cock. The first two characteristics can be seen, the third, felt.
to feel the pelvic area, hold the bird with its back against your palm, with your thumb and little finger capturing the wings against the body. The head will protrude between your second and third fingers. This leaves the belly area clear for you to insert your finger between the bird’s legs. You should be able to feel two points of bone just above the tail. If the two points are extremely close together, the bird may be a male. If you can almost insert your little finger between the points, it may be a female. You have a 50% chance of being right!

Breeding: To breed African love bird, you will need to acquire a true pair and identify the sex of your birds before you set them up.

The Incubation Period: They will lay usually 5 or 6 eggs, and the incubation period is approximately 23 to 25 days.
   
Care and Housing: African lovebirds do not require fancy or ornamental cages. They require bigger cages for comfort and easy cleaning. Cage should be large enough not to cramp the birds' tail and feather. Individual cages range from 24 inches long by 30 inches high 24 inches wide. Cages are usually made of wire mess or metal. 

Diet: Once your bird has settled in its new home, feed your bird a good basic seed mix of finch mix, parakeet mix, and wild bird seed. If you provide fresh, insecticide-free greens, shredded carrot, and fresh corn kernels, you should not need to give vitamins, although vitamin supplements will not harm the bird. High protein dry baby food is a good supplement. Cuttlebone and mineral block should always be available. Millet spray is always a treat. Whatever diet you chose should be maintained, as the bird’s digestive system will adjust to it.

Water: Clean fresh water must be available at all times.  Some birds bathe in the drinking water. Others like Asiatic parrots will not bathe in their drinking water so provision may have to be made for a second water bowl. There are a number of automatic and semi-automatic watering systems now on the market as well as "home made" systems that are used successfully both in outdoor aviaries and indoor rooms.  When the dry mix is not mixed with water and is fed as a separate dry food, the birds will then drink from the water bowl and leave some of the food in the water.  Regular thorough cleaning of the water bowl is essential. 

Sunlight & Vitamin D: With aviaries having fully covered roofs, care must be taken to ensure no deficiency occurs. 

Mineral & vitamin supplements (including calcium):  Keep in mind with supplements, the correct dose rate you should get good results, but, if more than the prescribed dose is administered, it could be toxic or even fatal to the bird’s and or the babies. Seek advice from a veterinarian before adding these items to a bird's diet.