I am successful Lovebird Breeder!!!

06/06/2007 09:26:21 AM · #1

Here are pictures of my very first baby lovebird. These were the best I could get for now. Usually lovebirds have an egg clutch of 6, well they did and then nothing had hatched, then they laid another clutch, and I'm here with 10 eggs, total, its common to lose a few, at first I though they weren't fertalizing the eggs, and nearly gave up, but I happened to peep in and there was this little guy.

Kinda ugly, but already has more down feathers than yesterday, I'm gonna try to capture a picture everyday and keep a log on the changes.
The mother and father are mainly for breeding, I will keep one of the babies for myself, to hand raise at pet quality. I will sell the others to a pet store I had purchased the parents from. Then I will be buying the mate for my keep, they mate for life. I also think I saw another egg moving around in there. So if I am lucky I'll capture one, coming out of his shell. Thought I'd share this with you all.

bdenny

Sony DSC-H5

06/06/2007 09:30:00 AM · #2

Well, it is kinda ugly :) But I'm excited to see the changes it goes through as it grows...be sure to post 'em for us to see!

06/06/2007 09:32:07 AM · #3

I'll try.

irisheyes

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

06/06/2007 09:32:19 AM · #4

That is just too cool!!! Thanks for sharing.

colyla

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM II

06/06/2007 10:51:14 AM · #5

i love these kind of things too! Will definitely keep checking back for daily updates!

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

06/07/2007 04:54:22 PM · #6

Here are pictures from today, actually day three for the baby, but day two of the pictures. I'll have to keep all this strait, not really any changes except, the baby is starting to chirp quietly (so cute), and has alot more movement.

I should have some more babies coming along, hopefully.

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

06/07/2007 07:44:28 PM · #7

liberty, quite honestly, this is the best thread running on this site for me, and i do hope you can keep the updates coming!

a couple questions. is it possible for you to shoot an environmental shot to give us an idea as to where you've got them? (even better would be a shot showing how you're getting these shots.)

also, any chance of getting a feeding shot?

thanks again for sharing this amazing story!!!

Sunniee

Canon EOS-40D

06/07/2007 07:47:50 PM · #8

Ohhhhhh, this is awesome.... keep them coming!!! Congrats!!

06/07/2007 09:44:17 PM · #9

The eggs and the baby are in a nesting box attatched to the cage, the parents are kinda fiesty, that is why I will hand raise the babies to keep one for handling, so I have to shoo the parents out, and block the hole to get these shots, I am getting these shots by opening the nesting box hatch and using just flash for now, to make it quick.
They're really interesting to watch build the nest, they take the shredded paper I give them, bite it and twist it down to about a twist tie size, and they load them up into the males feathers, take them into the nesting box, and unload and situate the paper.
During the period in which the eggs are waiting to be hatched, the male bird will feed the mother, in the same manner that the babies are fed (spit up) to get ready to help the mother feed the babies. Its a whole nother world in there, and I am happy to experience this. I am also learning as I go, and I'm not too good at explaining, I'll try to answer any questions any body has. And it might take a miracle to get that feeding shot, but who knows. Thanks to all who are intersted.

magenmarie

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

06/07/2007 10:15:00 PM · #10

I've never seen anything like it! He is so cute, but ugly! I love it! He almost looks like a little alien! Please keep us updated. I'd love to see more pictures as they grow. :)

06/11/2007 05:21:09 PM · #11

Sorry its been a couple days but there hasn't been any changes until today when I discovered a new baby!!!!!!! You can see the size difference, the older one (#1) has track marks where the feathers are coming in, it's so cute he has his wing around his little brother!

I snapped one of the parents, they actually held still a second.

They are in the nesting box. They mostly just sit on their babies for the time being. I haven't caught them feeding, I think they wait until there is no body in the room. Oh yeah, you can see on the dad that he has nesting loaded in his feathers, right by where it says "dad".

Message edited by author 2007-06-11 17:22:25.

Sunniee

Canon EOS-40D

06/15/2007 01:58:03 PM · #12

How are the little birdies doing????

riversong

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

06/15/2007 02:12:49 PM · #13

THANKS for your wonderful thread. You are a jewel for sharing this with us. Your photos are so crisp and fun. I have a pair of parakeets that I think are getting ready to lay eggs, so I'm loving your story and images.

Your babies are sweet. I always wondered what a new-born chick would look like, they are so fragile. Good luck with your birdie-babies!

I bet you'll have a hard time deciding which cute one to keep!

Message edited by author 2007-06-15 14:27:51.

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

06/18/2007 03:18:50 PM · #14

WOW, 2 weeks old, and the younger one is 1 week.
I can't believe how much they change in a weeks time.

The older one is very alert and moves around alot, hard to get a good clear shot, he reacts to noises I make, and his eyes are open.

The other one is doing fine, he and his brother are always nestled together. I noticed how warm they are when I held 'em, warmer than us. I do have some bad news, I am down to three eggs left, when these two were born, I had 9-10 eggs. I hope all three will hatch, will just have to wait to see. The ma and pa somehow know if the eggs are bad, and they kill em off. I have found one egg burried before these were born, I haven't dug around in there since they were born. They are still demanding nesting supplies from me, and the female is acting like she did before they mated the first time, I think she is getting way ahead of herself!!!!!! :) You're only supposed to allow them three clutches of eggs each mating season, so I will have to remove the nesting box. But if they go ahead and mate before I can remove the babies/nesting box, then I will have to let them. That is where it gets tricky. As long as you allow the nesting box to be there, they will mate. When the babies are three weeks of age, I can remove them from the parents and take on hand feeding myself, in they're own cage. But I will still have to leave the box, because there are more eggs.
So it's all pretty much wait and see how it goes.
I hope I am explaining this to be easily understood........any questions....feel free, I'll try to answer with the best of my knowledge. Thanks to all who are interested.

lovethelight

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

06/18/2007 03:37:20 PM · #15

I had a lovebird once, it was the meanest, nastiest, most violent ferocious creature in the world....what a horrible animal.... i hope yours is much sweeter than mine was

genghis

Canon PowerShot Pro1

06/18/2007 04:40:05 PM · #16

Originally posted by jclairemcphotos:

I had a lovebird once, it was the meanest, nastiest, most violent ferocious creature in the world....what a horrible animal.... i hope yours is much sweeter than mine was

He/she was probably lonely.

06/20/2007 08:10:29 PM · #17

Ha Ha I've got baby #3!!!! I'll get better pics tomorrow, gotta run but heres one to show...

06/22/2007 04:44:12 PM · #18

I lost baby #3.....:( I had a feeling he wasn't going to make it. Looked very small. well two more eggs left.

riversong

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

06/25/2007 11:03:40 PM · #19

Sorry to hear about the loss of number 3 chick. They are growing so fast! What can of chirps do the parents make? My cockatiel can be pretty noisy at times. I think Love Birds are adorable! Thanks for sharing with us!

equatic

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

06/26/2007 03:16:47 AM · #20

Aww, they're so cute, but also weird looking, it would be fun to watch their feathers get colorful, but I have no idea how long that takes, maybe you'll get tired of taking their pictures by then.

Sunniee

Canon EOS-40D