THE IMPORTANCE OF NESTING MATERIAL

An article from Agapornis News, the Newsletter of: The African Lovebird and Foreign Parrot Society of Qld Inc.

Aviculturists have been successfully breeding lovebirds indoors and out for generations. We have encountered virtually every breeding problem possible, either directly or vicariously through conversation and reading. Assuming the breeding stock is healthy and sound, most of the problems seem to stem from inexperience on the part of either the humans or the birds.

For example, a new breeder recently asked us to take her birds off her hands before she 'liberated' them. We knew she had entered the fancy via the pet-companion route: her pet was lonely, she bought it a pet, they matured, and she became a lovebird breeder.

The problem arose when she added a nest box to the all-purpose cage they inhabited. Our conversation went something like this:

"They're so destructive! They demolished their nest the first day they had it!" (she had given them a wicker canary nest; I'm surprised it lasted an entire day.)

"The pet store gave me a nest guaranteed to withstand chewing ..... but they broke their eggs in it." (that time she used a small ceramic crock in a crock holder.)

"When I finally tried a wooden box, they went right in, but still broke their eggs !" (no nesting material!)

She didn't know that lovebirds are one of the few hookbills that require green nesting materials to successfully produce young. I know that some birds lay their eggs in just a little sawdust or shredded newspaper and hatch their young, but for the best results, they need green plant materials.

The greenery seems to fulfill several needs of the nesting lovebird:

• Shredding and carrying it to the nest seems to fill a psychological need for the birds and strengthens the pair bond as well as fulfils part of the mating ritual.
• The nesting material cushions the eggs and helps maintain a constant temperature.
• The moisture in the materials provides the humidity needed for the egg shell to be pliable enough for the young to peck through and hatch. The parents wet their bodies and carry additional water back into the nest to maintain the correct amount of humidity. The nesting material absorbs this moisture as part of the process.
• After the babies hatch, the material provides cushioning for the parents weight.
• As the chicks grow, it gives them a footing and continues to cushion and insulate them. Without the material, the babies can become straddle legged as their little legs spread out from lack of material to grip.
• The nesting material absorbs droppings so that the nest stays somewhat clean.

If the other nesting conditions are conducive but the lovebirds are breeding for the first time, be tolerant! Most lovebirds are separated from their parents as babies and either sold as pets or potential breeders. They have never seen the mating cycle! They learn to be parents through trial and error. It sometimes takes two or three nests before an inexperienced pair learns to mate, incubate their eggs all the way to hatching, and then feed the babies until they are independent. When we hear of dead-in-the-shell babies we work our way down a mental check list:

1. Are the parents inexperienced?
2. Was green nesting material available throughout the cycle?
3. Was water available to the birds for bathing? We use water tubes: the birds scoop the water out of the drinking part onto their chests to take back into the nest box.
4. Is there any disturbance in the breeding room during the night that might cause the birds to abandon the nest box ? Mice and rats are a tremendous disturbance to lovebirds. Besides contaminating the food and water, they keep the birds on edge. The birds can come out of the box to avoid being trapped, and then they may not be able to find their way back until daylight. By then, the eggs are cold and the babies are dead.
5. Is there a night light so that the birds can see to find their way back into the box?

While the breeding of lovebirds will never be without its problems, cage breeding indoors help eliminate many of them because of the ultimate control the breeder has over the breeding environment. The breeder can extend the "day" through lighting, change the weather, and fend off predators. He can see which pairs are compatible, and which are just two birds, probably the same sex. He can control breeding results, and identify splits.

We look at single-pair cage breeding indoors as a way of protecting each pair of birds from interference from other birds, predators, and the weather as they pursue their peaceful business of raising a family.