[basic care for your lovebird]
[exquisite aviary]
Aloha and welcome to my little home! Here you'll find information on Peachfaced lovebirds. On the left are links (some under construction) that you may find useful and some other links are just my personal bird-related stuff. ^_^
[about me]
Hello! My name is Maya and I live on O'ahu, Hawaii. I've had lovebirds for almost 10 years now. I started off with two, soon grew to 15+, and now am back to two because of space constraints when I moved into an apartment.
I first got into lovebirds when I was living on the Big Island and a Dark Factor Dutch Blue (with possible Single Factor Violet) hen flew to my then-fiance/now-long-time-ex while he was at work. We had named her Chame (pronounced Cammy, short for chameleon). We immediately got a friend for her, which later ended up chewing a hole through the screen window and flew away! When we moved back to O'ahu, the next partner we got Chame was a Creamino we named Red. That snowballed into getting Double Factor Violet pairs, Orangefaced pairs, Pieds, and more!!
When I began breeding, I made my bird cages by hand with 16g stainless steel mesh wire. Boy, was that painful for my hands!! But it provided me the luxury of making the cages to my specifications. Each pair had it's own cage, supplied with a wooden nest box, lots of toys rotated weekly, perches of varying sizes and materials, bird bath, and a diet of seed, pellet, and calcium supplement. I have since learned so much more and know to add lots of fresh foods - such as veggies, fruits, and grains - to their diet.
My breeders included a Double Factor and Single Factor Violet pair, a Dark Factor Dutch Blue and Creamino, and an Orangefaced Green and Orangefaced Lutino. The remainder of my flock were kept in separate cages and were not paired off because I didn't want to overburden myself with so many pairs.
All of my breeders, who were also pets, and single lovebirds got daily out of cage time and time spent with me. This is extremely important for their mental and physical well-being. My current babies are out and about for almost 10 hours a day.
The two birds I currently have are:
Mika - Chame and Red's first born on 09-08-01. (Very old photo of Chame here and Red here.) He is a Dutch Blue Edged Dilute/Greywing. I had believed all this time Mika was a girl, not being aware of the Ino sex-link, because she acted like a very typical hen. Several months ago I read an Ino article (that I was finally able to understand) and know now that she is a HE. I believe he is a hen in a male's body so I've decided to keep the girl's name, Mika. I call him my "little tranny." Hehe.
Kano - Is a Creamino and was a rescue given to me back in 2004 from a family of one of my preschoolers. They found the bird but couldn't give it the care it deserved because they had three large parrots that got all the family's attention. I'm not sure of Kano's sex, since I don't know his/her parents... I consider him a male just because he's never laid eggs in the five years I've had him with Mika.
I belong to several parrot forums and am constantly learning. I know I've made mistakes in the past, but will never make the same mistakes again. I don't consider myself an "expert" by any means, but I do have knowledge, the help of other breeders, and lots of love to give my lovebirds!! I believe you can never know everything about a subject!
I won't be able to get back into breeding until I move into a bigger place. I definitely can't wait, but it probably won't be for at least another year. I'll keep you all posted!! ^_^
[peachfaced lovebird mutation photo index]
[last updated 01-19-09]
© 2009 [email protected]
