When to stop breeding birds?

[prettybirds]

I have a breeding pair of lovebirds they have been bred four times and are nearly 4 years old now the male is 5. they are in good health and active always laying past clutches have always been 5 eggs that hatch into 5 healthy babies that I hand feed. this clutch though only 3 eggs were fertile. is this a sign this should be there last clutch?
thank you

 

[Anne & Gang]

since the females should not start breeding until age 2 years and the males 18 months that means they have bred four times in two years..that is plenty ..I believe that since only 3 eggs were fertile this time you should stop and just let them be pets..of course they may have other things on t heir minds please do not separate them as you know they bond for life.

 

[KatherinesBirds]

That's plenty. They need a rest. Probably why you had some infertile eggs. I let my lovebirds have two clutches a year and after the first two years only once a year. My conures just once a year. Their bodies need a rest and feeding the young takes a lot out of them....and you.

Katherine

 

[65sunnyday]

I have never bred birds, but from everything I've read/heard, you should give them a year off (no breeding box or nest of any kind), & then let them breed again. Enforce the 'no breeding phase' by using dummy eggs if the start up again. Then I would richly reward them for what they have given you!!!

 

[mask]

Lovebirds can breed at 1 year old, but it's best to wait until around 16-18 months when they are fully grown.

2 clutches a year maximum, although for a caged bird I think this can be too much. When not breeding, my birds are in the aviary where they have plenty of space and experience the seasons. Their hormones can settle, their body can recover and they can quickly regain conditon.

Very important to let them have a good rest with no egg laying and make sure they are in condition before allowing them to nest.

4-5 years old is not too old for breeding. I have some 6-7 year old birds who lay and raise very well

Infertile eggs could be a number of reasons. Humidity, temperature, stress, condition, nutrional etc etc. Give them 10-12 months of non-nesting rest before trying again, if you want to.

 

[Jan]

In my books ... no parrot specie should be bred more than twice in a calendar year. Which means if they laid eggs and even if infertile that counts as 1. If they lay again and eggs are still infertile for the 2nd clutch then that should be it for that year. If they have 2 successful clutches and raise babies then that should still be all for that year. Ideally, you should remove the nest box from their area when done with breeding for that year.

You can let them go to nest each year.

 

[melissasparrots]

When my parrotlet pairs started to age, my first sign was that they were having increasing levels of infertility. I let mine go ahead and cycle through every year until eventually the female laid all clear eggs. Then I took the nest box out and never put it back up. It was clear her body could continue to produce eggs for a few more years, but if they aren't producing babies, then I don't want to stress them out. I started to notice this at about age 5-6 for the parrotlets. It was closer to 12-14 for my cockatiels.
Melissa

 

[prettybirds]

thank you that's plenty of help. I have no plans on splitting them up they have been together since babies. I will rest them for a while maybe two years.
How old should I retire them from breeding?
as well I find this couple is very persistent on building a nest, the male will pluck him self bald to build a nest of feathers when he is not breeding or given materials to build a nest in there box. would dumbly eggs help this problem?

 

[Renae]

I read up to 6-7 years old, sometimes older. (up to 10 years old) I would probably stop at 6 years old.

 

[kitsunebandit]

I usually allow my birds (regardless of species, whether it be finches or kakarikis or whatever) to have only two clutches per year, if that!

 

[mask]

thank you that's plenty of help. I have no plans on splitting them up they have been together since babies. I will rest them for a while maybe two years.
How old should I retire them from breeding?
as well I find this couple is very persistent on building a nest, the male will pluck him self bald to build a nest of feathers when he is not breeding or given materials to build a nest in there box. would dumbly eggs help this problem?

To break them out of nesting behaviours you need to mimic what happens in nature.
In nature they will breed when the environmental factors allow them to:

Daylight: When the lovebird is exposed to more than 12 hours of daylight in a 24 hour period, the males pituary gland produces hormones, increasing the sex-drive in females. There is also enough daylight for the birds to search for food for longer periods of time.

Food: There's a ready supply of high protein foods available to raise a family.

Nesting: There's plenty of cover and plenty of materials to build a nest.

When this is not available, the birds won't breed. Most pet birds live in the main part of the house and are given everything they need to mimic perfect breeding conditons:

Most will receive way more than 12 hours of light per day.
Most have full diets with high protein levels and large quantities.
Most have toys or materials available to shred and areas to make a nest, whether it's a sleeping hut or a feed dish.

When the birds are given the perfect siutation to breed, they will. Out of season, cut down their daylight hours to 10 hours per day. Feed them sensible amounts, not a never ending supply of food and avoid too many high-proetin foods in their diet. Don't give them anything to shred/chew. They can still have toys, just stick to hard ones, plastics/metals etc. I give mine some willow branches to shred up as a treat every few weeks.

It's not easy to change these factors in the main part of the house, but it's worth thinking about. My birds have their own room where I can control temperature, humidity and light hours and my birds never get nesty unless I allow them too.

In my opinion, these hormone/nesting inducing factors play a big role into the reason why there's so many pet lovebirds out there who pluck and self-mutilate.