Lovebirds ????????? HeLp?

Question

I re-homed a lovebird and his cage 16th August and got told by him that the lovebird IS a male (I renamed him moody).

Picture (not him but same colour)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masked_Lovebird

I let Moody settle in his cage for a few days before I let him in with my other lovebird that I thought was a female (called Peachy) But now I think that Peachy is a boy. ????

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DenglerSW-Peach-faced-Lovebird-20051026-1280x960.jpg

When I put Moody with Peachy they had a fight but I separated them for another day and tried again, this time they were fine. Moody went in the nest-box and started to make a nest with the newspaper I put at the bottom of the cage he shredded it up and takes it in the nest-box it's full of it now just enough room for Moody to come out and go in but he still rips up the paper for the nest.

There's a round flat hole ready for the eggs.

Peachy isn't bothered about any of it

Moody is a girl because she has signs of laying an egg.

My questions is this :

How do I make Peachy take notice of Moody?

and

How do I make Moody stop taking any more paper in the nest-box

Answer 1

Both birds will continue to bring papers into the box. Even after the babies have hatched. They do this so they feel secure that the nest they built is strong and won't fall apart. Also, the more papers in the nest, the more warmth for the babies. Just allow them to continue what they're doing.  

Answer 2

Well by your picture if this is similar to your bird ,then you have "Cockatiels" and not "Lovebirds"

Love birds will carry bedding to their nest box but Cockatiels will not,by your statement then you have Lovebirds.

But come back with the correct species.

In any event if Moody is a female she will get on with her egg laying irrespective of what Peachy does,so make sure that you have plenty of Cuttle bone and a Mineral block for them as egg laying depletes the hens body mineral content.

Edit. Sincere apologies I did not look at the web site which you showed but assumed that the avatar which you showed at first was similar to the bird's in question.

But irrespective my advice for the welfare of your birds is still the same.

Answer 3

one major problem here. you have bought a masked faced lovebird and a peach faced lovebird. trust me we have alot of lovebirds and mixing the two different breeds is a no go area.  look on any lovebird website i can honestly tell you they will all say  the same thing.

Answer 4

If possible remove the paper so they can't shred any more.

They're sort of like society finches in that they can be ridiculous nest builders.  The problem comes when/if they do lay eggs and when/if they do hatch.

Coming and going from the nest - a shallow nest close to the entry way can cause the birds to accidentally kick out eggs and babies.

In terms of getting him to take notice of her, there isn't really anything YOU can do for this.

It takes time - and you are absolutely sure this is a male?

One idea would be to separate them for a bit of time, and while doing so.. if possible, increase the amount of light available to them over a period of a couple of weeks (so if they're only getting about 8 hours of light currently, increase it slowly to about 10-11 hours of light).

Sometimes, longer daylight hours can illicit a breeding response in stubborn pairs.

While doing so, make sure you are providing either a breeding aid supplement to the hen along with calcium, or calcium and a soluble daily vitamin.

This will help condition her for the production of eggs.

Good luck!