I think my lovebird might be about to lay?

[mkramer]

I have a peach-faced lovebird. It's my first bird, and so far, my only bird. I really love it. I say it, because when I bought it from a breeder, I asked its gender, and she felt around and said she thought it was male. So, that's what I've been going with. But lately, after doing a little research, I'm starting to think that Felix is female, and that she might be thinking about laying some eggs.

Here are my warning signs:

#1 Paper stripping & tucking. Felix has been doing this for months. It's practically his favorite pasttime. He's stripped hundreds of pages worth of pulp fiction novels, my college text books, a ream of computer paper, anything he can get his hands on. I read that this was a nesting instinct, and that females are more likely to do it than males, but that males do it. He's been doing it for so long I've stopped expecting anything to come of it (she never actually uses the paper, she just strips & tucks, then forgets about it.

#2 Wing spreading with low clicking. Now whenever I play with Felix and preen him/her, he is likely to bend low and spread his wings and produce a low clicking sound. It was this recent new behavior (cerca ~a week ago) that caused me to start doing a little research on this. Also, when I'm on the mouse, he runs up to my hand and bites my fingers, then runs away (I read somewhere that this could be a sign of jealous - is that true?)

#3 Large amount of poop underneath the cage perch. This is recent as well, it started a week or two ago. I know it means something, but what exactly does a large amount of poop mean in the context of these other indicators?

#4 I think he/she's getting fat. This is something I thought yesterday, before I read that her other behaviors might indicate a nesting instinct, so I know I'm not just making it up.

#5 He/she has taken to my drawer. All of the sudden, it's become Felix's favorite spot. I'm thinking she might see it as a nesting box?

#6 Lots of rubbing the beak against the ground. This is new, and it's only when she's in the drawer. I thought beak rubbing means the bird is annoyed, but she'll go from beak rubbing one second to wing spreading the next, so I don't know. Maybe she's jealous of me typing?

----

So, is my bird about to lay some infertile eggs? Is it too late to prevent that from happening without hurting her somehow? If it isn't, then what should I do? I've heard: A) Take away paper, B) shorten the light cycle. Anything else?

If it is too late (say, because the large amount of poop indicates a pregnancy), then how can I make her comfortable?

Thanks for your advice!

[Kippsmommy]

You have a female, she's bending over for you to mount!
Birds don't know your species, she thinks this is what you want of her. Males would crawl on the back of her wings to mate.
It could be this and her urge to breed.I've been a lovebird breeder for sometime now. It could also be an indication that copulation has taken place and she wants to do it again!
Look at her legs are they placed kinda far a part?
I'm positive you have a female, i bet money on it lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kippsmommy]

I have a peach-faced lovebird. It's my first bird, and so far, my only bird. I really love it. I say it, because when I bought it from a breeder, I asked its gender, and she felt around and said she thought it was male. So, that's what I've been going with. But lately, after doing a little research, I'm starting to think that Felix is female, and that she might be thinking about laying some eggs.

Here are my warning signs:

#1 Paper stripping & tucking. Felix has been doing this for months. It's practically his favorite pasttime. He's stripped hundreds of pages worth of pulp fiction novels, my college text books, a ream of computer paper, anything he can get his hands on. I read that this was a nesting instinct, and that females are more likely to do it than males, but that males do it. He's been doing it for so long I've stopped expecting anything to come of it (she never actually uses the paper, she just strips & tucks, then forgets about it.

#2 Wing spreading with low clicking. Now whenever I play with Felix and preen him/her, he is likely to bend low and spread his wings and produce a low clicking sound. It was this recent new behavior (cerca ~a week ago) that caused me to start doing a little research on this. Also, when I'm on the mouse, he runs up to my hand and bites my fingers, then runs away (I read somewhere that this could be a sign of jealous - is that true?)

#3 Large amount of poop underneath the cage perch. This is recent as well, it started a week or two ago. I know it means something, but what exactly does a large amount of poop mean in the context of these other indicators?

#4 I think he/she's getting fat. This is something I thought yesterday, before I read that her other behaviors might indicate a nesting instinct, so I know I'm not just making it up.

#5 He/she has taken to my drawer. All of the sudden, it's become Felix's favorite spot. I'm thinking she might see it as a nesting box?

#6 Lots of rubbing the beak against the ground. This is new, and it's only when she's in the drawer. I thought beak rubbing means the bird is annoyed, but she'll go from beak rubbing one second to wing spreading the next, so I don't know. Maybe she's jealous of me typing?

----

So, is my bird about to lay some infertile eggs? Is it too late to prevent that from happening without hurting her somehow? If it isn't, then what should I do? I've heard: A) Take away paper, B) shorten the light cycle. Anything else?

If it is too late (say, because the large amount of poop indicates a pregnancy), then how can I make her comfortable?

Thanks for your advice!
If she takes the shredded paper into your drawer, and makes a nest out of it, then she's has been copulated. Meaning she has mated with another bird before you bought her lol!
If she puts it in her tail feathers and physically takes it some where and uses it, she's a mommy!
I wouldn't worry about babies until this happens. Just to let you know-
Your bird is head over heels in love with you, and you're her mate!
To her anyway:D

[Kaye]

If she takes the shredded paper into your drawer, and makes a nest out of it, then she's has been copulated. Meaning she has mated with another bird before you bought her lol!
If she puts it in her tail feathers and physically takes it some where and uses it, she's a mommy!
I wouldn't worry about babies until this happens. Just to let you know-
Your bird is head over heels in love with you, and you're her mate!
To her anyway:D

Hum.. very wrong here.

Female birds do not have to have mated before laying eggs. That is 100% not true. If they want to lay eggs, they will, they'll just be infertile.

Also, the shredding and tucking of strips of paper is simply a nesting behavior, it does not mean that the bird will lay eggs. My Aleda did it for a long time before actually laying.

mkramer, your other assumptions about the jealousy and the fact that most of this behavior is distinctly female is correct. Lovebirds get what we call a 'torpedo butt' a couple days before laying an egg and their poops become very large and spaced the closer they are to laying. The concentration of poo in one part of the cage (beneathe that specific perch, for example) might just be where she spends a lot of time now or where she sleeps. The bending low, wings spread and clicking is a classic invitation by a female to mate. She loves you. ;) And yes, she might be getting a little clingy with your drawer because she thinks it's like a nestbox.

There are a lot of ways to discourage egg-laying (most of which you seem to already be aware of. Others include: removing happy huts and similar from the cage and rearranging toys and perches in the cage), but if a hen is dead set on laying, there's not much you can do. If she does lay, make sure you allow her to keep her eggs and sit on them like a normal clutch. She should abandon them after about 23 days when she realizes none are going to hatch.

[Kippsmommy]

Right, i never implied that, simply stated that it was a possibility that she may have mated. But since she is not using the shredded paper I doubt it.
Yes, birds do lay eggs without being copulated.