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22.01.2022 Sulfur crested cockatoos still one egg to hatch

22.01.2022 This cockatoo is having the time of its life Credit: ViralHog

21.01.2022 Some Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Photos.

19.01.2022 Musings from an aviculturist by Tony Silva My body shivered incessantly. The wind was making my already dried lips chap. the ground was covered in a fresh layer... of snow. As I walked the snow became compacted as I moved from aviary to aviary. The cockatoos, macaws and amazons were outside playing and resting rather than indoors in a shelter where the weather was warmer and the wind was absent. How could parrots tolerate such low levels? Many may be surprised to learn that most aviculturists across Europe have aviaries with both an indoor shelter and a corresponding outdoor section, which the birds access through a chute that can be closed to contain them in either side. It is not uncommon for parrots to experience weather that is -10C in winter. Kaj Herse in Denmark, for example, has a massive aviary containing Australian parrots ranging from Budgerigars Melopsittacus undulatus to Red-tailed Black Cockatoos Calyptorhynchus banksii. The birds remain outside year round. During a recent visit he also showed me his Amazons, which range from the common Mexican Red-head Amazona viridigenalis to the rare Red-tailed Amazona brasiliensis. They all shared one common denominator: the birds had a shelter but were exposed to the prolonged bitter cold without any detrimental effect. Parrots cannot be abruptly moved from a warm to a cold room. Rather they need to adapt. This transition allows a thicker layer of down and feathers to develop. Their diet will also require a higher fat level. This fat provides the calories their bodies need to survive the cold. In subtropical areas aviculturists tend to become extremely nervous when the mercury drops even slightly. If the birds are protected from the wind and rain, have been outdoors sufficiently long to allow their bodies to adapt to the climatic change and receive the proper diet, they will not be adversely affected by the cold. Heat stroke is in my opinion much deadlier. Across parts of the Asia and the Middle East the summers can be brutal. The birds then struggle to survive in the stagnant heat. They must have sufficient water to remain hydrated, an ability to cool their core body temperature and shade. Fog misters are an excellent means of cooling birds, but pans for bathing should also be available. Good air flow is also vital. I can recall visiting an aviculturist in Arizona during an extremely hot day. The birds were panting heavily, sat on the aviary floor and looked lethargic. They were approaching a critical temperature threshold. As I scanned the aviaries I realized how many things were wrong: The water pans were in the sun, causing the water to become excessively hot and deter bathing and drinking, and the air was stagnant. Solid partitions between the aviaries thwarted airflow. I quickly grabbed a hose, turned it on and waited for the water to cool and then sprayed the birds. I reacted because to me the birds were suffering. As cage birds, parrots are extremely tolerant. They can survive decades on a deficient diet, extremely cold and very high temperatures and even the inability to bathe, but these stressors compromise the body. They make the risk of illness escalate exponentially. I often become red faced with anger when I see someone feeding their lories seed. Some species can eat dry seeds, but these are the minority. All species require a nectar. They can be fed a dry food, though in my opinion such diets invariably lead to health issues. When someone asks me about feeding a dry food exclusively my response is always the same: Do you want your birds to live 5 or 30 years? Diet is one of the most important factors that an aviculturist can control. On a good diet, parrots can prove long-lived. They will reproduce for many years. On a poor diet, breeding results will be poor and as the female´s body loses condition, results will wane progressively until either she is dead or no longer reproduces. A good diet is NOT feeding the birds a bowl of seeds and occasionally cucumber, sugarcane or apple. A healthy diet contains a large component of vegetables, including cooked carrots, pumpkin and American sweet potatoes, all an excellent source of beta carotene; steamed beets and broccoli; a large assortment of greens, including edible weeds like dandelion; hot peppers (which are rich in vitamin A); peas, corn (not the sweet varieties), pea pods; etc. Fruit can be added, but only in small amounts. Select either tropical fruits likes papaya, guava or mango, for example, or heirloom varieties that are not sweet. I stress the importance of vegetables over fruit because wild parrots have not evolved to eat excessively sweet, ripe fruit, which in the wild are the target of fruit eating mammals and other frugivorous birds; to avoid the competition the parrots eat the fruits, pods and seeds green. Eating these items green exposes the birds to many toxins, which the plants produce to deter predation before the seeds reach their optimum germination state, but the parrots evacuate these by eating bark and soil. The diet of parrots can contain other dietary components. These include sprouting seeds and grains, pulses (which need to be boiled or sprouted and then lightly boiled to destroy toxic compounds) and whole grain bread or the so-called bird breads. Egg food is also used by many European breeders and can consists of boiled egg, grated carrot, chopped endive or other greens, whole bread crumbs and wheat germ or any of these and a commercial egg food preparation. When feeding these highly perishable foods care must be taken to avoid spoilage. When you have this concern, feed the commercial egg foods dry. Germinating grains and seeds are an excellent food but they can also be deadly as a result of bacterial blooms if they are not well washed. Many aviculturists on Facebook contact me asking why their birds do not breed. In most cases it is because their diet is below even an acceptable standard. Look at your diet in detail before you start questioning why your birds are not breeding. Nesting box sizes are another point worth discussing. Wild parrots select small, deep and dark cavities. Whether they nest in a tree hole, the ground or a cliff face, they alway look for a small entrance and dark cavity to deter predation. This point can be placed into perspective with an example from a friend in Florida. He maintains a pair of Major Mitchell´s Cockatoo Cacatua (Lophochroa) leadbeateri in a covered lanai. The pair was given what he thought was a beautiful nest a cavity large enough for a person to fit inside. Her was shocked when the pair nested in a ceramic vase nestled between plants. The vase was small and met the security requirements of the pair. I have seen many macaws excavate a hole in the floor of a walk in aviary rather than nest in a large drum available. For almost all parrots, provide a nest that is not very large in terms of width and length but with a great depth. This depth is important because it provides a dark nest bottom. Many pairs that break their eggs will cease to do so when such a deep nest is offered. Nests with a small width and length and a great depth are also preferred by many species. When offered they are often the key to inducing breeding. As an example, we have a pair of Senegal Parrots Poicephalus senegalus that just nested in a nest 25 cm (10 in) square x 36 inches (90 cm) deep. They had been offered by their previous owner a nest 30 cm (12 in) square and 35 cm (14 in) deep. They did not even bother looking inside. Within a few months of coming to me they had started nesting. This is not because I waved some miraculous want. It was because I made the nest attractive. In the wild nesting parrots typically have stained beaks and head and chest feathers; the feathers become stained from coming into contact with tree sap and tannins. This staining signifies they are actively preparing the nest. They simply do not find a suitable cavity and being laying. They find a cavity and then spend weeks or even months preparing it for nesting. They chew the entrance, inner walls, extend the depth and then kick out the chips of wood they have chewed. This is why pairs in captivity evict so much shavings, the common nesting substrate. To kick out the shavings is a simple process, but to prepare a nest requires effort. This task is performed by both sexes. As they spend time inside the nest, the darkness begins to induce gonadal development. I have always added chunks of wood to the nest. My objective is to add sufficient wood to reach the nest entrance. This focuses the attention of the pair towards nest preparation. In cockatoos I believe that it distracts the male from focusing on the female to nest preparation. This is important to deter male to female aggression, injuries and even murder. The wood also has an irresistible attraction, which is often sufficiently great to induce nesting in a pair that would have otherwise not done so. I do add shavings to a nest but only if the pair has eggs or young. The shavings then keep the eggs from rolling around and the nest hygienic from the droppings of the young. My nests are either made from wood or metal, the latter with a wooden floor. I detest the use of pots a common nesting receptacle in parts of Asia. Pots must be cleaned every other day if they are to be used, but most aviculturists are not so inclined. They then become a fetid sewage receptacle. The chicks, when examined, often have deformed nails from the feces adhering to their nails. Parrots are chewers. In no species is this more evident than in Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos Zanda funereus. They will literally demolish a thick perch in a week. This may be the extreme but all species chew wood. This is why I recommend wooden perches. I an saddened when I visit an aviculturist and I see metal, cement or PVC perches exclusively. In my collection we have one PVC perch in each flight cage but this is intended to maintain the structure of the all wire, elevated cages; it is not intended for perching, though they are often used for this. The birds always have two wooden perches, which are placed much higher to make them more attractive for perching. These perches are replaced as necessary. The chewing is natural and when perches containing leaves and bark are provided they act as enrichment. Wild parrots are always interacting with their environment. They will chew leaves, bark, play with stones, insects and much more. They just do not sit perched all day, except when feeding or drinking. It is thus not acceptable to expect them to do so in a cage. They must be kept busy. This can be achieved by offering enrichment. Branches, pods, seeds, coconuts and much more can serve to keep them entertained. This enrichment deters aggression and feather plucking or mutilation. When readers contact me about their plucking parrot and I ask for a photo, almost always the image shows a barren cage, often with a plastic oil metal perch and occasionally with plastic toys. These artificial items are never the same as natural enrichment. Toys can complement enrichment but I do not believe that they can substitute enrichment. Some months ago an avicultural author visited my collection. As we walked around, he stopped in front of a cage containing a newly acquired pair of Blue-eyed Cockatoos Cacatua ophthalmica. He commented that I should remove the litter from their cage or they would not breed. By litter he was referring to pieces of unhusked coconuts, palm seeds and pinecones. My response was terse: Thank you. At the end of the tour I walked into a holding room. It contained three Blue-eyed Cockatoo chicks that had been produced by the pair he had looked at earlier in the day. I mentioned their parents and ended the visit to the baby room with: I supposed they did not read your book. This pair had in fact ignored each other on arrival. It was clear that their focus was not on each other. I then worked to make them notice each other´s presence. I placed their food inside whole green coconuts. The two worked together or alone to reach their food. They took notice of one another and this resulted in them breeding. Breeding parrots is not just having two birds of opposite sex together. It requires that many factors be considered, that both their physical and biological needs be met and that the aviculturist show the necessary commitment to achieve success. Finally, if you enjoy aviculture please like and share information from Stop the World Parrot Trust on Facebook. This group is not a friend of aviculture and is undermining bird keeping. We as a community need to get the word out so that people stop supporting this group.

13.01.2022 Spring has sprung early eggs starting to appear have kakarikis red rumps sunconures corellas and sulfer crested cockatoos on eggs sulfers have 3 fertile eggs the season is looking good

10.01.2022 Breeding parrots: some husbandry guidelines By Tony Silva Commercial breeding operations that supply the pet trade with captive bred parrots were rare outside t...he US and South Africa until about twenty five years ago, when facilities that specifically produce young for pets started appearing in Brazil, Asia and elsewhere. Today hundreds of young amazons, caiques, macaws and conures, to mention just a few groups, are captive bred each year and they ultimately become pets. Advances in aviculture relating to diet, disease control, incubation and hand-rearing of young have been profound in recent decades and it is these advances that have allowed commercial operations to proliferate. I have visited breeding facilities throughout the world and have more than 40 years of experience in breeding parrots; to date I have bred 82% of the approximately 350 parrot species. I have also studied parrots throughout the world and have amassed significant data on breeding biology, diet and behavior. This experience and data has led me to some some conclusions that can lead to success. Water is a source of pathogens throughout the world, resulting in many avian mortalities. Most aviculturists in the US, Australia and Europe utilize tap water, but in Asia, India and Latin America many treat the drinking water by boiling it. Many then make the mistake of pouring the water into freshly washed dishes that were rinsed in the questionable tap water. This often undermines the treating of the water. Placing dishes on the ground can also be a source of pathogens. There is also the risk of bacteria proliferating in a dish of water where food has been dunked; in a tropical climate food added to the drinking water, a habit of many parrots, soon results in a bacterial soup. Because of this, I highly recommend an automatic watering system or if the breeder has just a few pairs the use of water bottles. The parrots quickly learn to drink from the nippleswedging a sunflower seed into the nipple to allow the system to drip for a short while is all that is typically required-- and the water flowing into the system can be filtered, passed through UV filtration and chlorinated. All my birds drink water that has passed through filtration and UV disinfection before being chlorinated and entering a storage tank. From this storage tank the water goes into a pressurized tank than supplies the birds with drinking water. We treat the water thus because in the countryside where the farm is located only well water is available and in a well bacteria can be a be a problem. The water is transported to the cages by dark plastic pipe such as that sold for containing electrical cables; white pipe will grow bacteria and fungus as light can penetrate and should not be used. Each cage has a water nipple that is accessible to the birds. The center spigot, when moved, releases water, which the birds drink; many also learn to bathe by moving the spigot until it drips. The nipple is inspected daily while the birds are being fed. This allows early detection of any malfunction. A tap at each bank of aviaries allows the water in the pipes to be refreshed, so that the birds always have very fresh water. Once weekly, additional chlorine is used to flush the pipes. The tap is then opened to flush all the hyper chlorinated water from the pipes before the birds are allowed to drink again. If you opt to use water bottles, have a replacement set on hand. This will allow you to wash and allow them to dry. Water bottles if exposed to light will grow bacteria. They should therefore be sprayed painted black. Treating water and then providing it in an automatic system reduces considerable manpower, which can then devote the time to diet and management of the flock. It also reduces pathogens considerably, and healthy birds are more likely to breed than those that are clinically ill. The perception of cage size requirements has evolved over decades. Thirty years ago I bred African Greys Psittacus erithacus in cages as small as 90 cm (3 ft) square, feeling that the small enclosure met the requirements for the security that these parrots need. Over time fertility and reproduction began to wane. This species was at the time readily available as imports and the pairs were replaced. But my curious mind thought of an experiment involving Maroon-bellied Conures Pyrrhura frontalis to prove whether the waning reproduction in the African Greys was due to cage size or some other factor. For the trials 12 pairs of Maroon-bellied Conures were acquired. Six pairs were placed in cages 60 cm (2 ft) square and another six were placed in flights 1.8 m (6 ft) long x 60 cm (2 ft) wide x 90 cm (3 ft) high. Within 14 months all of the birds, which were fresh imports, began to breed. After a period averaging 7 years the pairs in the 60 cm square cages became woefully unproductive, with many clear eggs, while those in the 1.8 meter (& ft) long enclosures continued to breed successfully. When several of the pairs housed in the small cages were placed in the 1.8 m (6 ft) cages their fecundity returned. The diet, lighting and room temperature was identical in both cases. This suggested that the inability to fly had long term effects. The pairs in the 1.8 m long cages continued to reproduce for another 5 years, when the experiment stopped; the space was needed for another species. These results clearly demonstrated that enclosure size directly affects long term reproductive health. My minimum enclosure recommendations follow; if the birds can be given more space than by all means it should be offered. All of the enclosures are suspended, so as to reduce the birds coming in contact with the ground, where feces, spilled food and a plethora of parasites can congregate. These cages also make vermin control (including rodents and snakes) easier when combined with a small mesh size; I prefer a mesh of 13 x 75 mm (1/2 x 3 in), which can exclude most snakes and all but the smallest rodents. The floor of the suspended cages should be washed regularly to maintain hygiene. Large Amazons, large macaws, Hawk-headed Parrots Deroptyus accipitrinus, African Greys, Indonesian and Australian parakeets (excluding Neophema), Asiatic parrots, Eclectus: minimum 3.6 m (12 ft) long x 1.2 m (4 ft) square. Small Amazons, large conures (i.e., Patagonian Cyanoliseus patagonus), large Poicephalus, large lories, fig parrots, miniature macaws: minimum 2.4 m (8 ft) long x 90 cm (3 ft) wide x 1.2 m (4 ft) high. Cockatiels Nymphycus hollandicus, Caiques, small conures, Brotogeris parakeets, small lories, small African Poicephalus parrots: minimum 1.8 m (6 ft) x 90 cm (3 ft) wide x 1.2 m (high). Lovebirds, parrotlets: 1.2 m (4 ft) long x 90 cm (3 ft) x 1.2 m (4 ft) high. For species that readily breed in colonies (some conures, Brotogeris parakeets, etc), the cage should be sized accordingly. The cages should be constructed of wire, except for very aggressive cockatoos and Amazons, where the side walls at the front near the nest should be solid or block their view of neighboring pairs. This can be achieved using sheets of metal. Perches should be fixed at each extreme. We use perch holders to facilitate perch replacement. The cages should have doors at both the front and rear to facilitate cleaning, the introduction of enrichment, catching birds and perch replacement. The food bowls should be placed in a hatch to prevent the birds from scattering them throughout the cages. The hatch also deters escapees. In our case and as already mentioned we use 13 x 75 mm ( x 3 in) mesh for the aviaries, but construct the foot hatches from 25 x 25 mm (1 x 1 in) mesh to facilitate cleaning. The door giving access to the food hatch should open up and should have a piece of PVC pipe attached horizontally across the lower front, this to prevent the birds from opening the hatch and escaping. This pipe should be filled with sand and capped. Another solution is to attach a section of metal pipe with wire, which will hold the door closed in case someone forgets to latch it close or the birds manage to open the hatch. The food hatch is covered with a metal shelf to prevent the birds from defecating into their food bowls. In my case, my birds are housed outdoors and the covering is also intended to prevent wild birds from defecating into the food bowl. Before this shelf was introduced, we periodically had health issues as a result of contamination from wild birds, which would defecate into the food bowls. After its use was implemented, such problems have been reduced almost to zero. In our aviary, we cover the front part of the enclosure but leave the rear part exposed to the elements. This gives the birds access to the elements. It allows some to sun bathe and others to shower during rains. Outdoors the nesting boxes should be covered with a mesh cage and have a corresponding door to that of the nesting box. This will prevent birds from escaping. I know of countless cases where the nests fell, or the birds chewed holes and escaped. The cage covering the nest should be affixed to the cage to insure the highest level of containment. The nests should be attached outside the cage, so as not to reduce flight space and also to facilitate inspection. A nest contained inside the age can be difficult to access, especially when the pair is aggressively defending it. The year long management protocol should vary according to species. African Greys should have the nest blocked after the main breeding season. Studies I conducted in Africa showed that the pairs leave the nesting area after the young fledge. They do not sleep in tree cavities like conures or caiques, for example, throughout the year. Blocking the nest after breeding was found to induce nesting the following season. Macaws, cockatoos and Amazons benefit from being flown together as a flock after breeding, this to replicate the flocking behavior seen in the wild. In the case of macaws, the pairs can be introduced into a large flight cage. Amazons and cockatoos should be separated by sex and allowed to flock in a large cage. As the breeding season approaches, they are returned to their breeding aviaries. This simple practice can result in improved fertility. Keen observation while flocking pairs often results in switched mates; divorce is not unknown in parrots. Dietary management should focus on before, during and after the breeding season. Studies I performed on caiques and conures demonstrated how productivity could be boosted by modifying the diet. All of the pairs were placed on a good pelleted mix. During the non breeding season they received maintenance pellets with some very small amounts of seeds or nuts. Two months before the commencement of the breeding season, the birds were placed on breeder pellets and fed very regularly on fresh field corn on the cob (sweet corn should be avoided), peas, steamed pumpkin, carrot, sweet potatoes and broccoli, peas, greens and a little fruit (mainly papaya, guava and mango). In addition, thrice weekly they received a mix containing either whole wheat pasta or brown rice, the aforementioned steamed vegetables and sprouted mung beans or partly boiled garbanzo and pinto beans. Nuts, seeds and whole grain bread supplemented the diet. This diet continued through the breeding season. Towards the end of the breeding season the pellets were switched again to maintenance pellets but the birds were fed the foods also offered during the breeding season. These foods were slowly reduced over a period of a month to segue to the more austere non breeding diet. Results in 12 pairs of caiques showed a 31% higher reproductive rate in the birds whose diet was manipulated compared to birds fed breeder pellets and fruits, seeds, nuts, the aforementioned pasta or brown rice and vegetables thrice weekly. Similar results were seen in the conures. To breed parrots requires a commitment to hygiene and a good diet. If these requirements are met, success will follow. If you enjoy aviculture, please DO NOT support the World Parrot Trust. They are a menace to bird keeping and aviculture.

06.01.2022 AVIARIES AND BIRDS

06.01.2022 Locals poped in to say hi