Green Cheeked Conure - Chicks

28th October - My first Green Cheeked Conure chick hatched, followed by a second and a third in the following days. The female is very protective and has not left since the chicks have hatched and is quite often joined by the male. This gives me far less access than the Indian Ringneck Parrots do afford me.

17th December - There has been a greater distance between chicks as can be seen in the picture. The largest has developed some yellow wing feathers so I thinking it maybe a mutation as no yellow feathers are present on either of the parents. 

I have not handled the much so I tend to get the odd nip when handling them at this age.

Green Cheeked Conure - Sitting

The Green Cheeks have finally started sitting. The first egg was oddly crushed or broken by the parents which I though might be a sign that they were not going to have young this season however the female has laid at least a further two eggs.

Chick Progress - Indian Ringnecked Parrot

22nd September - My male Indian Ringneck "Nippet" does occasionally visit the chicks in the box but this is the first time I have been able to document it.

He is very aggressive (towards me) at the start of breeding season but tends to settle down and is back to his normal self once "Nelly" has laid eggs and is sitting.



 30th September - The chicks are starting to fledge and get their feathers. My early guess of colours are Creamino (looking very Lutino at the moment but it is very similar to my Creamino from last season) and Blue or possibly Turquoise aka Pastel Blue.

14th October - The chicks continue to fledge at great speed, it wont be long until they are emerging from the box. Colours are now definite; Blue and Creamino

25th - 26th October - Saw the emergence of the chicks from the nesting box the Creamino was first followed by the Blue the next day. The caused the normal chaos in the aviary as they learned how to fly. I have witnessed my adult female "Nelly" still feeding the young as late as the 12th November.

I will get the pair DNA tested and leg banded as soon as my baby Green Cheeked Conures (born a few days after the chick came out of the box) are out of the box and old enough.

Feeding - Flowering plants

When doing a little garden maintenance a decided to try my birds on some native flowers from a bush (as they are a particular favorite of Rainbow Lorikeets and Crimson Rosella in the area).

I didn't think they would get much interest as I thought they were more a Lorikeet thing but all the birds seemed to be very interested in them; particularly the Princess Parrots that didn't leave the trimmings until the flowers and buds were completely dismantled.

Nesting Activity - Indian Ringnecked Parrot

I thought I best produce a timeline of nesting activity for the Indian Ringnecked Parrots

1st August - Introduced nesting box (height 43cm, width 23cm, depth 23cm) on a shelf at the rear of the aviary about two thirds from the ground and I half filled it with non toxic saw dust.

A few days after introducing the nesting box I witnessed breeding and noticed removal of some nesting material from the box.

12th August - Found the first egg in the box, this was followed by an egg every two days after until there was four by the 18th August. It was noted during this time the female "Nelly" would spend most of the day outside the box but sleep inside during the night.

5th September - In the afternoon I discovered the first egg started to hatch; I found the following morning that the hole was only slightly bigger.

Egg the following morning (6th September)

"Nelly" with eggs (a rare sight)

6th September - First egg hatched and it was promptly followed by the second egg the next day. I went away for the weekend leaving for two nights and when came back on the Monday afternoon the further two eggs attempted to hatch (cracked holes) but had failed and the chicks died. I have since removed the eggs from the box.

16th September - The chicks have grown well and I have handle each for the first time; the parents food intake has increased for the chicks also. It appears one will be a light colour (Albino, Creamino) and the other will be darker (Blue, Pastel Blue); this seems to be obvious by the eye colour (the older is darker and the younger has lighter eyes).

20th September - The chicks growing well and are obviously two different colours. I have been handling them the last few days (once in the morning and once in the afternoon).

Light eyes

Dark eyes

Gouldian Finches

The Gouldian Finches have also made there intentions made clear that they would like to start laying eggs. They built a make shift nest out of grass on the side of the aviary with in two days.

As a result I have introduced the finch nesting box back into the aviary using there dried grass a internal nesting material. I craft a hollow round ball in the nesting box out of the dried grass. I have been told Gouldian Finches are particularly lazy in building there own nest; something definitely not shared by my pair. The male has since taken up century duty at the entrance as the female has disappeared inside. 

Dried grass used as nesting material in a commercial "finch" sized box

New breeding season

The signs of a new breeding season are beginning to show. The interaction between pairs are a real sign but my hand rared male Indian Ring Neck parrot has given his real and obvious intention to produce young. 

He has become aggressive!! as he does every year until the eggs are hatched; he generally goes for my hand while I try to change the water.

Non toxic saw dust used as nesting material

I have thus introduced the nesting box back into the aviary. I'm expecting eggs by the end of August.

Spring has sprung!!

Commercial "Parrot nesting material" available from a pet shop used, she chose a "Cockatiel" sized nesting box.

I introduced some nesting boxes into my larger mixed aviary to offer some protection from the element to my birds in winter (anything to avoid the loss of bird experienced last year).

It has resulted in my Bourke female laying eggs earlier than I would like. I believe this is her third clutch and she is yet to hatch anything; I will let her finish the clutch and see how things progress.

Inbreeding

Unfortunately with my Jap Quails I got to witness the side effects of inbreeding. When I purchased them he questioned if I was going to breed them or just use them to keep the aviary floor clean and now I know why...
I was suspicious when one started pecking the side wall of the aviary for no apparent reason.

Of the five I purchased one got a large growth around the neck area and the rest got some sort of foot growth to make there feet swell. There natural short life span has left me with one left.

It is a sad fact that this is probably a common practice to achieve colour mutations and just poor practice of a large colony breed birds.

Soaked Seed

A while back a purchased a male Scarlet Chested Parrot from a breeder who had some strong opinions about breeding birds and he mentioned the benefits of soaked seed.

I then found some documentation online but it seemed mostly to do with finches but I have since also found a lot about parrots as well.

I have put it on my to do list but until now I haven't given it a go. It is fairly simple it is basically washing, then soaking, then draining and waiting for the seed to sprout. I have used my normal seed mixture and from what I have read you are to make sure there is no bad or mouldy odour.

This offers a lot of nutritional value for the bird and simulates what they would forage for in the wild.

I have included a YouTube video that explains the process.

There was positive response by all my birds to the soaked seed and there was very little if any left in there cages this morning. It is definitely something that I'll do more often from now on.  

Cockatiel (Leptolophus hollandicus)

Cockatiel

Leptolophus hollandicus

Also known as Quarrion

Sexing -


The male has more yellow face than the female. The female
has yellow banding in  the tail feathers which the male lacks.


Noise -

Medium, they can produce a decent chirp if needed but generally fairy quite.

General care -

I will be keeping my had rared Cockatiel inside, so she will be higher maintenance with general cleaning and I will be handling her often to keep her tame and get her used to me.

Breeding -

I will not be breeding this Cockatiel. At least for now.

Red Rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus)

Red Rumped Parrot

Male (above), female (below)

Psephotus haematonotus


Commonly known as Grass Parrot. They are quite a beautiful bird not alway captured in a image or even seen when walking past them in a cage. When I first seen them in the wild when I was in Marulan  for work was the first time a really appriciated what a beautiful bird they were.


Sexing -


The female is duller and lacks the "Red Rump"


Noise -


Medium, can be noisy when bickering but in general appear fairly quite.


General care -


I hoping they are very hardy and low maintence bird. Provide Fruit, vegetables, greens, grasses and seed daily like all my birds enjoy.


Breeding -


This is a young pair and can breed as of this year (August to December will be there season).

I will provide a selection of boxes but I expect they will probably choose a larger square box.

Nowra Bird Sale

This year I decided to invest in some new breeds of parrot at the Nowra bird sale.

Unlike previous years I believe the rain scared off a few attendants which made it a lot more pleasant to walk around and view the birds.

This year I was particularly interested in Eastern Rosella or Galah but the lack of Galah's or the a reasonably priced pair of Eastern Rosella seen me settle for two other breed that have interested me also.

I purchased a pair of Red Rumps also commonly known as Grass Parrots for $30 to be placed in my larger aviary. They had a bit of of a sorting out period when the Princess Parrot decided to show there dominance of the aviary even fighting between each other but it soon settled down.

I also purchased a hand raised Cockatiel for $35. My son has taken a particular interest in "her" a think they will bond well once he learn she doesn't always want to play!I find myself saying "gentle" a lot. She will live inside for the time being, I'm excited to have another hand raised bird  to interact with.

MIA Gouldian Finch Chicks

A family emergency left my birds to fend for themselves for a lot longer then normal. I returned to find only one Gouldian Finch chick in the nesting box and the other two were missing. I quick scout of the aviary floor produced one chick alive and well that had tried the leap of faith a little too early. The other took sometime to locate; it was dead in the front corned of the nesting box under some grass (causes unknown).

The feathered chick should be flying around within a few days.

9/2 Lost my smaller Gouldian finch yesterday. It way half way across the aviary (too far for the amount of feathers it had) and found my other nearly fledged one out of the box again this morning, I returned it by but it was dead when I got home from work today in a similar position to the other.

Lost all my Gouldian finch chicks which is really shitty to say the least. Maybe inexperienced parents or maybe vermin (although no evidence of late and I do bate where the food is kept)

Lost a Gouldian Finch chick

Unfortunately I have lost one of my Gouldian Finch chicks. It has been pushed from the box (presumably). I was shocked to find only three chicks in the box, I later found the fourth lifeless chick on the ground after I lot of searching.

Gouldian Finch - Chicks

The very vocal for there size Gouldian Finch chicks are growing well and starting to fledge.

They have sacks around there necks that seem to be filled with seed.

I have only just dared to pick them up as the seem so small and breakable.

I plan to trade the chicks for other Gouldian Finch
         blood lines or other finches.

He bit me!!

As with all my birds my Green Cheek Conures are getting tamer with time as they get used to my daily appearance in the cage. They have been coming down almost grabing the fresh fruit or vegies out of my hand each day. Today however one swooped down a bit my thumb knuckle as a placed some carrot down and drew blood.

I expect to get bitten when catching birds or in the case of "Nippet" my hand raised Indian Ringneck around mating/nesting times but this totally caught me off gaurd.

Hopefully I can turn this lack of fear into being able to handle them possible while feeding rather than just an all out attack each time.

Freebies

I have managed to score some free aviaries and cages.
















The first was a aviary advertised on Gumtree and although it has some rust on one side and at the door I have made some repairs; it will make a nice chook pen and allow me to separate my chickens from my birds. Although I still will use my chooks as cleaners of the aviary floor from time to time.

Second was some cages on the side of the road. Always handy to keep birds in when a good clean out of aviaries is required and to separate birds if needed.

Gouldian Finch Chicks

My Gouldian hen has hatched four chicks out of five eggs.

She actually gave me a look when she exited the box for the first time yesterday.

They are very tiny as to be expected and quite ugly with the little shiny growths on the side of there beaks.

I very stoked to get my first success with finches. 

The female has done all of the sitting on the eggs that I have witnessed occasionally joined by the male (even though I have read they share). The male has spent more time in the box since the chicks have hatched however.

The chicks have grown quickly and there parent have allowed me good access as the spend most of the day out of the nesting box.

Another Rescue Mission

Where I work its a big glass building and we tend get a few birds hit from time to time. This poor little King Fisher was stunned and unable to move after a hard hit. 

Happy to say it made a full recovery after some quiet time in a dark cardboard box and flew away after a few hours later.

Gouldian Finches

I though I had lost my Gouldian finch female, after believing for a moment she had escaped I found her in the nesting box.

They have added to the dried grass I put in there and I'm unsure how many eggs she has as I don't want to spoil any nesting activity.

The Gouldians have added to my Bourkes in a late summer/early Autumn nesting that I have not had in previous seasons.

Bourke Parrot - Second Clutch

My Bourke female has decided to sit on a second clutch for the season. I did expect it after her first clutch failed to hatch a egg.

She has been very protective from the start this time and she is sitting on four or more eggs (she wont give me decent look).

Hopefully this clutch will be more successful for her. 

Worming

All my chicks are fledged so time to worm all my birds. Twice a year occurance for me but I have had advice to worm even up to three times a year.

It seems to be a common occurance when I purchase a bird from expirienced breeder that they tell me if the bird has been wormed or about the importance of worming and I thus pass this same advice on to the people who purchase my birds.

Indian Ringneck Parrot - New Pair

I have made my new Indian Ringneck pairing. "Turk" my turquiose male and "Blondie" my young Creamino female. She is a bit of a bully to Turk but she has done well being seperated from her family in the ajoing section. I don't believe they will breed next season and won't even introduce a box because she will be too young. Its more about bonding them at the moment.

New Princess Parrot female

I have been lucky enough to pick up a new female Princess Parrot to pair with my male from a breeder not too far from where I live.

She is a split blue (blue farther) and has a interesting yellow spot on her head. Being purchased from a breeder allowed me some great information about breeding Princess Parrots I haven't been able to get to date. The biggest was what type of nesting box to use (Z type in this case).

I have introduced her to the aviary and although caused a bit of commotion early she has settled in nicely. 

Parrots for Sale

The time has come to sell last season young. I'm going to list my blue male and albino female Indian Ringnecks for $80 each and my Green Cheeked Conures for $60 each.

I list on two sites Petlink and Gumtree.

25/1 I have had the most response from Gumtree and I have managed to sell two Green Cheeked Conures and my blue Indian Ringneck.

I have used some of this income to purchase a new female Princess Parrot for $70.


28/2 My Gumtree add is still running, I sold my last Green Cheeked Conure during the week and although I have had several inquires about my Indian Ringneck I'm yet to sell her.

3/3 Final sold my last bird of the season (Albino Indian Ringneck). Just got to be patient and wait to find the correct buyer. I notice when I get a email if I get a name at the end of the email I'm much more likely to get a buyer that is actually interested. grte