May 2012 issue out now!

• The Pied Mutation in Indian Ringnecks
• The Hooded Merganser
• Bronze-winged Pionus
• Finches: to feed live food or not?
• New Age Birdkeeping
• On the Brink
• DVD Review: Birdkeeping the South African Way Part 4
• Loro Parque News
• The Last Kakapo
• Profile: Tienie Carr

56 full colour pages with up-to-date information on:

• Avian Management
• Breeding of Parrots, Finches and other species of birds
• Health and Disease
• Nutrition and Feeding
• Latest News and Conservation
• Bird Products for Sale

Subscribe and Save! CLICK HERE!

Whether you should buy a baby bird that is weaned or not, is not the issue here. I would like to help you deal with the situation where you have bought a baby bird, the seller has informed you that “it is still hand fed three times a day and this is the food you must feed it and this is how it is done.” That is about all the help you will get! And then you take your cuddly new baby bird home, you feed it like the man said and all is well. And then suddenly one day the bird refuses to eat, and, like the frustrated mother of a two-year-old toddler, you prepare food umpteen times a day and only manage to squeeze a mouthful of formula into the reluctant beak now and again. You even buy another formula at great expense, thinking that there is something wrong with the one you are using. Still your baby bird seems to have lost his appetite. Now the panic starts: Is he sick? Will my bird ever eat again? Will he die of hunger in front of my very eyes?

You should know your bird well enough to be able to tell if he is sick or not. The chances are he is simply refusing to eat the same amount of food as normal. He needs less food. In fact, he is even allowed to lose a little weight at this stage. Indeed, over feeding at this stage can lead to death, as we discovered years ago when we were still novices, crop feeding baby Indian Ringnecks. They had no opportunity to refuse food. We just filled their crops to capacity three times a day. They all died suddenly, and the post mortem showed thick layers of fat under their skin. Clearly we had fed them to death. Had we known, or had we fed by spoon or syringe, we would have been able to let the birds tell us, by refusing to eat, that they did not need so much food any more.

So what do you do? At first, feed less at each meal and then after a few days, leave out one meal. Your bird should be eating more eagerly at fewer mealtimes because you are not over feeding him when he does not need so much nourishment. Once your bird is fully feathered and starting to fly, he can be put into a cage with some water and fresh foods. Continue feeding him twice a day while he experiments with the foods in his cage. If he has older birds from which to learn, he might learn to eat by himself sooner, but even if he is on his own, his instincts will gradually kick in and he will know how to shell seeds and eat other foods. By not over filling his crop at each meal, he will be just a little hungry enough to be inclined to nibble on the foods left in his cage. As he eats more of the adult food, you can feed him less and less until you can see that he can shell seeds and eat the contents, and that the bits of fruit and greens and pellets are actually swallowed, not just chewed and dropped onto the cage floor.

You can calculate the expected weaning age by taking the age at which species would leave the nest if parent reared and adding 2-3 weeks for medium-sized parrots (Greys, Amazons) and about 10 days for small species (Lovebirds). Lories and Lorikeets can be weaned within a day or two provided they are ready for it, but most other parrot species are weaned gradually over a month or so. Amazons can be independent by 12 weeks of age, Greys and Eclectus at 14 weeks or so, and Cockatoos and Macaws at between 5 and 9 months.

There are no prizes for the birds that wean the youngest or the quickest. Forced weaning can lead to physical and emotional stunting, whining, hungry and stressed birds. Enjoy your baby bird; do not wish him to grow up faster. This is the time during which you are bonding and during which he is learning to trust you implicitly. This is the time during which he will be willing to try all the good foods that he must eat if he is to remain strong and healthy and live a long, happy life as your companion.

The book “Hand-feeding and Raising Baby Birds” (available to order online here) is a very comprehensive guide, and contains all the information needed to successfully raise chicks from eggs.

• Vol. 24 No. 04
• Scaly-breasted Lorikeets
• Golden Macaws: A Unique Colour Mutation
• Disease in Canaries
• Violet Mutations in Lovebirds
• Fallow Mutation in Yellow-crowned Amazons
• Loro Parque News
• Profile: Ernest Kriel
• Cape Parrot Newsletter

56 full colour pages with up-to-date information on:

• Avian Management
• Breeding of Parrots, Finches and other species of birds
• Health and Disease
• Nutrition and Feeding
• Latest News and Conservation
• Bird Products for Sale

Subscribe and Save! CLICK HERE!

• Vol. 24 No. 03
• Golden Conures (Guaruba guarouba)
• Unusual Breeding Success with Blue-cheeked Amazons
• The Cuban Finch
• Keeping and Breeding Roul-Roul Partridges
• Profile: Bennie & Ann Jordaan
• In Memoriam: “Oom Vonk”
• News from Weltvogelpark Walsrode
• Parrots 2012 Convention

56 full colour pages with up-to-date information on:

• Avian Management
• Breeding of Parrots, Finches and other species of birds
• Health and Disease
• Nutrition and Feeding
• Latest News and Conservation
• Bird Products for Sale

Subscribe and Save! CLICK HERE!

The way that you react and respond to your parrot will have an important bearing on how your parrot reacts to you. The rules that apply to training or communicating with a dog or cat – will not be gladly received by a parrot, so, it is imperative that the psychology of a parrot is understood implicitly.

Body language is a fascinating subject and learning to read the signs and interpret the vocalizations accurately, will give you a deep sense of satisfaction – while at the same time allowing you to form a deeper bond with your parrot. Some body language is more obvious than others, but with experience and a little guidance, you should be able to interpret even the most subtle of expressions and postures – allowing you to respond to your parrot positively. Misunderstandings can cause great upset and lasting damage.

Through body language, parrots convey messages not only to other birds kept in the household, but also to other animals – and humans alike. It is a language that is often stronger than the spoken word and is intended to be understood by all. It is just us humans – who are not so naturally receptive to the complex mind, thoughts and actions of a parrot and have to learn through experience.

A huge diversity of emotions – from happiness to fear – can be conveyed through your parrot’s eyes, wings, tail, beak and crest (if he has one) and together with his overall posture – and the vocalizations he is making – can tell you explicitly what he is feeling. Here I set out guidelines on how to read your parrot precisely – and allow you to always respond to him positively.

Positive body language:

Contentment
A happy and contented parrot, will first and foremost, look relaxed, bright and alert, but there are a number of other ways that he may show this too. A parrot may flamboyantly swing upside down from the highest perch in the cage – to show happiness – or he may sing, talk or whistle, while perched on one foot. In a quieter moment he may softly chatter or murmur to himself in melodious tones, or quietly engage in a therapeutic preening session.

Parrots that are encouraged to talk will often show contentment by softly reciting phrases to themselves – over and over again. A cockatiel or cockatoo, in addition will hold their crest back, with just the tip tilted up, to show that they are relaxed and contented, but if they become more excitable – they will lift their crests.

Even if a parrot is dozing he can still show contentment, by nonchalantly grinding his upper mandible sideways against his lower beak. When a parrot is in this congenial state, he will often alternate this calm and pensive time, with engaging in short bursts of activity. He will typically climb all over his cage, clang his bell and perhaps charge up a ladder – before settling down once again.

This is the perfect time for a parrot to have a couple of hours out of his cage and spend quality time with his keeper. This timing very often coincides with when the family are all arriving home or just after it has got dark outside.

Attracting attention
When a parrot is pleased to see you – either first thing in the morning or after returning home during the day – he will often greet you by rapidly moving his tail from side-to-side excitedly and begin to chatter loudly. A cockatiel or cockatoo will often click their beaks just once as a greeting – or perhaps to say ‘thank you’ for something. If they click their beaks several times in succession this is not a greeting – but a warning – and the bird should be left alone.

A parrot may also begin to lightly flutter his wings too – when you are around him. This is a much gentler motion than the normal wing-beating, when he is exercising his wing muscles. This action usually means that the bird is asking for something. It could be that he wishes to be petted or is looking forward to being fed. Sometimes a parrot will do this when asking for a special food treat or some fresh cool water to drink that he is used to at a certain time of the day.

If a parrot is asking to be sprayed with water he will often hang upside down from his perch flapping his wings. He is anticipating a lovely cool shower – which will wash away any dryness or irritation he is feeling – and thinking of the long and enjoyable preening session which will ensue.

If a parrot wants company and wishes to come out of his cage he will often show this by running up and down his perch or by climbing animatedly up the front of his cage. Some birds will even rattle the cage door when they want to be let out.

If you fail to respond to any of these spirited requests, the parrot’s first reaction is often to screech loudly, puff up its feathers around its neck and flap its wings – in frustration. If he still gets no response the parrot is likely to get louder.

If the bird is out of his cage, but is trying to gain your attention he may ‘click’ his tongue against the inside of his beak or bob his head back and forth in order for you to take notice of him. A parrot may also start displaying to you by spreading his tail feathers and making animated movements, and if he is a cockatoo or cockatiel – raise his crest too. To enhance the bond between you and your parrot, always concentrate on your bird when he is putting on these special shows and always respond to him by showing your appreciation.

• Vol. 24 No. 02
• The Gorgeous Gang Gang Cockatoo
• Blue Mutations in Hookbills: Part 3
• Diatomaceous Earth for Birds
• The Pin-tailed Parrot Finch (Erythrura prasina prasina)
• The Fig Parrot Diet
• Profile: Jaen van Deventer
• Loro Parque News
• Actions for the Swift Parrot
• Rearing Couas at Weltvogelpark

56 full colour pages with up-to-date information on:

• Avian Management
• Breeding of Parrots, Finches and other species of birds
• Health and Disease
• Nutrition and Feeding
• Latest News and Conservation
• Bird Products for Sale

Subscribe and Save! CLICK HERE!

Travelling to every corner of Australia, Peter has captured some real insights into the feeding, mutual preening and bonding behaviours, nest rearing and everyday habits of numerous species—Yellow-tailed, Carnaby’s White-tailed, Glossy and Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, Galahs, Gang Gangs and the majestic Palm Cockatoo are a sight to view in their various habitats around Australia.

Smaller endemic parrots featured include Little, Musk, Red-collared and Rainbow Lorikeets, the rare Golden-shouldered Parrot and the Turquoisine, Red-rumped, Crimson-winged, King and the Eclectus Parrots, as well as Marshall’s Fig Parrots in the Iron Range and Port Lincoln Parrots.

Western Australian forms of the Long-billed Corella and the Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo G. l. mollis are filmed drinking and bathing at waterholes and sitting and entering tree nest sites—including some internal nest footage. Colourful Crimson Rosellas feed in the Atherton Tablelands and the shy Western Rosella feeds warily, conscious of Peter’s presence.

Peter’s message, while preserving what may be a rare record of some of these species in the wild in the future, is to focus on the plight and pressure under which wildlife are placed, while also highlighting the wonderful characters and intelligence of the parrot family.

Another of Peter’s superb armchair travels through the world of parrots.
Reviewed by Sheryll Steele-Boyce

Peter’s still photography is well known and admired. Now he shares with us all the first DVD in a series depicting a plethora of species filmed at various collections worldwide. This DVD features 80 species and subspecies in captivity.

Peter narrates basic details on each species, including distribution and status in the wild and in aviculture. Capturing the antics, behaviour and calls on film show so much about the idiosyncrasies of these superb specimens of South America.

Species
Macaws
Amazons
Conures
Pionus Parrots
Mountain Parakeets
Caiques
Hawk-headed Parrots

Reminiscent of Peter’s still photography, the footage is of the highest quality colour presentation. Armchair travel at a fraction of the cost: a must-have and a fabulous gift.

Species

Lories and Lorikeets
Black, Raja, Brown, Yellow–streaked, Cardinal, Red and Blue, Violet–necked, Red, Blue–streaked, Black-winged, Blue–eared, Dusky, the Trichoglossus group, Varied, Iris, Goldie’s, Chattering, Purple–naped, Black–capped and subspecies,Purple–bellied, Yellow–bibbed, Collared, Blue–crowned, Kuhl’s, Tahitian Blue, Ultramarine, Musk, Little, Purple–crowned,Striated, Red–fronted, Blue–eared, Fairy, Josephine’s, Stella’s and its melanistic form, Arfak, Musschenbroek’s andEmerald.

The plumage of these lories are a sight to behold and Peter has captured their detail in exquisite clarity. You could just reach out and touch them.

Fig Parrots
Peter has travelled worldwide visiting numerous public and private collections to capture the antics and calls of theOrange–breasted, Desmarest’s, Edward’s, Salvadori’s, and Double–eyed Fig Parrots.

Hanging Parrots
The characteristic habits of Hanging Parrots are depicted in the Vernal (Green), Philippine, Blue–crowned, Sulawesi, and Yellow–throated species footage.

Peter has included narrated details on each species as well as distribution maps which are useful in relating to the environment these birds inhabit in the wild.

It is difficult to put into words how amazing this DVDs is. Find out! And enjoy!