BIRD ISSUE TWENTY TWO: MARCH / APRIL 2015
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THE MAGAZINE FOR HOBBYIST BREEDERS AND CONSERVATIONISTS
ON • CONSERV ATI A RV
GREY-BREASTED PARAKEET ANYONE FANCY A CARROT STICK? BY EMMA FREEMAN
IS S 4T UE H 2 20 M 3 O 15 AY UT
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THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION UPDATE
CONSERVAT ION
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CONTENTS
BIRD SCENE: MARCH / APRIL 2015
CONTENTS DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND… CLICK THE LINK BELOW: www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php
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GREY-BREASTED PARAKEET
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ANYONE FANCY A CARROT STICK? By Emma Freeman
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NATIONAL EXHIBITION By Les Rance
ON THE COVER
BIRD ISSUE TWENTY: MARCH / APRIL 2015
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THE MAGAZINE FOR HOBBYIST BREEDERS AND CONSERVATIONISTS
ANYONE FANCY A CARROT STICK? BY EMMA FREEMAN
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THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION UPDATE
E H 23 20 M O 15 AY UT
34
GREY-BREASTED PARAKEET
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CONSERVAT ION
ON • CONSERV ATI A RV
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AS THEY GROW OLDER By Diana Taylor
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SECURITY REPORT By John Hayward ERVATION •C ONS O •C
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BIRD SCENE: Issue Twenty Two: March / April 2015 BIRD SCENE is run by The Parrot Society UK, 92A High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 2BL, England. FOR SALES AND EDITORIAL ENQUIRES Telephone or Fax: 01442 872245 Website: www.theparrotsocietyuk.org E-Mail: les.rance@theparrotsocietyuk.org
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INTRODUCT
Les Rance, Editor, The Parrot Society UK | www.theparrotsocietyuk.org | les.rance@
T
his is now the twenty second edition of Bird Scene and I am really pleased with the progress that has been made with this e-magazine over the past three and a half years. For twelve years I have edited the Parrot Society magazine which has been very interesting but from its very nature is limited to parrot species excluding the Budgerigar. Bird Scene allows me to study and enjoy all the other species of birds that are kept within UK aviculture many of which are exhibited at The National Exhibition which will again be held at Stafford on
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Sunday 11th October 2015. In fact one of the major objectives of Bird Scene is to publicise The National Exhibition and the bird clubs who have joined with The Parrot Society to allow their members to exhibit birds in a large exhibition. I have recently kept Cape Doves, Java Sparrows, Gouldian finches and Forbes Parrot-finches all of which have their own individual needs and challenges and gave me great pleasure to maintain, my birds are not show standard but good aviary birds. There is no doubt that to breed a nest of healthy youngsters of any of these
TION
BY THE EDITOR
LES RANCE
@theparrotsocietyuk.org four species gives great satisfaction and all the time I am increasing my knowledge of my charges. Besides publicising The National Exhibition another aim of Bird Scene is to promote the excellent conservation activities that the Parrot Society are assisting. In the previous issue we highlighted the Tasman Parakeet (Cyanoramphus cookie) which is one of the rarest bird species in the South Pacific. In this edition we are looking at the Greybreasted parakeet (pyrrhura griseipectus) from South America this is our latest conservation project that we are supporting financially. For our readers with an interest in pet birds we have two very interesting articles. Firstly ‘Anyone Fancy a
Carrot Stick skilfully written by Emma Freeman who has considerable experience with pet parrots. The second article ‘As They Grow Older’ features a Blue-fronted Amazon and Moustached parakeets and has been written by Diana taylor based on her personal experiences The words on the progress that is being made on the 2015 National Exhibition are down to me so really at this point there is very little that is worth adding, just enjoy this publication and rest assured that the 2015 event will be the best ever.
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PYRRHURA PARAKEETS (CONURES): AVICULTURE, NATURAL HISTORY, CONSERVATION 262 pages, 70 colour photos, 20 maps.
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DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND… CLICK THE LINK BELOW: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php
GREYBREASTED PARAKEET 06 08
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De inspecting a GBP natural nest
GBP team and volunteers banding the chicks
Baturité Mountains
Pyrrhura griseipectus in nest Fabio Nunes - AQUASIS
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Introduction to the Organization AQUASIS is a Brazilian NGO, founded in 1994, with the principle goal of protecting coastal habitats in northeastern Brazil. Since that time, the NGO’s mission has expanded to include preventing vertebrate extinctions and protecting biodiversity of the Northeast biomes: Caatinga and Atlantic forest ecosystems. An internationally recognized conservation leader, AQUASIS operates through three main programs: Protected Areas Creation and Management, Marine Mammal Conservation, and Threatened Bird Species Conservation. AQUASIS is recognized by BirdLife International’s Preventing Extinctions Program as the Species Guardian for two of the most critically endangered bird species in the world, the Araripe Manakin (Antilophia bokermanni) and the Greybreasted Parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus) (Figure 1).
The three programs work in concert with state and local conservation authorities to inform and aid in the ongoing creation of appropriate management strategies and action plans for species conservation in Ceará State. Pyrrhura griseipectus Project and Achievements The Critically Endangered Greybreasted Parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus) is presently known in only three localities in Ceará State, NE Brazil, with a historical record of fifteen sites in four different states, and is considered the most critically endangered parakeet species in Brazil. Current localities are the Baturité Mountains, where the largest population resides, Quixadá, and Ibaretama. It is important to note that when this project began in 2005, only the Baturité Mountain site was known,
Manatee (trichechus manatus manatus) 1: Pictures on this page and opposite are focal species that AQUASIS is involved with.
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Araripe Manakin (Antilophia bokermanni)
Grey-breasted parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus)
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2: Nest box placement and use in the Baturité Mountains
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and initial conservation efforts focused on determining the true distribution and promoting in-situ conservation actions. It was through this effort, coupled with community outreach initiatives, that the populations in Quixadá and Ibaretama were discovered, giving new hope to adding to the existing conservation efforts and to increase the discussion about the possibilities of the grey-breasted parakeets range and
3: Awareness campaign in Baturité Mountains
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it genetic diversity as bottlenecked species. Preliminary investigations indicated that Baturité residents were not aware the parakeet is endangered from illegal trapping and habitat loss. This is a common problem in Brazil and The Loro Parque Foundation, with its partner donors, supported the execution of a nest box program (Figure 2) for the 2008/2009 breeding season in conjunction with a
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4: Location of nest box sites and suitable natural cavities which have been discovered, in the Baturité Mountain area. Nest boxes located close to one another may not be visible as distinct points on the map.
conservation awareness campaign. The conservation awareness campaign actively promotes various outreach activities, including training courses with local teachers, special lectures in public schools, participation in community events, and the establishment of a project headquarters and visitor center with an onsite educator (Figure 3). This campaign was integral in the discovery of the two localities outside of Baturité and the ongoing effort is critical to the success of the nest-box program. Additionally, the ongoing support of the community to guard against poachers at artificial cavity locations and to inform about the significance of bird and biodiversity conservation has
been a large part of the project, with the added benefit of empowering locals to participate in species conservation in their community. The deployment of artificial nesting cavities has been extremely successful with the first reproductive success observed in April 2010, and a steady increase in the rates of nest box occupation and fledging success observed during the 2011, 2012, and 2013 breeding seasons. To date, 45 nest boxes have been placed at secure locations around Pacoti and Guaramiranga, in the Baturité Mountains (Figure 4) Successful occupation of the nest boxes has increased each year with 263 chicks joining the population in the last 4 years. This is a significant increase, an approximated doubling of the estimated population size (Figure 5). Additional work to band the fledglings, collect biometric data, and obtain DNA samples for each bird has been implemented in the past two years and work is under way to genotype banded individuals. This has significantly increased the body of knowledge available for the ecology of this species, and has enabled a more targeted approach for nest box placement. BIRD BIRD SCENE SCENE 07 17
Serra Azul - Ibaretama
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Removing bees
GBP team in Ibaretama (new population found)
Fabricio inspecting nest-box
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Funding Request and Rationale To date, the nest box program has been limited to the Baturité area as travelling to and from Quixada and Ibaretama has been infeasible. The three municipalities are located over 100km apart from one another with parakeet sites being further isolated down dirt roads, trails, or areas otherwise inaccessible to a standard vehicle (Figure 6). Figure 6: Map detailing the location of the state of Ceará in NE Brazil with the known localities of Pyrrhura griseipectus.
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Currently, field assistants travel to and from nest box sites in Baturité using the bus or a personal vehicle. The bus severely hampers the amount of sites that can be visited in a day for maintenance and counts, in addition to limiting our ability to search for suitable natural cavities across the Baturité area. The use of a personal vehicle has been necessary at times, however this incurs costs to the employee in ways which cannot easily be calculated and reimbursed, such as the depreciation in value of the vehicle.
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In order for more thorough monitoring of current sites, and installation of artifical cavities in Quixada and Ibaretama, a motorbike is required. It is with this purpose in
mind that we request funding in the amount of £5000. This would allow for the purchasing of the motorcycle as well as cover the cost of insurance for one year.
5: Graph of nest box occupation from 2010 – 2014 showing the number of boxes occupied, number of eggs laid, and number of chicks born.
6: GBP team in Ibaretama (new population found)
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BY: EMMA FREEMAN
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ANYONE FANCY A CARROT STICK? I
suppose there are many people who can walk past a fish and chip shop without their nose twitching at the enticing aromas coming from within, strange how we don’t react the same way to a bowl of lettuce or carrot sticks even though they are healthier. Proof that our bodies don’t always crave what is good for us, the same can also be said for our parrots. I recently attended a talk on Avian Nutrition given by a visiting avian vet; it was very informative and even to those seasoned bird keepers among us it was a bit of an eye opener. The vet told us, that in his opinion approximately 80% of parrot deaths are caused by malnutrition. When I heard this I looked around the room and registered the looks of disbelief on all the faces present. To most of us the
word malnutrition conjured up images of starving people in third world countries. That surely couldn’t apply to our pet parrots with pots of readily available food, unfortunately though it does. The word malnutrition basically means bad diet and the sad reality is that bad diets for our parrots can result in premature death. I don’t know why I was so surprised by this shocking statistic as I have seen far too many parrots come in to the Refuge in poor condition, some overweight and lethargic, some underweight to the point of their breast bones being clearly visible, they often have tatty, dry feathers, dull colouring, scaly and flaky skin and in general just not the beautiful creatures they are supposed to be. These birds aren’t suffering from any illness, for most of them a change BIRD BIRD SCENE SCENE 07 25
of diet; some much needed vitamins, lots of baths, fresh air and sunshine would make the world of difference. Still it is shocking to be told that through ignorance our birds are dying many years before they should. The million dollar question now is, what can we do about it? How can we prevent our birds becoming part of that shocking statistic? Well, the diet you choose to feed your birds will be an individual choice my ideas may not be the same as yours and the purpose of this article is not to tell you what you should be feeding your birds but to make you aware that you should be giving your birds’ diet careful consideration. I think we all agree that parrots are very much like small children in their behaviour and their intelligence and we all know that most small children would not willingly eat healthy foods. Give a child the choice of sweets, chocolate and crisps or carrot sticks,
broccoli and wholegrain bread and I think I know which foods would be rejected. Our parrots will behave in much the same way. Our job then, as conscientious parrot owners, is to decide on behalf of our birds what a healthy diet is and then ensure to the best of our ability that they are eating it. It’s not possible for us to re create the kind of diet our parrot would eat in the wild as we don’t physically have the resources, so what options are open to us? Traditionally parrots have been fed on a dry seed diet, a food which most parrots will readily accept and enjoy, also found to a certain extent in their natural habitats. However in recent years research has shown that seed diets alone are lacking in the vitamins and minerals that our birds need and are often too high in fat and low in protein. Without getting too technical, seed is not enough on its own. Even if we offer a range of fruits and vegetables, on a daily basis, with the seed, this still doesn’t provide a healthy enough diet for our birds. An alternative is a pellet based diet, a specially formulated diet that, to the best of our knowledge, provides
The million dollar question now is, what can we do about it? How can we prevent our birds becoming part of that shocking statistic? 06 26
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all the nutrients needed. There are many different brands available but all claim to provide a ‘complete’ diet. As it is a complete diet you eliminate the chance of your bird picking through his breakfast, eating selectively those foods that he likes and chucking out the healthier options. This is common practise for many birds, if you watch them when you put their food bowl into the cage they will swoop down on the nuts and sunflower seeds and ignore or toss on the floor their veggies. Offering a pellet diet gives you peace of mind that your bird is getting what they need from their diet. There are some criticisms of pellet diets though; that it’s boring and unnatural for the bird to eat the same
thing day in and day out, some birds refuse to eat the pellets and it can be difficult to convert them from a seed diet. In my opinion these criticisms can be overcome in most cases with a little thought, a lot of patience and some deviousness. My own type of deviousness comes in the form of mixing everything together in one bowl. I’m a great believer in offering as wide a variety of foods as I can and if you mix everything together you can add new ingredients without causing suspicion, as the general mix looks the same. The largest proportion of our parrots’ diet consists of pellets with a much smaller amount of seed; we give fruit and vegetables daily, sometimes raw, other times cooked. BIRD BIRD SCENE SCENE 07 27
We also offer rice, pasta, couscous, quinoa, nuts, dried fruits, sesame biscuits, jacket potatoes, eggs, pulses, salmon, chicken and occasionally a little cheese but obviously not all at once! The only drawback to this approach is that your bird can still be selective of what it is eating. You have to keep an eye on the foods eaten and those thrown on the floor and adjust amounts accordingly. The only way to stop a bird from eating selectively would be to limit their diet to only pellets and then they don’t have a choice; this is something I would rather not do as I agree with the criticism that it is boring and unnatural. My aim is to give a variety of healthy foods but use a small amount of each 06 28
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food type to give the birds a balanced diet and some much needed variation. I cannot imagine how tedious it would be to eat the same food day after day and I’m sure our parrots wouldn’t thank us for it either. I suppose my approach is still open to criticism as my birds could still eat more seed than their pellets but because I limit the amount of seed and nuts in proportion to the other healthier foods they seem to eat a bit of both which to me is the happy medium. If your birds are currently eating a seed only diet, then please consider introducing pellets to their daily food. There are many different varieties on the market, it can be confusing and it might be a case of trial and error until you find one which your bird will eat
FEATURE
happily. The organic variety have a name for being the best and most natural but aren’t a popular choice in our household, I often tell the story of Lou our Umbrella Cockatoo hiding his organic pellets in his foraging toys, I was delighted as they had all disappeared from his pot and thought that he’d eaten them, only to find them squashed into every toy he could find spaces in. They obviously entertained him but kind of defeated the object of the exercise. We use one of the popular brands with four or five different colours in various shapes and sizes, all of the coloured pellets are readily eaten but the plain coloured ones are often left at the bottom of the pot. A word of warning though as in the past we have tried a brand with more vibrantly coloured pellets and our Greenwing Macaw became very aggressive, he’s grumpy at the best of times but his behaviour changed noticeably until we changed him back to the usual brand. I believe that the colourings in this particular brand affected his behaviour, a little like small children can be affected by colourings and additives in certain sweets, I thought there could be nothing worse than a hyperactive toddler bouncing around the house but
a hyperactive, extremely grumpy Greenwing wins hands down and should be avoided at all costs! Please also think carefully about the seed you choose to feed to your birds. The quality of the seed is of utmost importance. Some brands are predominantly sunflower which is very high in fat and doesn’t have a lot of goodness, aim to buy a brand which has a variety of different seeds preferably one which is suitable to the breed of your bird. We have used a particular brand for around twenty years; it is extremely clean, most of the seeds and nuts have been shelled so less waste and all of the mix is of human quality. When you open the bag it smells good and is a good colour with very little dust or dirt, the ingredients look fresh
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and appetising and I can tell from looking at it that it hasn’t been sitting around in a warehouse for years. Other than the obvious reasons for wanting to feed our birds an appetising seed mix there are dangers in giving a cheaper, lower quality mix. The shells of the seeds and nuts can contain fungus spores which when eaten by our birds can cause Aspergillosis, a very nasty respiratory condition. This is not such a problem for fit and healthy birds but those with a compromised immune system due to such factors as illness, stress or very young or elderly birds can be more at
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risk. To minimise the chances of your bird being exposed to these spores make sure the seed and nuts that you offer are clean and of good quality, preferably human quality then you know you aren’t being fobbed off with the rubbish. If you aim for a varied diet like we do then try to give your bird a high proportion of pellets to ensure that they are getting the vitamins and minerals that they need and a much smaller amount of seeds and nuts. Offer fruit and vegetables on a daily basis, remembering that veggies are better for them than fruits, as fruits
FEATURE
are higher in sugar. (A rule of thumb when it comes to fruits and vegetables is that the more coloured the flesh is the better it is i.e. a red pepper/ carrot/ broccoli all have brightly coloured flesh as opposed to an apple/cauliflower which have pale flesh, don’t ask me why, it’s all very technical and has something to do with beta carotene) Use these foods as a base that you give every day and then you can add the other foods in for variety depending on what you have in your cupboards. If you do decide to make changes to your bird’s diet then take it slowly and be sensitive. Most importantly be patient with your bird when introducing something new, especially if your bird has a nervous disposition, the new food might not be accepted straight away but give it time. I have spoken to many people in the past who have told me that their birds won’t eat any fruit or vegetables only to find that they had offered it once or twice and then given up. Sometimes the way the food is presented can make the difference to whether your bird eats it or not. We chop our fruits and vegetables into small pieces, firstly because most parrots pick up a piece of fruit, take a bite and then drop it on the floor, if it is a small piece of fruit then less is wasted, secondly we have found that our parrots are far more willing to eat fruit and vegetables when offered in smaller chunks. Grapes for instance will be ignored if left whole but when they are cut into quarters the birds can taste the juice and will
eat them. Fruit or vegetables offered on skewers are always popular and treats can be hidden in foraging toys around the cage to make it a bit more interesting. It’s worth a try; you’ve got to be devious, just think of all those games that parents play with their children to get them to eat their veggies, I always thought that being clever worked far better than brute force. I hope this article has given you ‘food for thought’. None of us want our birds to be included in the shocking statistic above; we don’t want them to be part of the 80% dying from malnutrition. Don’t think it doesn’t apply to you, it could. There is a wealth of information to be found on avian nutrition, why not do your research and find out for yourself how to prolong your bird’s life or adopt my approach and come up with your own cunning and devious plan to get your birds eating a healthy diet.
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Houghton Road, North Anston Trading Estate, Sheffield, S25 4JJ, UK www.livefoodsdirect.co.uk
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THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION 11TH OCTOBER 2015
BY: LES RANCE
E
ight years ago The Parrot Society started out on a venture of hopefully rebuilding “The National Exhibition”. The defining factor was whether it was possible for all branches of our hobby to jointly pull together and ‘make it work’ after recording such a success in the first year the question was then whether the enthusiasm would be sustained. It has indeed worked each year since the first Show in 2007 the numbers of exhibits have increased. We can only 06 34
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thank the bird club officials that have all worked so hard to increase the number of exhibits year on year and made this exhibition the success it has become. I am also pleased to announce that the Norwich Canary Club and the International Border Breeders Association who joined our ranks two years ago will again be present to exhibit their member’s birds again this year. By combining this exhibition with the already highly successful Parrot Society October Sale Day at the
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superbly equipped Staffordshire County Showground a large proportion of the exhibitors were familiar with both the location and the available facilities. UK bird exhibitors now view this event as the premier ‘all variety show’ on the UK calendar. We are delighted that the exhibition is obtaining increasing support from both continental judges and breeders who travel long distances to attend this event it is exciting to think that in a very short time this exhibition has been able to attract
these dedicated fanciers from all over Europe. The continental influence is not only limited to the fanciers, there is an increasing demand from continental traders to attend this event, further increasing the range of products available to all our enthusiastic visitors. As it is located only a few miles to the east of junction 14 of the M6 vehicles can quickly arrive at the Showground. Arrangements are well in hand for the next Show on Sunday 11th October BIRD BIRD SCENE SCENE 07 35
2015 a meeting with representatives of all the supporting clubs is being held at The Quality Hotel Coventry on Sunday 26th April. Each time we organise this Show we aim to improve both the exhibitor experience and that of the viewing public and the points discussed at this meeting prove invaluable in ensuring improvements continue to achieve these goals. “The National Exhibition” will this year be sponsored once by Richard Johnston of Johnston and Jeff, who has supported us from the start. This year his generous sponsorship has also 06 36
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financed additional new staging as exhibits are set to increase and the added attraction of bird seed as prizes can only help increase the numbers benched. We are indebted to the management and editorial staff of Cage & Aviary Birds magazine for the production of a very well designed insert, with our contribution being the collation of the information from all the exhibiting clubs. The supplement will appear in their 2nd September 2015 edition and will as previously carry advertisements from all the exhibiting clubs and information on how to obtain the Show
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Schedule for your chosen species. This supplement has now become a feature of “The National Exhibition”. Since the show took on the name “The National Exhibition” in 2010 the demand for trade space has significantly increased, with some new traders making their first appearance this year. So whatever your bird keeping requirements they will be on offer at Stafford on 11th October. The Sandylands Centre and half of the Argyle Centre will again be used to accommodate the exhibits with the ‘booking in’ and club stands filling the remainder of the Argyle Centre. This
facilitates the management of the exhibition during the judging of the birds and allows both exhibitors and general visitor access to the exhibition at the earliest possible time on the day. The Parrot Society Council members hope that all the exhibitors and the officials of the specialist exhibiting clubs have a very enjoyable day. The Parrot Society would like to thank the clubs for all the kind words and support that you have given us. It will make the organisation of this year’s “National Exhibition” a pleasure to be involved with. BIRD BIRD SCENE SCENE 07 37
G N I N R A W Y T I R U SEC FEBRUARY 2015
T
here seems to be a continuing trend of thefts from Exhibition bird breeders presumably because there is a continued demand for British bred Budgerigars and Canaries of high quality. We always recommend good quality padlocks and window/door alarm contacts to help protect these external structures and where possible the installation of movement beam detectors or PIRs where suitable. Owners often have a reasonable level of physical security but nothing technical and in fact as often happens with planned thefts, the burglars will by-pass alarm systems. They on occasions gain access by forcing and removing a complete timber panel on the side of the shed thereby not disturbing any security units on doors or windows. In addition to our usual crime prevention advice, we also suggest
that to help prevent such entry the fitting of builders’ reinforced steel mesh panels to the inner surfaces of the roof and walls. This heavy duty internal lining is brilliant to deter the thieves, is not expensive and can be put in place quite easily. Ideally it can be incorporated at the time of new bird-rooms and sheds being constructed. Another piece of advice is to keep all carrying boxes and empty cages in a totally different area and in any event, mark them with some identification for future tracking or for evidential purposes. Some time ago a receiver of stolen birds was arrested by the Police in possession of a stolen Amazon parrot, the only bird he had. However when they searched his premises, they found numerous empty cages and other containers. If they had been able to trace the owners, no doubt a number of other charges may have been brought. John Hayward National Theft Register Tel: 01869 325699 Email: jh@ntr.supanet.com
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SECURITY WARNING • SECURITY WARNING • SECURITY WARNING
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01/04/2012 15:18
SALE DAYS IN 2015 SUMMER SHOW: SUNDAY 5th July 2015 NATIONAL EXHIBITION: SUNDAY 11th October 2015 ‘HELP BIRD KEEPERS SHOW’: SUNDAY 6th December 2015
ALL P.S. MEMBERS ENTER OUR SHOWS EARLY. ALL SHOWS IN 2013 WILL BE HELD AT STAFFORD COUNTY SHOWGROUND ST18 0BD
PARROT SOCIETY
THIS IS JUST A NOTI FICATION OF DATE S PLEASE DO NOT BO OK UNTIL YOU SEE FU LL DETAILS IN THE MAG AZINE
ALL MEMBERS ENTER OUR SHOWS EARLY
s.
rist band
d entry w
purchase
With pre-
AS THEY GROW OLDER BY: DIANA TAYLOR 06 42
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H
ow time flies by, it doesn’t seem a year or two since our flock were all youngsters and to some degree they still are. Tommy Blue-fronted Amazon came to us as a re-home, we were told he was 12 years old, this was about 18 years ago which makes him approx 30. Probably not old for an Amazon, or is it? He’s never been very active, doesn’t fly and when he does only downhill. He now spends a lot of his day sleeping, but enjoys coming out sitting with me and watching TV. Occasionally he will run around on the floor, scattering the dogs in all directions. They know not to get too close to any of the parrots! Tommy enjoys coming in the kitchen of a morning supervising the chopping up and sharing out of fruit & veggies for the flock, he seems to think he’s chief taster. Woe betide hubby if he dares to enter the kitchen for a cuppa while Tommy is there, he will fly down to the floor and chase hubby along and has even been known to chase him up the stairs. Needless to say Tommy prefers me. I worry sometimes that he sleeps more than he used to (don’t we all) but he has a good diet, and some exercise so I put it down to growing older. A few years ago he was very unwell and was diagnosed with kidney and liver disease, with extremely poor liver function. Our vet had never ever seen such a high reading on the liver function results and had to check it was correct and it was. He also was slightly anaemic. He needed a course of antibiotics and his diet was
revamped also we were advised to give him some Milk Thistle drops in his drinking water. As our birds have only ever had the best I felt very upset by this. We do wonder whether it all began in his formative years. When he came to us he was only fed on sunflower seeds and a huge bowl of monkey nuts, needless to say his diet was changed which included plenty of fresh fruits & vegetables, but was the damage already done, who knows? Needless to say now the odd chip or crisp is banned and that goes for the rest of them too. I make up a ‘dollop’ mix of EMP egg food, porridge oats and a tiny piece of Weetabix & some Harrisons, mixed with boiled water. Tommy loves it and so do the others, they now all have this every morning along with their fruit & vegetables and they all have Tidymix. Our Moustache parakeets Squeaky and Pip are now aged 20 and 19 and I have no idea whether this is ‘old’ for
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that breed? They are very active with plenty of flying time every day and Squeaky is very good at chewing anything and everything, so the pine wall clock has to come down, pictures removed, the small TV moved, sideboard covered up and so on, this is a daily ritual when she comes out and she watches us do it, eyeing up what’s not been moved or covered over. She likes to sit behind me on the back of the old chair I use at the computer, she huffs and puffs and whispers me all sorts of secrets, some I understand but mostly not. Over the years they have had several chicks and their last one named Chick (aged 4) still lives with us but has his own cage as mum and dad got fed up with him living with them. (So it happens in the parrot world too!) However they all come out together
and have a great time. Squeaky and Pip still tread but we have not provided a nest box for the past 3 years as the last clutches were infertile, now is this due to age? I rather think it could be. And I hope so as Squeaky does look ‘old’ some days so I am hoping her chick rearing days have finished. Then we have the 3 Senegals, the terrors of the flock. Eldest is Glossop aged 20, or so we think. He was bought about 18 years ago at the PS Sandown show as a ‘steady’ bird, which he is but has never ever come on us but enjoys being talked to and flying round with his ‘friends’ Jaffa and Boxer. The 3 boys as they are known come out together (but separately from the Pip Squeak family). Jaffa and his brother Boxer are both 17, these two boys are tame and were hand reared
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by us. Glossop and Jaffa seem to get on well together leaving Boxer as an outsider, but he seems happy enough. They each have their own cages. I have noticed that Jaffa sleeps more than he used to. So what is a good age for all of my parrots? I have read the average for Amazons 40-50 years, Senegal 25-30 years and Moustache Parakeets 20-25years. Who knows, and are records kept anywhere? Sadly Budge the budgie died last year at around 12yrs of age. And I still miss him and his happy chattering. I expect they all have many more years left, so now with determination (and keep taking the tablets) I plan to outlive them!
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DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND… CLICK THE LINK BELOW: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php
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Most parrot-like birds. Good prices paid in cash. Parakeets, Conures, Cockatoos, African Greys, Cockatiels. Also Exhibition quality Budgerigars and Canaries. You deliver to me or we can collect. Weavers Coving, Towcester Road, Whittlebury, Northants, NN12 8TD T: +44 (0) 1327 857594 M: 0770 2277 246 (Guy) / 0796 2099 830 (Lee) F: +44 (0) 1327 858965 E: info@skybirds.co.uk W: www.skybirds.co.uk
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