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Q & A: “Why do my parrots break their eggs?”
Parrots break eggs for many reasons. Night fright, perhaps caused by a rodent; inexperience, especially amongst first time nesters; an improper nest that is not deep enough; possibly the male not being...
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Q & A: “Is it good to give my birds antibiotics, vitamins and minerals each...
Vitamins and minerals for parrots should be provided, especially those on seed diets. The best way to supplement these items is to sprinkle them lightly on steamed vegetables, which will absorb the...
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Q & A: “At what age is a pair of parrots ready to breed?”
The onset of sexual maturity varies with species and also with the social upbringing of the bird, if they were hand reared parrots and how it was paired. Generally speaking, parrots that are reared...
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Q & A: “What method is best to determine gender: DNA or surgical sexing?”
The answer to this question is based more on personal choice and belief than science. DNA sexing of parrots is simple, quick and non-invasive. You can sex the birds from the eggshell, where blood and...
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Q & A: “What is the best hygiene practice that I can use in my aviary?”
Many that have read my writings, visited my home or heard my lectures will know that I am a great proponent of strict hygiene in the aviary and nursery. The time and effort spent in cleaning will...
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Q & A: “Why are some conures like Psittacara species harder to breed than...
Conure is a term used to describe neo-tropical parakeets of the genera Guaruba, Thectocercus, Aratinga, Psittacara, Eupsittula, Pyrrhura, Cyanoliseus and Enicognathus, all known in aviculture, plus the...
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What is the appropriate nest design for our parrots? PART I
Read also the second part of this article: What is the appropriate nest design for our parrots? PART II a The British aviculturist E.J. Boosey published a book titled Parrots, Cockatoos and Macaws in...
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What is the appropriate nest design for our parrots? PART II
Read also the first part of this article: What is the appropriate nest design for our parrots? PART I a “T” and “Y” shaped nests Some nest types have better husbandry application than others. The best...
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Q & A: “What is the best technique for parrot hand-rearing?”
Hand-rearing has long been practiced by native communities, who would take parrots nestlings from nests to rear. The birds would be kept as pets in the village, would be gifted to friends or visitors...
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Q & A: “Is it better to breed Eclectus parrots in pairs or in a colony?”
In the early 1990s, Australian aviculturists Peter Chapman and Keith Dickins, the owner of Loro Parque Wolfgang Kiessling, and myself visited Queensland, Australia. We spent time at Musgrave Station...
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Breeding of the Yellow-shouldered Amazon. PART I
I was a young and inexperienced aviculturist when I first met Ramon Noegel. For decades Noegel the doyen of Amazon parrot breeders worldwide. He was eccentric, charismatic, intelligent and showed an...
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Q & A: “What’s the cause of infertility in parrots?”
Infertility is the vane of the breeder. There is nothing more disheartening than discarding a clutch of eggs because they are infertile. This problem of infertile eggs affects all species, but is most...
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Tony Silva: Understanding parrots is my obsession. PART I
Interview collumn is a very popular part of Parrots Daily News website. What a shame that we haven’t still interviewed our editor, well known ornithologist, aviculturist and author of the new...
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Is parrot hand-rearing natural or does it produce a generation of parrots...
Hand-rearing is a relatively new tool in aviculture. If we accept aviculture as having centuries of evolution—the Roman´s kept parrots and there in evidence from the American Southwest that macaws were...
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Tony Silva: Hand raised parrots can become excellent parents if we treat them...
Read also te first part of this interview: Tony Silva: Understanding parrots is my obsession. PART I . You have collected data on differences between parent raised and hand raised parrots in regard of...
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Q & A: “Animal protein as part of parrot diet ?”
During the mid 1980s I spent considerable time in South America observing parrots in the wild and gathering data on the development of chicks being parent-reared. This information was later compared to...
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Q & A: “How should we feed our parrot in breeding and non-breeding season?”
Except for areas very proximate to the equator, parrots rely on two factors to come into breeding condition: an increase in daylight hours and a flush of foods. In south Florida, for example, Tabebuia...
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Q & A: “Why is it good to feed with sprouted and boiled seeds?”
Diet is one of the most important husbandry aspects in maintaining a parrot healthy; when caged parrots are fed a poor diet their health will soon reflect this. Obesity, white plaques in the mouth from...
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Q & A: “What is optimal diet and aviary design for Amazona parrots breeding?”
Amazon parrots are strictly neo-tropical in origin, being found from Mexico and across the Caribbean to northern Argentina. Many species come from drier areas and undergo post breeding movements to...
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Q & A: “What is the cause of parrot plucking?” PART I
If I were to compile a list of parrots that are prone to plucking, I would list cockatoos, African Greys Psittacus erithacus, Quaker Parakeets Myiopsitta monachus, Eclectus (especially Eclectus roratus...
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