Mekaisto
New member
- Jan 8, 2014
- 503
- 2
- Parrots
- Zookeeper who has worked with many bird species, and owner of a cheeky red-tailed black cockatoo (Ash)
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Hi everyone
Due to circumstances, I might soon be moving to an 8 hectare property, with plenty of room for parrots!
I'd love to breed red-tailed black cockatoos (banksii sub.) - they're such a delightful species, my absolute favourite Australian bird and companion bird.
I have bred them before, under the guidance of a mentor, but it has been a few years since, and I'd love to hear from anyone who has more recent and/or extensive experience with them. I also have never made a breeding enclosure myself, so I'd love advice on that subject.
My plan is to build a flight aviary, I'm thinking about 8m X 3m and 2.5m high, with a safety door. Sand substrate, sunken wire to keep out foxes and cats. I'm not sure if they do better in a suspended aviary, that's something I'd love to hear about.
The property I'll be on has tons of huge eucalypts, so I'll be able to source perches and chewing branches from these, plus I'm planning on planting a whole range of Aussie natives - banksia, casuarina, bottlebrush, hakea, etc.
I'll provide a large vertical hollow log for nesting, with an access door at the back.
I'm not sure yet whether I'd like to hand-raise the chick, let it be parent-raised, or both.
If I hand-raise, I'll be using Harrison's neonate for the first three days (26/14), then move onto Vetafarm (20/12) for the rest of the pre-weaning period.
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Here's the diet I have planned for the breeders (with help from Priam):
-1/8 cup each of Pretty bird breeder select 16/10
-1/8 cup each of Harrisons HPC 18/15
-1 tsp millet each.
-1/4 cup sprouted seed each.
-A few pieces of vegetables.
-A few pieces of fruit.
-About 5 nuts (almond, walnut, etc in shell)
-Coconut, native flowers and seed pods, when available.
If feed bowls are empty in the evening, I'll give an extra 5 nuts each in the shell. If consistently empty, morning pellet amount will be increased.
And the maintenance diet:
-1/8 cup each of Pretty bird daily select pellets 16/10
-1/8 cup each of Harrisons ALC 15/5.5
-1 tsp millet each.
-1/4 cup sprouted seed each.
-A few pieces of vegetables.
-A few pieces of fruit.
-About 5 nuts (almond, walnut, etc in shell)
-Native flowers and seed pods, when available.
If feed bowls are empty in the evening, I'll give an extra tbsp of pellets each. If consistently empty, morning pellet amount will be increased.
----------
So yeah! That's the plan, as mentioned I'd love help where possible. Better diets, any advice, things that have worked for you in the past?
.
Hi everyone
Due to circumstances, I might soon be moving to an 8 hectare property, with plenty of room for parrots!
I'd love to breed red-tailed black cockatoos (banksii sub.) - they're such a delightful species, my absolute favourite Australian bird and companion bird.
I have bred them before, under the guidance of a mentor, but it has been a few years since, and I'd love to hear from anyone who has more recent and/or extensive experience with them. I also have never made a breeding enclosure myself, so I'd love advice on that subject.
My plan is to build a flight aviary, I'm thinking about 8m X 3m and 2.5m high, with a safety door. Sand substrate, sunken wire to keep out foxes and cats. I'm not sure if they do better in a suspended aviary, that's something I'd love to hear about.
The property I'll be on has tons of huge eucalypts, so I'll be able to source perches and chewing branches from these, plus I'm planning on planting a whole range of Aussie natives - banksia, casuarina, bottlebrush, hakea, etc.
I'll provide a large vertical hollow log for nesting, with an access door at the back.
I'm not sure yet whether I'd like to hand-raise the chick, let it be parent-raised, or both.
If I hand-raise, I'll be using Harrison's neonate for the first three days (26/14), then move onto Vetafarm (20/12) for the rest of the pre-weaning period.
----------
Here's the diet I have planned for the breeders (with help from Priam):
-1/8 cup each of Pretty bird breeder select 16/10
-1/8 cup each of Harrisons HPC 18/15
-1 tsp millet each.
-1/4 cup sprouted seed each.
-A few pieces of vegetables.
-A few pieces of fruit.
-About 5 nuts (almond, walnut, etc in shell)
-Coconut, native flowers and seed pods, when available.
If feed bowls are empty in the evening, I'll give an extra 5 nuts each in the shell. If consistently empty, morning pellet amount will be increased.
And the maintenance diet:
-1/8 cup each of Pretty bird daily select pellets 16/10
-1/8 cup each of Harrisons ALC 15/5.5
-1 tsp millet each.
-1/4 cup sprouted seed each.
-A few pieces of vegetables.
-A few pieces of fruit.
-About 5 nuts (almond, walnut, etc in shell)
-Native flowers and seed pods, when available.
If feed bowls are empty in the evening, I'll give an extra tbsp of pellets each. If consistently empty, morning pellet amount will be increased.
----------
So yeah! That's the plan, as mentioned I'd love help where possible. Better diets, any advice, things that have worked for you in the past?
.
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