Hi from a pair of Superb Parrots owner in NZ

[purplegoanna]

:)Waves big hello from New Zealand and consider myself to be one of the luckier bird owners over here, who owns a pair of Superbs (we know them as barrabands). Any helpful breeding tips would be appreciated, My bb's patrick & sandy are 3yrs old & have not bred yet. I may have missed this season due to purchasing & moving them to a new aviary. They have a nest box 30x30x50cm with woodshavings in the bottom & a ladder down one side. They get a variety of diced veges & fruits (they eat better than I do!). Patrick has a bung eye, which ive been told can be common with bb's? any thoughts on that? ive since been told to avoid stress by removing him to an avian vet and let it be. He had it when i brought him from previous owner. I would like to add a pair of whiteface teils would that upset them laying? they have been housed with teils before.........

[Karen]

Big Welcome to you!
I love Superbs but that's all I know about them sorry!
I am positive someone who does know about them will be along before too long to help you out.

[Jane]

Hi, you are lucky to have a pair of Superbs, they are gorgeous birds I am fortunate to have a pair and a lonely male (can never find a hen for sale)

For the eye is it infected? Because I think an ongoing infection would need to be treated, if he's just blind in one I would just leave him be. I can't say I've ever heard of eye problems with them.
How big is the aviary you want to share with the 'tiels? They will live happily together in a fair size aviary but the 'tiels are very nosey and might annoy the superbs box , the tiels would have to have their own box for sure.

[silvercloud]

Hi and welcome PG. Superbs are wonderful birds. I can't help you with breeding advice though as I have only 1 lonely male, Merlin, who shares an aviary with my female? alexandrine.

[vankarhi]

Welcome purple goanna. Can't wait to see pics of your birds ;D

[avinet]

Hi and welcome.

I have had Superbs in the past but don't have any now.

Any sore eye needs to be seen by a vet - do you have an Avian vet in your area? It may be a simple matter of a conjunctivitis type of eye infection but it can also be a sign of the much more serious chlamydia (psittacosis). Eye problems rarely fix themselves - as the eye itches the bird tends to rub it against the perch, which makes it worse - a viscious circle. Also a bird with a chronic eye problem, or any other chronic disease problem, wil often not breed. Superbs are not the easiest to get to go down - they have to be at their best and relaxed in their environment to breed.

Get the eye looked at - better to stress the bird a bit going to the vet than have a long term eye problem. Superbs are no more prone to eye problems than other birds, and considerably less than cockatiels the all time winner in eye problems. I hope it wasn't the seller that told you this bit of misinformation?

Your box size, diet etc seem OK but get the cockatiels out before the next breeding season comes around - Superbs, like most parrots, breed best in a flight on their own. And altthough the books might say they will breed at 2 or 3, I've found it is usually more like 4 or 5 so if you get the eye fixed you have a good chance of breeding this next spring.

cheers,

Mike

[Jane]

Oh well I better not get my hopes up too high then my hen has only just turned 3, do you think I should let them sit the upcoming season out and try in 2009?

[avinet]

jane said:

Oh well I better not get my hopes up too high then my hen has only just turned 3, do you think I should let them sit the upcoming season out and try in 2009?

Not at all - let them go for it and see what happens. If they breed then that can be regarded as a bonus, and if they don't breed this year then don't be too disappointed. One thing that helps to get new breeders going can be to give them a choice of nest boxes. Have two slightly different boxes, maybe different nesting material in each, and see which they prefer. They seem to like to have a choice, after all in the wild they may inspect many different sites before selecting the best. Bit like humans isn't it

once they have made the choice, take out the unused box after breeding season and leave in the good one - again in the wild they tend to return to the same nest hollow every season.

cheers,

Mike

[Jane]

Thanks Mike I'll give them an upright and a Z angle and see how I go

[pinkdevil]

Welcome purplegoanna, nice to see you here.

The Superb Parrot are actually in the wild here in my area of NSW. I have been lucky enough to see a few around. It was such a high to see them in their natural enviroment without the confines of wire & tin

Looking forward to seeing pics when you get a chance.

Tasha

[purplegoanna]

Thanks for the replys and useful information everyone, i have read about having there boxes tilted at an angle & i will start saving for a trip to the vet re:Patricks eye, the previous owner was abit naive to the point of thinking he was catching his eye all the time on perches! it only took me 5mins on google to realise this was not so. We've got 3 excellent avian vets locally.
As much as i want to, i wont put tiels in with them then.....i'd like the bb's to get their jiggy on! next year and definately dont want anything to disturb them. The hen Sandy is not the most amourous female, ive seen Patrick being coy but she wasnt having any of it...poor patrick even went in the box a few times to impress her..he failed. Ive got an aviary beside them with 7 budgies, 2 pairs canarys, 8 pairs of zebra finchs, 1 diamond dove, 2 button quail and 4 bengalese finchs. Then theirs my children! my 2 H/R cockatiels, one cinnamon pearly cock & my special W/F pearl pied hen, non- breeders but very spoilt. They live inside but they have an outside cage for when its a nice day to be outside. What have you all got? (i worked out how to load photos but logged out now i cant get back in so will try another day)

[robert]

ggod to see you back purplegoanna. Best Robert and Angel

[vankarhi]

yes nice to see you again Purplegoana ;D

Well I have 3 alexandrines ......... i just got a male the other day for my almost 4 year old girl and I have a male alex pet that I handraised. I also have a pair of ekkies who seem to be very interested in their nest box now. I also have a young male pet budgie and 3 canaries.

[silvercloud]

Well I have Merlin the superb boy and Pearl the alex that I mentioned. I also have a rainbow lorikeet called Cheeky, a rosa bourke called Rosie three tiels called Posy, Brandy and Coco and a red capped parrot called Elmo. He is my special boy and can talk the leg off a chair ;D

[courtzrocks]

Just a question silvercloud...what are red capped parrots like? They are so pretty but what are their personalities like?

[silvercloud]

Well my Elmo is a sweet personable bird but don't put your fingers near him They're not very touchy feely but will happily sit on your shoulder and Elmo loves trying to hang from my glasses He's also quite cage territorial. I've had a few as rescues (I just let one go this morning) but they are completely insane, throwing themselves around the cage/aviary. I've been told that they are very flighty and can be aggressive to others in an aviary though I haven't seen anyone with aviary pairs yet. The wildlife carer I work under has one she's had for 22 years who is very placid but doesn't utter a word unlike my Elmo who can talk the leg off a chair LOL

[courtzrocks]

Lol cool, just have never heard anything about what they are like.