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Post by angelicvampyre on Sept 6, 2008 22:51:29 GMT 10
Ok so I purchased a King Parrot today. I know that I paid to much for him and he is through a pet shop and there is this whole story but can't be bothered to type it out. I am bringing him home in a week or two as my license renewal has not come through so I have to chase that up.
I have tired to do some research on taming them (he is hand raised and tame, every time he sees me he runs to the end of the cage and lauches himself at me and then spends his time eating my necklace & buttons or trying to feed me!) I have been told to palm him something I already do with my Budgies but is there anything else I should do? He is already talking and about 6 months old. he says "Pardon" and can count to three if he wants to. Are there any good websites or books you could recommend?
Also with feed, alot of the sites say, seed, fruit, veggie but that's it. I really would like more info on what to feed him. Again any good websites or books I should get.
At the moment he is housed with a bunch of Budgies (not in the same cage) so to help him adjust they have said to keep him in my breeding room with supervised time out of the cage. I have seen him share his perch with Budgies so not worried about him but still would not allow him free access to the breeding room while I am not there. The hope is that this will make him feel less out of his element and be able to bond with me better.
Really any information you can give me would be great. I was planning on getting a quaker parrot but this guy and I have bonded over the past few months and I do like him and they offered him to me for about 50% less then what they want for him so he still is around the $200 mark (which is less then I was going to pay for my quaker) It's a case of they are unsure of what will happen to him if left and the pet shop shuts down (they are closing) I have wanted to buy him but the cost of him put me off, they have known this for months. I have a large Patio cage that he can go in for now but I will also save for a larger cage for him. I am also thinking of converting the rest of the garage to flights (have of it is my Budgie breeding room) and if I do that one of the flights will be his day cage so that he can have free flight during the day or maybe getting him an outside avairy that he can spend his days in.
Anyway if you got through my rambing them please advise would be great.
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Post by vankarhi on Sept 7, 2008 14:18:04 GMT 10
I have never owned king parrots........but we have some wild ones that come in occassionaly onto my verandah to eat the "seed" from my birds. They actually bring their babies too.
My understanding is the kings are a very quiet bird naturally anyway. The wild ones that come in here are quiet (temperment I am talking about) and curious.
I think you got your bird for a reasonable price too......I am not up with the prices of the King parrots, but I would have expected to pay around the $250 for one like you have described.......but like I said I am not up wth the prices of them either.
I would feed him small parrot seed and fresh fruit and veges just like any other bird. If he is reasonably tame and it sounds like he is, then I would just put him into the cage you plan on putting him into and have him in the lounge or dining room.........that is what I do with my pet birds. I try to quarantine.........but really I do not have the room. I just keep the new ones away from the resident ones.
Congratulations and you will have to post some pics of him too.
I have heard they make wonderful pets too.
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Post by angelicvampyre on Sept 7, 2008 17:44:59 GMT 10
Oh god in my overload I did not even think of Quarantine!  Ok so now going to have to move some people around. he can go in the Study, Buddy and Boof can go in the Living room and then we will work it out. I need toys! ;D Going to go internet toy shopping for him! |
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Post by farseeker on Sept 7, 2008 18:05:57 GMT 10
Toy shopping, always fun!
I can't say I know much about them, but it sounds like he'll do well with you. As far as diet goes I'm a fan of a good variety with pellets, fresh fruit and vegies, cooked 'mash' types and small amounts of seed. The diet you feel comfortable feeding may be completely different though so that really comes down to you as long as they don't have any special dietary requirements.
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Post by Jane on Sept 7, 2008 18:53:20 GMT 10
Kings are on my 'wish-list' if only I had more room  Congratulations And If he's handraised then that's a good price, you wouldn't get one cheaper Diet wise as Farseeker said and just some patience to settle into his new home before you expect too much physical contact and he should be great |
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Post by angelicvampyre on Sept 7, 2008 20:34:40 GMT 10
I think i am going to find out what they have been feeding him and then start adding things in a few weeks down the track
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Post by vankarhi on Sept 7, 2008 21:02:18 GMT 10
google info on king parrots. You should find out his dietry requirements then too.
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Post by angelicvampyre on Sept 8, 2008 9:30:28 GMT 10
Vankari - I have tried this but my searches don't really come up with alot. Also in your sig you have your female ecci (Skye I think) in a harness, how hard was this to train her to accept? I would love for him to be trained to one so that he could come outside with me in summer and also so I could take him to the vet. My Avairn Vet is like 5 mins down the road so I could walk him down which he may or may not like. Oh and I also want to change him name so I am going to need a new name for him. Spoke to a friend who has ringnecks and galahs and she has been great about food. I know he currently eats large parrot mix and Loves egg and breedcrumb mix and LOVES his water bowl! So I figure I will just introduce Budgie safe fruit and veggies and see how we go. I was also told to get the organic dried fruit as it does not have sulfur on it and give him that as a treat as well as nuts. I am freaking out a little this is a big jump for me.  |
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Post by just4birds on Sept 8, 2008 10:00:39 GMT 10
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Post by angelicvampyre on Sept 8, 2008 13:51:55 GMT 10
Thanks Lisa and thanks for the sites. I find that the organic dried fruit does not stir up my Budgies so just going to get them same thing for him.
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Post by angelicvampyre on Sept 10, 2008 11:45:48 GMT 10
Ok so the day is drawing near and I am starting to freak out. Have to give his cage a good clean out on Friday and hope everything works out. I have a large Patio cage but worried it is not going to be big enough. Anyone know what size cage would be good for him during the day? The Theory is that in the morning he can come out and have a few treats, be in the cage during the day with lots of toys and then come out when I get home untill he wants to go to bed. I found this one Ebay Item number: 370084512648 And Item number: 380062067846 My local pet stores has them for a bit more but I am happy to pay extra to help the store out (they are thinking of closing) I figure that if I give him lots of chew toys and interaction toys then he should be good during the week while I am at work. I am also going to try and work from home 1 or 2 days a week so that he can have some fun out of the cage. Wednesday my dogs go to daycare so he can have run of the house on Wednesdays.  If my card comes through on Friday then I am going to go pick him up on Saturday. If not then going to look a switching money around so that I can get him ASAP. Stupid bank forgot to send me my new card  |
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Post by farseeker on Sept 10, 2008 12:14:04 GMT 10
There's some info here on cage size for king parrots. Keep in mind that it's a minimum, and the best size is as large as your budget and space will allow.  |
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Post by angelicvampyre on Sept 10, 2008 12:32:55 GMT 10
thanks my current cage is bigger then that which is good. I think I will save and get him an even bigger cage later down the track.
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Post by robert on Sept 10, 2008 17:12:44 GMT 10
Angelicvampyre,some material on King Parrots in the link section. Hope of help. from Robert and Precious
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Post by vankarhi on Sept 10, 2008 18:13:57 GMT 10
don't freak out hey. I remember freaking out when I bought Skye home. I thought OMG what have I done ..... can I give this bird what she needs. What if she gets toe tap, what if she gets wing flip. What if she plucks, what if she becomes a neurotic bird......what if what if. You know, she has had toe tap on a couple of occassions, but I figured out what causes it for her and we deal with it as it happens. The rest........well there is nothing wrong with her. She is a normal female ekkie and a healthy one at that.
Harness training........well I tried to get her used to it gradually, but she kind of fought it a bit. So one day while in Brisbane (we live 7 hours north) I decided just to put it on her. She chewed it for a while........but got pretty interested in what was happening around her at the south bank markets and then in the muesem (which I found out I was not allowed to take her into........but managed to walk around with her on my arm on a lead until I walked out and the door greeter noticed her. lol a bit late then ;D
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Post by avinet on Sept 10, 2008 20:30:20 GMT 10
We had a pair of King Parrots for several years as pets in the house. They were given to us by American friends who had to return to the USA when their visa wasn't renewed and we were keeping them in case they made it back to Australia. Finally a few months ago we passed them onto friends when we were trying to downsize a bit because of the health problems I have had. They were very easy to keep - they shared a cage about 80 x 50 cm and 80 cm high. Diet exactly the same as almost all other Australian parrots - the same as we give all our birds - pellets, fruit veggies and minor seed. Definitely not a cuddly bird but they did enjoy sitting on a shoulder, and the male was quite a reasonable talker. Getting them to wear a harness might be difficult, I find that birds that don't enjoy a cuddle are hard to get to accept a harness. They can be a bit emotional - sometimes get a bit cranky if they don't get their own way, just like humans really I miss having them but they have a really good home with a dedicated "crazy bird person" who has several birds from us previously. An amazing aspect of them was their memory. One of the owners came back to Queensland for a visit and called in after a 30 month absence. Both birds immediately recognised him and got highly excited and wouldn't leave him alone. cheers, Mike |
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Post by vankarhi on Sept 10, 2008 20:56:28 GMT 10
how awesome is that they recognised the previous owner. ;D
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Post by angelicvampyre on Sept 11, 2008 9:55:29 GMT 10
WOW well least if I have to go overseas for a week I don't have to worry about him forgetting me. I found this cage that I LOVE and it cost a bit through the pet store so going to see if I can find it cheaper somewhere else. If my card comes through today or tomorrow I will post pictures of him over the weekend. Also any advice on if I should take him to the vets in the first few days or should I let him settle and bond with me a bit before I do this to him?
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Post by angelicvampyre on Sept 11, 2008 10:04:50 GMT 10
don't freak out hey. I remember freaking out when I bought Skye home. I thought OMG what have I done ..... can I give this bird what she needs. What if she gets toe tap, what if she gets wing flip. What if she plucks, what if she becomes a neurotic bird......what if what if. You know, she has had toe tap on a couple of occassions, but I figured out what causes it for her and we deal with it as it happens. The rest........well there is nothing wrong with her. She is a normal female ekkie and a healthy one at that. Harness training........well I tried to get her used to it gradually, but she kind of fought it a bit. So one day while in Brisbane (we live 7 hours north) I decided just to put it on her. She chewed it for a while........but got pretty interested in what was happening around her at the south bank markets and then in the muesem (which I found out I was not allowed to take her into........but managed to walk around with her on my arm on a lead until I walked out and the door greeter noticed her. lol a bit late then ;D Sorry missed this post. I know just like all my guys to have the best life that they could have. One of the great things is that Ivan who sold me the bird does not sell the ones that he has handtamed to just anyone he tries to pick the owner for the bird and as Ollie (who I think I am going to rename Red) has a few shyness issues then he really wanted me to take him as he feels that I will be nice and quiet with him and not expect to much. I would love to train him to harness but I think that is something that I am going to have to just keep trying and see if we get there. A guy down the Road from me has a king parrot that is harness trained and she sits on his shoulder as she rides him bike! ;D |
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