Post by angelicvampyre on Jun 13, 2009 9:08:05 GMT 10
In September 2008 I brought home a King Parrot named Elmo. For those who don’t know, I wanted an Ekkie, I wanted a Bird that would talk but did not have about $1000 to buy a bird. I really wanted an African Grey but at a cost of $5000 it was a joke to even think I could afford one. So I was saving for my Ekkie. I went into the local pet shop and met a King Parrot, he pretty much hated everyone would try and bite you if you put your fingers in his face but other then that he seemed to like me. I would go into the bird room and he would climb over cages to get to me and sit on my shoulder, try and steal my buttons, remove my earrings and empty my handbag. I really thought he was a character. One day I walked in and there was a guy trying to buy him and my heart sank, somewhere along the link Elmo had become mine so without any real thought and no research I told them that as soon as my license came through that I would pick him up and later that month I did just that.
So once at home I did some research and found things like this
A King Parrot will feed on fruits, seeds or small insects.
The parrots are usually around 40 to 45 cms in length (which includes a 20cm tail). The male king parrot sports a brilliant red breast and head, black tail and dark green body.
The King-Parrot mostly forages in trees for seeds and fruit.
Argh Ok, that’s it? Nothing about taming them or living with them inside, no real set out for food requirements. If it had not been for a few bird forums of people who have either owned these birds in the past or have aviary birds I would have been lost.
So now almost a year on I have a few things that I have discovered about kings by trial and error and just trying to work things out.
First off trying to find an avian vet is hard enough, finding one that has experience with a hand raised companion king is impossible. First thing you notice is they tell you he is underweight and if you go look at the birds out in the wild my guy is TINY. But after some research and looking at weight charts of similar species we worked out that Elmo is not under weight but we believe that a hand raised King will weigh less then a wild or aviary breed one. Why? I don’t think anyone is 100% sure but it seems to happen.
Another thing, Kings can be very aggressive towards other species of birds (yeah my chances of getting an African grey that will get along with Elmo are fading fast!) I noticed this in the pet shop that I go him from, they noticed this when he was in boarding and kept beating up the Alexandrine that was out with him and who was also larger then him. I know that people have successfully kept them with Tiels in an aviary but as an companion bird they seem to not like to share their human or their space. I spoke to owners in the USA and found this to be a common trait.
Kings are bad talkers if they talk at all. I read this when I got him home and my heart sank, I really wanted a bird that talked and here I was with this nasty small chewy fuzzy ball that was never going to talk. I did for a few days really think about what I had done but I made a commitment to him so I kept going. It was some time later that a friend of mine said “Is he saying what ya doin’” I was shocked, here my non talking King Parrot was talking. Now we have a large amount of words and at night we have to practice them just when I want to sit down to watch TV! Granted I don’t think he will ever be as clear as other birds and for some reason he does not want to do it on cue so I can show him off but there spring up all the time and we seem to be pickup new ones on a weekly base. I have never taught him to talk it’s just something he does.
My other issue that I have had is Elmo is a fussy eater. Feed him almonds I am told well he will not eat and almond and in fact get annoyed if I give them to him over his macadamia nut! Feed him pellets, yeah ok depends on his mood. No one told me I could feed him dog pellets or meal worms, both something he likes. I tried crickets but it got away before he could get a hold of it and we never managed to catch it again! He is not a big fruit eater but loves his corn. He also loves his gum branches that I bring in from a gum tree I have out the back.
The other thing I was told was Kings don’t really play with their toys and don’t chew much…. Ok so you have never met Elmo or the other kings in the USA who’s owners I spoke to! I am forever having to replace toys as he breaks them. It never seems afraid of toys or if he thinks they are scary he makes them DIE NOW! Which normally means the toy needs to be replaced the next day!
I guess what I am saying is that these birds are underrated, they make great companion birds but everyone has told me don’t expect them to be cuddly. They seem to be great trick birds, the amount of owners I spoke to who told me about the tricks their King does was great but most of them said, don’t expect to be able to stroke the back of their head.
I think more needs to be done to increase awareness of these amazing bird and more Australians should be embracing them as companion parrots. It’s sort of sad that there seems to be more companion parrots in the USA then in Australia.
So once at home I did some research and found things like this
A King Parrot will feed on fruits, seeds or small insects.
The parrots are usually around 40 to 45 cms in length (which includes a 20cm tail). The male king parrot sports a brilliant red breast and head, black tail and dark green body.
The King-Parrot mostly forages in trees for seeds and fruit.
Argh Ok, that’s it? Nothing about taming them or living with them inside, no real set out for food requirements. If it had not been for a few bird forums of people who have either owned these birds in the past or have aviary birds I would have been lost.
So now almost a year on I have a few things that I have discovered about kings by trial and error and just trying to work things out.
First off trying to find an avian vet is hard enough, finding one that has experience with a hand raised companion king is impossible. First thing you notice is they tell you he is underweight and if you go look at the birds out in the wild my guy is TINY. But after some research and looking at weight charts of similar species we worked out that Elmo is not under weight but we believe that a hand raised King will weigh less then a wild or aviary breed one. Why? I don’t think anyone is 100% sure but it seems to happen.
Another thing, Kings can be very aggressive towards other species of birds (yeah my chances of getting an African grey that will get along with Elmo are fading fast!) I noticed this in the pet shop that I go him from, they noticed this when he was in boarding and kept beating up the Alexandrine that was out with him and who was also larger then him. I know that people have successfully kept them with Tiels in an aviary but as an companion bird they seem to not like to share their human or their space. I spoke to owners in the USA and found this to be a common trait.
Kings are bad talkers if they talk at all. I read this when I got him home and my heart sank, I really wanted a bird that talked and here I was with this nasty small chewy fuzzy ball that was never going to talk. I did for a few days really think about what I had done but I made a commitment to him so I kept going. It was some time later that a friend of mine said “Is he saying what ya doin’” I was shocked, here my non talking King Parrot was talking. Now we have a large amount of words and at night we have to practice them just when I want to sit down to watch TV! Granted I don’t think he will ever be as clear as other birds and for some reason he does not want to do it on cue so I can show him off but there spring up all the time and we seem to be pickup new ones on a weekly base. I have never taught him to talk it’s just something he does.
My other issue that I have had is Elmo is a fussy eater. Feed him almonds I am told well he will not eat and almond and in fact get annoyed if I give them to him over his macadamia nut! Feed him pellets, yeah ok depends on his mood. No one told me I could feed him dog pellets or meal worms, both something he likes. I tried crickets but it got away before he could get a hold of it and we never managed to catch it again! He is not a big fruit eater but loves his corn. He also loves his gum branches that I bring in from a gum tree I have out the back.
The other thing I was told was Kings don’t really play with their toys and don’t chew much…. Ok so you have never met Elmo or the other kings in the USA who’s owners I spoke to! I am forever having to replace toys as he breaks them. It never seems afraid of toys or if he thinks they are scary he makes them DIE NOW! Which normally means the toy needs to be replaced the next day!
I guess what I am saying is that these birds are underrated, they make great companion birds but everyone has told me don’t expect them to be cuddly. They seem to be great trick birds, the amount of owners I spoke to who told me about the tricks their King does was great but most of them said, don’t expect to be able to stroke the back of their head.
I think more needs to be done to increase awareness of these amazing bird and more Australians should be embracing them as companion parrots. It’s sort of sad that there seems to be more companion parrots in the USA then in Australia.
