Getting an Alexandrine...

[alibaby]

So I have been researching different bird breeds for a while now, and have spoken to a breeder and decided to get an Alexandrine, as they seem to suit me best. I've been put down for a DNA sexed male, and there should be some babies available in 4 weeks or so. I'll hopefully be visiting the breeder on the weekend.

I'm looking at cage options at the moment, and I'm just trying to decide which would be best?

Option one: 82(H)x 82(L)x60(W)cm
Option two: 141(H) x 78(L) x 57(W)cm
Option three: 182(H) x 92(L) x 76(W)cm

I'm guessing option three would be the best, but it may be too big for my room. Are the smaller sizes big enough without being cruel?

Also, any advice/suggestions/thoughts to share about bringing my new bird home? I've never owned a bird before, so this will be quite new for me.

[asharee]

get as big as you can hun.

[vankarhi]

Just get as big as you can afford......and as long as the bird can stretch and flap and play. I think even the smaller one would be ok as long as he gets out time and time to fly around.

What do you want to know when you bring your bird home??? If he has been handraised correctly he should be handleable......but he will be scared of you and his new home for a few days. Usually also they might not eat for a couple of days ....... I have had some not eat (that I was aware of) for 2 days and start to eat on the 3rd and then they just pigged out from then on. I have only found this in baby birds not adults though.

Just take it easy with him for a few days and give him time to settle in and get used to you and your family and his new surroundings.

Alexandrines do make lovely pets and congratulations on your choice ;D

[alibaby]

Thanks for the responses! He will definitely have time out of the cage. I'm hoping that whenever I am home he will be out of the cage, and I intend to keep him flighted as I personally think it's cruel to clip their wings.

I was just hoping for some tips or suggestions to help him feel more comfortable in his new environment.
Should I leave him alone (not handle him) for the first few days? Or will that make him more likely to be scared of me when I do start handling him? The breeder I'm getting him from encourages her buyers to come and meet their birds before they bring them home, so he will be vaguely familiar with me hopefully.

Thanks, Vankarhi, I'm really excited =]

[vankarhi]

I would just see how he is.....if he seems ok to be handled (and I had one alex my very first one who was ok to be handled) then do it, but it might be better to let him have a couple of days of seeing you and hearing the normal family noises in your home first.....you can talk to him and clean his cage and food etc and this can give you an indication of how he is with you......trust me it wont be long and your new boy will want to be out with you whenever you are home.... ;D

[alibaby]

Fair enough. Well I'll be sure to keep you guys updated, and keep asking questions as we go along. I'm thinking of keeping a parrot diary, to record any useful information and just track his development =]

[vankarhi]

you have to remember ....... he has been with one family "all" his short life.....he is being taken away from all that is familiar to him and going to where he has no idea.......he doesn't even know if you will "eat" him or not........so just be patient with him and I reckon just a couple of days and he will be fine.

[alibaby]

Yeah of course. I will keep that in mind, thank you.

[ibi-Vet in the making]

If you're looking to buy an Alexandrine and you're in Sydney... there is a breeder in Windsor who has stunning large Alexandrines.

I would also suggest hand raising it yourself if you can, it bonds a lot better which is important with Alex's.

www.allaboutbirds.com.au

[alibaby]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm in Melbourne and I've already selected a breeder. I'd rather not hand raise it myself as I'm new to birds and don't really know what I'm doing.

[vankarhi]

Birds do not bond better if you handraise them yourself.......I am sorry to say. They bond very very well to the new family ......... alexandrines are no exception.......I also breed them and eclectus and handraise them also and in the past i have bought parent raised birds who became wonderful pets to me and I also bought fully weaned handraised birds who also made fantastic pets........so in my opinion it is much safer to leave them with the breeder until weaned.

[conureowner1]

alibaby your doing the right thing by letting the breeder hand raise your baby. Hand raising takes alot of time and some birds can be difficult to wean, Many things can go wrong too. I also wouldn't reccomend a new bird owner to try hand rearing without being taught by a experience breeder.
Hand rearing does not make the bird bond better to you at all. My Aqua proves that i hand reared him and he hates me but loves my boyfriend. I believe the bird chooses its owner just as much as the owner chooses the bird.

Alibaby what i would do is ask the breeder if you can do weekly visits that way the bird gets to know you before you bring it home. That way when you do bring him home he already knows you so thats one less thing to stress about.

[avinet]

Sept 16, 2010 20:42:42 GMT 10 ibi-Vet in the making said:

I would also suggest hand raising it yourself if you can, it bonds a lot better which is important with Alex's.

Sorry, not true - this is one of the many urban myths about birds.

I've hand raised well over a 100 Alex's, and probably over 2000 baby parrots in total, and needing to hand rear the bird to have it bond with you just isn't a factor.

cheers,

Mike

[alibaby]

Alibaby what i would do is ask the breeder if you can do weekly visits that way the bird gets to know you before you bring it home. That way when you do bring him home he already knows you so thats one less thing to stress about.

This is what I plan to do =]
I went to see the breeder on Saturday and discussed it with her. She encourages all buyers to meet their bird first and is more than happy for me to come as often as I can. I also asked if I could buy a toy and put it in the baby's cage while he's being weaned so that when I take him home I'll take the toy too and he will have something familiar in his new environment.

I have heard all about the problems with hand rearing/weaning if you don't have the experience, and so I double checked with the breeder that she only sells her birds fully weaned, and of course she informed me of the problems not doing that.

[Robyn]

Yes i have to agree with Mike on this one. If a baby bird is well socialized by the hand rearer there is no reason why that bird will not bond with its new owner.

Ali this is one of the reasons I have stressed to you to run all Questions by your breeder. That will make things so much easier for you & your new baby when it comes time to take him home. If you do all she suggests the first week or so will be so easy. After that everything will fall in to place & you'll wonder why you stressed out so much.

[avinet]

Sounds like you have a good sensible breeder, the next few weeks are going to seem very long but will be well worth it - Alex's are one of the best birds to have.

My daughter owns 10 of them, all as pets in the house, and in rented accomodation to boot!!! I only have one at home but she is a real sweety - called Ondine, and now 12 months old. She wasn't an intended pet but when we were hand raising her last year (one of 12 we had last spring) she developed a persistent eye and nostril discharge from around 3 weeks old.

Naturally she went through a whole series of tests which determined it wasn't an infection, and eventually X-Rays determined that her sinuses didn't drain as they should into the back of her mouth (Just like ours' do) but that the upper roof of her mouth had grown over the sinus opening, blocking it off. That meant that the natural sinus mucous couldn't drain away as normal and instead was coming out of the eye and nostrils.

We eventually had an operation done to try to open up the exit of the sinuses into the mouth - we believe the first time this had been attempted in Australia - and that was partially successful. Her left sinuses drain OK but her right sinus is only partially open, so she still gets some eye and nostril discharge.

Naturally after all that she ended up a stayer, and in spite of all the handling, flushing of sinuses with a syringe and operation she has remained a sweet and cheerful bird that is a pleasure to have around.

I'll do a proper post about her problems one day with photos - I have time now I'm retired

Alexandrines are great birds!

cheers,

Mike

[alibaby]

Yeah, Robyn, I've been asking her any questions I can think of. It's just nice to get some extra advice/opinions from other bird owners =]

[alibaby]

Hi Mike,

Yeah I'm really happy with my breeder. She was so helpful when I went to see her. She showed me around and we were talking for about 2 hours. She gave me heaps of advice and suggestions. I can't wait to go and select my boy out of her babies!

Awwh your poor girl! Glad she's okay though, and good to hear that you think so highly of Alexes!

[avinet]

We used to hand rear a lot of Alexes in years past, and sell a lot throught our shop when it was open, so thought I would provide a few photos of one of our favourite species of parrots.

cheers,

Mike



Babies, around 7 weeks old, and yes- a yellow Alex among the crowd!



A crowd in our shop last December, along with ringnecks, cockatiels and a macaw!


Baby Alex's are cute!