|
|
Post by avinet on Nov 29, 2010 21:15:37 GMT 10
That makes more sense - if the baby was on the floor of the aviary it would have been necessary to remove it. Did they lay eggs in the box and then remove them to the floor - a pretty nifty trick for even a Long-bill, which by the way are the most intelligent of the Australian parrots (might start an argument there  ). Can you include a photo of the nest box arrangement when you post baby photos? I'm curious about this. And have to include an obligatory photo of 4 babies I hand reared together in around 1996 - fantastic babies and my favourite Australian bird. cheers Mike Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by wizza on Nov 29, 2010 21:51:41 GMT 10
My mistake they are short billed, I was told by the pet store I bought the male from he was a long billed (they are my mothers birds) and didn't think anything of it, have just googled it and found out lol Anyway here are some pics of the baby   |
|
|
|
Post by avinet on Nov 29, 2010 21:57:06 GMT 10
Short-bills are still very smart birds  Looks healthy but that is a very full crop - I would suggest giving it slightly less food or you run the danger of stretching the crop too much and then having problems with it losing elasticity to push the food further down into the proventriculus. Maybe about 10-15% less per feed would be good. cheers, Mike |
|
|
|
Post by vankarhi on Nov 30, 2010 7:12:51 GMT 10
Wizza you still haven't told us how they managed to put the eggs on the ground?? Is their log already on the ground???
Mike......that picture is gorgeous. Whenvever I see pics of long billed corella chicks I am reminded of seeing two in a pet shop about 5 or 6 years ago. If I had literally not just bought an alexandrine from a breeder 30 mins prior......I would have gone home with one of those babies.........it was absolutely adorable and the pastel colours of orange/blue/apricots were stunning. I went up to it and put my hand out and the little darling stretched his foot out to step up........that memory is forever etched in my brain ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by wizza on Nov 30, 2010 8:12:25 GMT 10
Sorry I did see the question but forgot about it when I posted the pics. I have no idea how they got the eggs out of the log? She had the eggs on the ground (which she always seems to, not sure why?) and we put them into the log, they stayed in there for a few days and we went out one morning and there were 2 on the ground in a nest/hole thing that hadn't been there the day before, by the end of the day all 4 were on the ground. I need to take my daughter to school now but here is a pic of the log before we put it into the cage, the hole has been covered in wire and filled with hay but you can see how tall is it.. it is standing like that in the cage so they have gotten them a fair way to the ground!!  |
|
|
|
Post by avinet on Nov 30, 2010 12:44:00 GMT 10
The diameter of the log is probably a bit on the small size - looks like it would be 20 to 25 cm inside diameter from the photo and 30 to 35cm is preferred. Stan Sindel in his book on Cockatoos and Corellas mentions that the average wild nest for Short-bills is around 35 to 40 cm in diameter and 60 to 120cm deep.
Also you mention putting hay in there - definitely a big no-no. Hay can often carry spores of the fungal infection Aspergillosis which causes a green mold to grow on the inside of the air sacs, eventually causing death. Use wood shavings for the bottom of a nest box.
My guess is that the nest hollow you provided didn't meet the hen's requirements and she decided there was more room on the ground! Somehow she managed to move the eggs down - a pretty good achievement without breaking them.
I would suggest making a box for next season - around 75 cm deep and 35 x 35cm base, with an entrance hole about 125 mm in diameter. Use untreated hardwood, and maybe make an entrance spout using part of the present nesting log. Inside of the box would have a bit of weld mesh attached to make a ladder for the bird to climb up and down on. Make a door near the base so it is easy to inspect the babies and check they are doing OK. Put about 10 cm of wood shaving in the bottom.
I am sure if you do that you will have much better breeding results and find the parents are able to do a good job with their babies.
cheers,
Mike
|
|
|
|
Post by wizza on Nov 30, 2010 14:37:45 GMT 10
I was talking to Mum earlier and she said they are Western Corella's, as I say they are her birds and I have no idea, I just went by some pics on google and they looked nothing like a long billed corella on there.  It was the male that was moving the eggs around when we saw them, he was pushing them along the ground with his chest and beak, I am unsure who got them out of the log tho. The opening of the log is about 25cm but it is a lot wider inside, the wood is quite thin so would be at least 35cm. They used to have a much bigger log and she done the same thing, had the eggs on the ground and Mum moved them into the log. I will sort out a nesting box for next year and see how we go then, thankyou for your advice |
|
).
