new birds ! ( picture heavy!!)

kiki2112 · Regular Member Joined: May 21, 2017 Posts: 22

after owning African greys/conjures/Quakers , i decided to down size & sold all my birds when my son died of cancer at the age of 27 , ( just didn't have the motivation any more tbh ) anyway, rather than let the aviary go to waste, i wanted something nice to look at rather than breed, so bought these kaks , just put them in today & not bothered about breeding ( although they are 2 pairs, so might do in the future )
sorry about the quality of the pics Wink

just wondering what you think ?
2x breeding pairs, in a 6`x 4` , that ok ??

kiki2112 · Regular Member Joined: May 21, 2017 Posts: 22

just wondering , any uk owners /breeders in the north east ?

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4541

Nice looking birds.
Sry to hear about your son..

kiki2112 · Regular Member Joined: May 21, 2017 Posts: 22

i have a pear tree that needs a pruning soon Wink

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4541

Cool.. leave the bark on.
I drilled a hole in each end of the branch, threaded #8 wire thru with bend to hold the perch.
The other ends around a screw put into the roof.. so they hung free...

Go back into some of the old posts about feeders... I made some out of the plastic ones you have that hinge thru the mesh, mounted on bits ply wood...
This made feeding their daily chopped veggies, protein easy
Seed I put in deep sided trays .. not under perches....1 to 3 weeks supply at a time.

Pear wood also makes a very nice smoking wood for meats etc.

kiki2112 · Regular Member Joined: May 21, 2017 Posts: 22

need to sort that aviary out tbh , gonna build a "breeding cage" for 1 pair, i didn't know a lot about these birds but me & the wife love them Laughing

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4541

Selective breeding for a given mutation outcome is a skill and a lot of knowledge.. inbreeding, back breeding , know when to introduce new blood lines etc... some covered in old posts.
Breeding for big good healthy strong birds is best done by having a flight that one puts all ones breeding stock into. Around 2.4x 1.8x 2m high for 6 to 8 birds
Throw 4 or 6 nesting boxes, watch when they start to pair off, and females start t go to nest.. can get a bit scrappy between birds. As soon as you identify a couple thats paired off.. remove them and that nesting box to a flight on its own...the nesting box not in line of sight to any birds in the next flight, and add a 2nd box
Ideally we have found the min size for a breeding flight is around 1.2m x 2m x 1.8m high.. In sating thant several breeders in Europe have breed in small cages...1m x1m x 500mm high.. we where never successful in doing so.
Also keep in mind that you also need a holding flight.. one large enough to hold a lot of birds, and to add young birds only several days out of the nesting box, to be weaned by single males in the holding flight.
Keep in mind a pair, will breed a batch of 6 to 8 new birds out of the box every 8 to 10 weeks, all yr round to around 120 off spring when the females fertility drops off to near nil.