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Elegant parrot pair advice

Birdman696

Meeting neighbors
Joined
1/12/20
Messages
50
Hi, I’ve recently bought a breeding pair of elegant parrots (2 days ago) and have witnessed them mating and the female going into the nest box and adjusting it to her likings, so I assume any day now There’ll be eggs. I was just wondering if anyone knew of any websites that had lots of information about elegant parrots? Ive found a few online but nothing about captive ones or anything especially helpful. I obviously know how to take care of them but I was just looking for specific information about their diet and breeding habits? Online it just says budgie seed so I’m giving them a premium budgie mix that has aviary grit in it with fruit and veggies, also something called soluvite D, for extra vitamins and calcium absorption for them. I was also wondering on how people mix soluvite D into water? I followed the instructions perfectly and ended up with dull yellow water, and I don’t feel comfortable about giving this to the birds as I’m not sure if they’ll drink it, or if I put too much. Also, I’ve looked all over the internet but haven’t found an answer to this question, is it ok for them to be Infront of a window? I have the cage half in front of the window, and leave the window open so they can actually get vitamin D. The days haven’t been cold yet, rather warm actually, nor has it been windy. There is a see through curtain between the cage and the window, which lets the light through but keeps the male from marching up and down the length of the cage looking out the window.
 

derin

Strolling the yard
Joined
7/21/21
Messages
97
Location
Akron, Ohio
Real Name
Derin
i would switch mixes, because grit is very bad for parrots. it can cause blockages in their crop.
 

sith'ari

Meeting neighbors
Joined
10/14/21
Messages
32
Real Name
Fee
1) Parrots (including budgies and elegants, both of whom ARE parrots) do not ever need grit. If any mix claims to have grit, the only thing they're accomplishing is saving themselves money on food by replacing it with rocks.

2) No seed mix is sufficient for breeding as a sole diet as they'll need extra calcium and calories. Try a breeder pellet like Roudybush as at least 50% of their diet and give them 24-7 access to cuttlebone or high quality mineral block. Most Neophemas are awesome eaters and will accept pellets more easily than most parrots (in my experience anyway). Fresh cooked egg or powdered egg food will go a long way to preventing egg-binding and calcium deficiency and can be given daily for active layers. This diet will also be key to growing healthy chicks when they hatch.

3) If you're worried about absorption, sprout your seeds. Include seeds as only half their diet along with pellets to ensure they get all the vits and mins they need.

4) Don't put stuff in their water. Even the good priobiotics are useless in water after a short time, and there is zero need to add minerals and vitamins to water if they have a good diet. Your initiative with their water should simply be to keep it as clean as possible, often washing the dish multiple times per day (yes, i do that for 80 birds). There are enough vit/min options and dry probiotic options (AVI-CULTURE-2-PLUS, best bird product I ever found) that the water dish never needs anything in it (although, I use a drop or two of grapefruit seed extract in their water every few days because I have so many birds that the risk of dust contamination is higher than in a non-aviary situation, even with good hygiene).

5) Window is only a problem if it's stressing them out. Is something going by that's freaking them out constantly? If not, I'm sure it's fine. Yes, the sunlight is awesome for them. 14+ hours of that will definitely help them get into breeding mode. If for some reason you find that something outside is interfering with their breeding process, cover the window and install a full spectrum light (easy to find a bulb that fits into the socket you already have).
 
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