On the island of Madagascar and in the rainforests of South Africa, there live amusing colorful parrot-henchmen. They are very popular among lovers of poultry due to the fact that they quickly get used to a person. Such a name these birds have received because of the fact that they live in large flocks in nature, but in pairs.
What do parrots look like?
Specialists-ornithologists for today number 8 species of these birds:
- gray-headed (Madagascar);
- strawberry-headed Fisher (nyassky);
- masked;
- collar (greenhead);
- orange-headed;
- spectacled;
- pink-cheeked;
- black - winged (taranta).
All parrots are inseparable by description are very similar to each other:
- size is less than average (10-17 cm);
- the constitution is dense;
- weight 40-60 g;
- large head;
- strong and powerful hooked beak;
- very short tail (less than half of the bird's wing);
- The color of the plumage is predominantly green, but the legs, chest, neck and head may be yellow, blue, or red.
The maintenance of parrots parasites
Those who are engaged in breeding birds, recommend beginning lovers of domestic birds to have parrots parasites. Many people are interested in the question: can one parrot-infertile live. There is a legend that these birds can live only with their couple, and if one of them dies, then the other from the sorrow also dies. But this is just a beautiful myth. In fact, you can keep one bird, and if caring for it is right, then the parrot will feel healthy and cheerful for a long time.
The temperature of the maintenance of the spouses
The correct content of the inseparable at home is to create comfortable conditions for the life of these birds. So that they develop normally, they were cheerful and mobile, parrots should be kept in a warm, dry and bright room. It should not have drafts. Humidity and temperature fluctuations can negatively affect the health of birds.
In the summer time, the room where parrots are inseparable, should be regularly ventilated. In winter, the room (aviary) must be insulated and, if necessary, included artificial heating. The optimum air temperature for the content of the spruce is 20-22 ° C. Relative humidity in the usual period should be maintained at a level of 50-70%, and during nesting 70-80%.
Cage for a parrot-bird
If you have wondered what kind of cage is needed for a pair of inseparers, then know that it must be so spacious that both birds can freely spread their wings. The best form of a house for a parrot is rectangular. In a circular cage, the bird can be disturbed by spatial orientation. The optimal size of the cell for two loners is 60x35x60 cm. Well, if it will be located at the wall: so the bird will feel more protected.
It is very important and what material is made of a cage for a parrot. Wooden house is better not to buy, because wood is more difficult to wash, and it can become a source of infection. In addition, a loner can easily gnaw it. The best option would be a cage with a plastic pallet and a metal top. The bars in the cage should be located at a distance of 1-1.2 cm, then the parrot will not get stuck in them. The doors in the bird house must be well closed.
What should be in the cage of the infernal?
Beginners of bird lovers can be interested in how to equip a cage for a parasitic parrot. The bird house should have such accessories:
- the perches are made of wood (preferably if they are barked) with a diameter of 1.5-2 cm, they need to have several, and they must be placed at different heights;
- The feeder may be internal or external hinged, although the latter option is not very safe for poultry; The container should be shallow and wide;
- The drinking bowl can be installed as closed (which is more convenient and hygienic), and open, the water in it must be changed daily, and on hot days and several times a day;
- bath for bathing - lovers are very fond of splashing in the water;
- holder for fruits and vegetables;
- toys for birds - swings, stairs, bamboo rings.
Nest for parrots
Paradise parrots in the home can be displayed in special nests or duplexes, as they are also called, as well as in nest boxes. The latter option is a kind of all known birdhouse. Duplyanka is a piece of a tree trunk with a hollowed or carved heart. The nest for parrots should be spacious, but not too big for birds to be comfortable in it.
Depending on the location, the nest for birds can be of three types:
- vertical;
- horizontal;
- combined.
Specialists say that the most convenient is a combined nest. It is spacious, as horizontal, and the female entering into the nest will not damage the eggs lying there. And the grown-up chicks will not fall out of the vertical-horizontal nest. But here such a nesting place will take a little more than the previous two species.
Care for parrots parasites at home
These birds are very unpretentious, do not require special attention to themselves, so care of inseparers at home is simple. The cage should not stand close to batteries and other heaters. Birds are harmful to drafts and bright sun rays. Do not keep your pets in the cage all the time. They must be mobile and active, so often let them fly around the room, and in the house they can only sleep, eat and bathe. With a sedentary lifestyle, parrots begin to develop obesity, which eventually leads to disastrous results.
What to feed the parasitic girl at home?
Those who for the first time ventured to take a bird into the house of a feathered pupil are often interested in what the parakeets-inseparable people eat. The basis of the whole diet of these birds is the grain mixture. You can prepare them yourself, but it's better to buy ready-made ones that are well balanced and more suitable for medium-sized parrots. In a day an adult bird can not eat more than 4 tbsp. spoons of grain.
A delicious treat for birds will be sprouted grains of wheat and barley. Very useful for parrots fresh greens: young leaves of currant, clover, nettle, dandelion. Necessary for them and animal food, rich in protein. You can give the birds a crushed boiled chicken egg, bread with milk, fresh crumbly cottage cheese. Your feathered pet also needs mineral fertilizing. It can be a finely chopped egg shell, a forage chalk. In the pet store you can buy a cuttlefish shell for this purpose.
Reproduction of a parrot-bird
Breeding parrots in love at home is quite possible, if certain conditions are met for this:
- Choosing a partner - for monogamous parakeet-parasites, this is much more important and difficult than for other birds. The caring male carefully nourishes his chosen one from the beak, gently touches her feathers. But if the couple has developed, then mating occurs quickly.
- The optimum period for reproduction is from February to May and from August to October. Progeny can bring offspring at any time of the year, but in a hot period, as well as in winter, the offspring can appear to be very weakened and it is much more difficult to nurse such chicks.
- Age of birds - a good offspring will be in healthy, energetic and active parents. Sexually mature inbreeds become from 1-1,5 years old and up to 3-4 years.
- Equipped nest box - at the bottom of it should be placed a few thin branches of willow, birch, linden. The main part of the branches should be hung to the lattice: the female will use them to arrange her nest, which looks like a mitten in ready-made form. The bird will take 2-3 weeks to nest. After this, the female will lay eggs and incubate them.
- Appearance of chicks - they hatch blind and naked, eyes will open after 10 days, and feathers will be covered by a month. Another month will pass and the young offspring will be ready to leave their parent's nest. When the chicks grow up, they must be transplanted into a separate cage.
How to determine the sex of the parasitic girl?
It is difficult for non-professionals to determine the sex of the inseparable , because visually they differ little from each other. But how is it possible to distinguish the female parrot from the male companion from the male? Ornithologists determine the sex of the hipbones of the bird: the female has a distance of about 1 cm between the females and 0.5 cm in the male. The males are more flexible and easy to get into the hands, unlike females, which are more mobile and grumpy.
Sometimes it can be seen that both parasitism are not willing to build a nest, there are always conflicts between them. In this case, there is a possibility that the birds are same-sex. If you put a paper napkin in the cage, the female will tear it into pieces and collect them for the future nest. But it is only veterinarians who can determine the sex of the infertile when they take all the tests necessary for this, but these procedures are expensive.
How many eggs are hatching parakeets?
Putting the eggs in the nest, the parrot's female parasite breeds on them, warming the heat of their body. During the day, she rolls them several times to ensure that the heat is distributed evenly. In a week it is already possible to establish which of the laid eggs are fertilized: their surface is smooth, matte, with a gray tinge. Unfertilized eggs have a yellowish hue and are stained. After about 22-26 days, the chicks begin to appear from the eggs.
How many live parrots are indivisible at home?
Many owners are interested in the question of how many parakeets are inseparable . With due care these small birds can live up to 10-15 years. And not necessarily they all have to be paired all the time. And a single infernal person, if he ensures constant communication and suitable conditions, will live at least 10 years. And if the bird dies, it happens in most cases because of people.
Parrots-lovers - diseases
Parrots can be ill, like all living beings. Often this is the result of improper care or poor quality food. Diseases of the girl-lovers and their symptoms can be as follows:
- Infectious:
- Ornithosis - its symptoms are loose stools, dyspnea, lethargy, convulsions, paralysis, the disease is dangerous not only for birds, but for humans;
- Salmonella is accompanied by diarrhea, high fever, lethargy;
- circovirus - a sick bird refuses to feed, becomes lethargic, there is diarrhea. In the chronic form, feather drop and deformation of the beak are possible.
- coccidiosis - parrots can lose weight, there is a strong thirst, diarrhea and in the future the disease can end with the death of the bird;
- helminths may occur in a parrot that is kept in unsanitary conditions:
- puhoperedoids are skin parasites that appear in young and weakened birds.
- Obesity occurs as a result of overeating and sedentary lifestyle;
- Poisoning in parrots occurs because of poor-quality food or cigarette smoke;
- hypovitaminosis - the bird loses its appetite, it loses its spatial orientation.
How to tame a parrot-infertile?
If you took a parasitic parrot into the house, you should know that the adult bird is very difficult to learn, and will never become manual. Those who are interested in whether parrots are inseparable , it should be remembered that it is necessary to tame your feathered pet and teach it from an early age, when the chick has not yet flown out of the nest. A young parrot can be taught several words.