Alexandria parrot: description, maintenance and breeding

Alexandrian ringed parrots live in the countries of South and Southeast Asia. They are grouped into large flocks, flying fast, but not for long. They live in trees of tropical forests, nest in hollows and almost never go down to the ground. Poachers catch and resell birds in home collections. Parrots are intelligent, beautiful and trainable, they are in demand, and therefore poaching is rampant.

According to legend, for the first time the birds came to the European continent thanks to Alexander the Great, who brought them to Greece upon returning from another Asian hike. Since then, the name of Alexandria parrots has stuck to them.

The Alexandria parrot is a beautiful, sturdy bird that easily gets used to people, masters various tricks, and after training he talks without problems.

The parrot is quite large in size, the largest of all the necklaces. From the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail, it reaches 60 centimeters. Birds have a large red beak, a wonderful bright feather, consisting of different variations of green color. Beautiful red and maroon accents on an emerald background give charm to the look of this amazing parrot.

Males are noticeably larger than females. In addition, their gender can be distinguished by a necklace, which only males possess. Pink above, and below the black line clearly separates the head and torso of the bird.

The nature of the representatives of this species is friendly and quite adequate. If you behave with restraint, but confidently, you can always agree with them. Parrots react well to people, but they get used to one owner and only he will obey. In any case, the bird itself decides when it can be petted.

While the parrot is not accustomed, he can sit without moving, refuse food, startle from loud noises and be wary of any movement behind the cage. In order for a pet to quickly get used to it, it is necessary to communicate with it as often as possible.

When a parrot gets used to a person, he sits on his head, constantly talks, eats from his hands and tries to attract attention to himself in every way.

Parrot responds well to water. In the wild, fleeing puff-eaters, he gladly washes his wings in the rain. At home, he will not mind taking a shower from a spray bottle.

In the wild, there are a large number of parrots belonging to the necklace population. In addition to the Alexandrian or the large ringed, there are also emerald, Mauritian, pink-breasted, Chinese, Himalayan, red-headed, slivogolovye and others.

Different species of these birds live in Asia, Africa, Madagascar and Indochina. The large ringed (Alexandrian) parrot differs from the others in its dimensions; it is larger, has a stepped tail, a spot of brown feathers on the back.

The small ringed necklace parrot is 50 cm in length. It also has a necklace that distinguishes the male from the female. This species lives in India and Africa. Indian individuals (Kramer's parrot) are considered the most vivid and attractive, they are found with colors ranging from bright green to yellowish shades. Artificial birds were bred with blue plumage.

The parrot attracts us not only with the beauty of bright plumage, but also with the opportunity to talk. Learning to talk is needed at a young age; it will be difficult to train an adult, let alone an old bird. At the time of purchase, taking into account age talents, we ask to sell the young individual. And instead of a bright handsome man with a necklace, we are brought a pale green bird with big eyes. Do not worry - this is most likely a female or a very young male.

The first year and a half sex is difficult to determine. The initial signs of a future necklace can be seen 14–15 months after hatching. A fully formed bright color will appear only by three years. During this period, all the plumage of the male will be a rich green color.

The beak of young birds has a pinkish tint and only with age will acquire a juicy bright red color. Chicks from adults can also be distinguished by their eyes, which look large and black, and eventually become small, with an orange edging.

You can pay attention to the tail. In the parrot, which is less than a year and a half, the two longest feathers have not yet grown, in the future they will create a “jagged” tail. When choosing a young parrot, one should rely on all the listed signs, and not only on the presence of long tail feathers: sometimes in a close cage, an adult bird can break it off. To grow new, will have to wait molt.

Females even in adulthood have less expressive plumage than males.

Ozherelovy parrots get used to captivity. If you love them, take care, spend a lot of time, one owner is able to replace your pet with the whole pack. Who does not mind wallpaper, books and other things, the cell can not close. A parrot will always be close to the owner: ride on his head or shoulders, communicate and demand attention.

For a large ringed parrot, the ambient temperature is considered to be + 20–25 degrees, but it quietly tolerates lower values. For him it is important that there be no drafts. Do not install the cage in the radiator, working appliances, in the kitchen with gas stoves (especially under the ceiling). The most inappropriate places are the bedroom and children's room.

Deciding to buy Alexandria parrot, it should be remembered that not only a friend and a beautiful pet is bought, but also a very noisy, with a sharp voice, a bird.

Large parrot need a large cage in which he could move. The dimensions must be at least one and a half meters in length and height. It is necessary to equip the cage with perforated surfaces with a corrugated surface so that the paws of the bird do not slide, as well as with natural twigs.

In the cage should be trough and drinking bowl, be sure to be fixed - it insures them from turning over during feeding. Scare often set a bathing. To the bird always had something to do, equip the cage with different toys: mirror, ladders, swings. Annoyed items periodically change. Each toy in a cage for a parrot becomes a new object of study.

A pet should always have a clean and dry habitat - this is the main requirements for care. A neglected bird will suffer from louseworms and other diseases.

.

For a parrot to feel healthy, its water must be fresh and its food varied. Feed the pet should be a special grain mixtures that are purchased at the pet store, or develop a diet yourself. For self-feeding will need the following.

• Peas, barley, corn. They should be pre-soaked. The same is done with wheat.
• Parrot can easily handle dry sunflower seeds. In dry form, you can offer oats and millet. The daily dose of grain feed should not exceed 60 g for adult birds.
• Fruits, vegetables, greens, nuts for the parrot will be both a treat and vitamins. In winter, he can soak the dried fruit.
• In the period when the birds sit in the nest, add to the general diet. eggs, cottage cheese and white bread dipped in skimmed milk.
• In the period of molting, a little is introduced into the mixture of grains. sesame. A parrot molts about twice a year, for the first time in the fifth or sixth month of life. During this period, he can cook porridge in water without salt and other additives. For porridges use corn, rice, oatmeal, buckwheat. Two tablespoons of warm product per day is enough for a molting pet.

If it is important to teach the parrot to speak, you should acquire a very young pet and start learning from the age of three months. By this period the bird must be fully adapted to the new conditions, it needs to get used to the owner and feel comfortable. If the bird takes food from the hands and sits on the head of the owner, it can be considered ready for long and exciting activities. Only trusting relationships will arouse the interest of the pet and will give a result.

During training, there should be no extraneous sounds and other family members; the bird should not be distracted. It is necessary to patiently and for a long time, in the same tonality, pronounce the same words or phrases.

After the first successful experience, things will get easier. The parrot itself will catch the words most often used by family members and will periodically begin to repeat them. Then he will parody the laughter, the barking of the dog, the crying of the baby, if there are any in the family. And in the end, there will be a feeling that not a bird lives in the house, but a member of the family with whom you can play, laugh, talk.

Alexandria parrots difficult to breed in captivity. In the wild of hundreds of birds, they find a mate themselves. At home, the proposed candidacy may not be pleasant to any of the partners. Then they will have to be urgently seated, because from good-natured birds they turn into fighters. And the scandals provokes a female.

If the matchmaking went great, and the birds liked each other, then courtship is expected by January. Nesting occurs from January to March, during this period the artificial nest should be in a cage. For him, choose a box about half a meter in diameter, which anoints peat mixture, mixed with sawdust. In a cozy nest, the female incubates the eggs for twenty-five days. The male during this period takes care of her and feeds his girlfriend.

A pair can incubate two, three or four eggs. After the chicks appear, the parents feed them for almost two months, then the babies become independent. So, it's time to transplant the young into another cage.

Many positive reviews can be found on the Internet about communicating with Alexandria parrots. Also a lot of advice is left about their content. Recommend to choose a cage of this size so that the bird can spread its wings, and it should not be a round product.

It is better to place the cage at the eye level of the household or slightly higher. Toys should be chosen harmless, from natural materials, as they will be chipped into a bird. You need to purchase special products for large parrots, they will be able to hold on a little longer than the rest.

Before releasing the bird, windows and mirrors should be hung, otherwise it can beat about them during the flight. You can not leave a parrot unattended, it gnaws literally everything: books, paintings, wallpaper, mobile phone - everything that they did not have time to take away from him.

Look at the Alexandria parrot closer you can in the next video.