ALEXANDRINE
PARROT
Psittacula eupatria
The
Alexandrine Parrot is one of the
largest of the Asiatic Parrots bred in Australian
aviaries and because of its size,
is not always suitable for every aviculturist.
If you have a small backyard in
suburban areas, they can be rather noisy,
at times causing problems with neighbours
who do not appreciate loud piercing
bird calls.
However, a large percentage of aviculturists who live in open areas, where noise is not a problem, find Alexandrines to be an excellent bird. In fact, it has only been in fairly recent years that people have taken notice of them, prior to that we feel they were very underrated.
Like
all Asiatic Parrots, rarely do you see one in poor feather condition, apart from when they are moulting.
Alexandrine Parrots are an excellent example of a good feathered bird. Often at bird shows the common
remark from budgerigar breeders is' howl do you get a bird that size in perfect
feather?' Our answer to that is,J if they are housed properly, it just seems to
be in their makeup.
People new to aviculture probably don't
realise how lucky we arel to have this species of bird available. Thirty years ago
there wereverJ few
Alexandrine Parrots available, however, with careful breedinji from dedicated
aviculturists, Alexandrines have slowly progressed and are freely available
today. There is rather a marked differenceinl the size of various Alexandrine Parrots you
may see. Some believe! that
there is a large race and a small race of the species. However,I in our experience we would
simply describe the difference in size as| being between the weak and the strong.
Sexing
A good sized cock Alexandrine Parrot should measure
around 1 550-580mm (22-23 inches) in length, be rather
bold in the head and] stand firmly on the perch with an alert
appearance. The hen is I slightly shorter in the tail and has a
rounder, more feminine head I than the cock.
In selecting birds, particular attention
should be made to size and! the amount of chestnut red on the wing patch of both
sexes. Some} Alexandrine
Parrots are very poorly coloured in this area.
Housing
The aviaries we use are of
the open flight type as these birds! benefit from access to rain. Regardless of
the time of year, as soon I as
it is raining, Asiatic Parrots delight in hanging on the wire or sitting 1 on the perch to get a good soaking. This is very
beneficial, not only I for maintaining good feather condition, but also it is a
great help in I egg hatchability, by
supplying moisture to the eggs from the brooding] hen's breast feathers.
Alexandrines like to chew, therefore, an
aviary built of galvanised pipe
or box steel tube with heavy 16 gauge (1.6mm) weldmesh, is required. The aviary length should be at least 4.8 metres (16
feet) long x 1.2 metres (4 feet) wide x 2.1 metres (7 feet) high, one third of this shelter.
One pair per flight is suggested, however,
in some cases colony breeding
has been successful.
Being such large birds and heavy fliers, it
is advisable to place a leafy
branch or similar at either end of the flight that youngsters can crash land
into, saving skinned heads or broken wings. Within a few days they soon settle down and are a
sensible bird in a long flight.
Feeding
Feeding is as discussed in the general Feeding
section.
During breeding, a basic diet of
grey-striped sunflower seed, hulled oats
and budgerigar mix is always available. A daily supply of green food such as milk thistle, oats in head and
corn on the cob or boiled corn,
whichever you are able to obtain, makes for an excellent supplement at this time. In our experience, if a daily supply of
corn is not supplied, the parents are not
able to keep up the food required from
just a dry seed mix. Their diet does not include a lot of fruit, however, apples will readily be eaten.
Breeding
Alexandrine Parrots are generally excellent
parents, usually rearing
all their young without problems, provided the parents have adequate food available to feed the
youngsters. If food supply is inadequate, rarely do
they allow the young to die, as many other species
would. They continue to rear the best they can, however on leaving the
nest, the young are much smaller than they should be.
We
never expect breeding success until both the cock and hen are at least three years old. From this age on we have found them to
be very reliable breeders usually going to
nest, in southern Victoria,around the end of July.
Natural hollow logs, 900mm (3 feet) long with
an inside diameter of
250-300mm (10-12 inches), hung vertically, are used for nesting. A 120mm (4.5 inches) diameter entrance hole is cut
approximately 150mm (6 inches) from the top of the hollow. Logs of this size are rather heavy, therefore an
inspection opening is made 230mm (9
inches) from the bottom. This allows the breeder to inspect without having to lift the log down. Natural rotted hardwood sawdust is used for the nesting chamber.
If logs are not available, a nestbox
constructed of sawn timber or plyboard
covered with flat iron, to restrict the birds from chewing, with a ladder of weldmesh or similar attached
inside, would be suitable.
It should measure approximately 250mm (10 inches) square x 900mm (3 feet) high.
Three to four eggs is a normal clutch and
although the cock will enter the log, only the
hen incubates.
Incubation lasts approximately 24 days and
on hatching, young soon
need a constant supply of food, which can be easily regurgitated by the parents.
Chicks stay in the nest for approximately
seven to eight weeks. Young are independent a month after leaving the nest and
we have never had to remove young
from the parents' flight through bullying. It is a rare occasion for Alexandrines to double brood.
Most young Alexandrine cocks will show
colour at 12 months of age,
yet others do not show colour until 18 months. Usually they display a full neck
ring of pink and black by the time they are two years old. Hens do not develop a neck ring, but will show
the chestnut red wing patch.
Mutation
In
an effort to produce Lutino Alexandrines, some breeders have hybridised pure or Normal Alexandrines with
Lutino Indian Ringnecked
Parrots. However, it is a long programme and care must be taken to keep thorough records of matings
and hybrids. The end result
is an outstanding mutation, well worth the effort if properly managed. Green
hybrids, especially in the first cross, tend to show a more rust coloured shoulder patch than the
pure Alexandrine.
We began some 15 years ago by mating a Normal
green Alexandrine cock to a
Lutino Indian Ringnecked hen. The offspring from this mating produces all visual Green youngsters,
the cocks being split
for Lutino. The hens are disregarded as they do not carry the Lutino gene. These split cocks are then
paired to Normal Alexandrine hens
which produce Lutino hens and possibly split cocks.
Each generation must be mated to Normal
Alexandrines so that size
and conformation is improved. After four generations we have been able to produce Lutino Alexandrines that
are as good as the Normal greens.
One must have patience, time and plenty of
aviary space if contemplating
a challenge such as this, however, it is well worth the effort.
A
quicker way of producing Lutinos is to mate a cock Lutino Indian Ringnecked Parrot to Normal
Alexandrine hen. The progeny are
Green cocks split for Lutino and Lutino hens, however birds bred from this mating often lack size and usually
run into fertility problems.