Pintailed Parrot Finches - I wish!

[Lukec]

Hey Myzo, do you think our Australian ability has the skill to acclimitise these birds though?....as many of the birds still alive like the Pintails would have been here for quite some time, and thus acclimitized by luck, in a lot of cases, i am interested in your argument, explaining how we have now acquired the ability to acclimatize, and including what type of methods could be used.


Please dont take my comments negatively as i would love for imports of this nature, and i know you and many AFF'ers here are more than capable, your explanation would be for the likes of me, that does not posses the skill at present. I hold a lot of respect for you guys.

Thanks
Luke

[Netsurfer]

Hey Myzo, do you think our Australian ability has the skill to acclimitise these birds though?....as many of the birds still alive like the Pintails would have been here for quite some time, and thus acclimitized by luck, in a lot of cases, i am interested in your argument, explaining how we have now acquired the ability to acclimatize, and including what type of methods could be used.


Please dont take my comments negatively as i would love for imports of this nature, and i know you and many AFF'ers here are more than capable, your explanation would be for the likes of me, that does not posses the skill at present. I hold a lot of respect for you guys.

Thanks
Luke

Can't agree with Myzo more! From what I see on the Net makes you wonder what have they done years ago to prevent some of the species from disappearing, probably not much, most times kept them in communal aviaries with Zebras, Gouldians, other Waxbills etc. I remember even in the 70's while Better Birds were still on the Milperra Rd Revesby, Keven was saying even then that most of the Cardinals were to old and not many young were produced. The large yellow Saffron as far as I know are gone only few pairs of "Sicalis Flaveola Pelzelni" are still around, From what I was told and from what I see on the Internet in South America and in Europe they are even bred in cages like Canaries (not that I approve cage breeding). In some cases breeders have 200 to 300 or more breeding cages with Saffron Finches. Cardinals as well in some cases are cage bred, check this out in Brazil birds being bred in cages: http://www.criadourobutia.com/ and even in Hungary were the temperature drops down to -25Deg C in winter, Cardinals being bred in small aviaries:
http://kardinals.hupont.hu/5/cardinals-species-i-have

Whatever those guys can do in the Northern hemisphere things can be done ten times better here simply because of the climate, birds are kept year-round in the large outdoor aviaries with plenty of direct sunlight, food like fresh greens and insects are available all year-round, and nowadays there are some very capable people who understand the requirements of many species as they are no longer thrown in a communal Aviary and expected to breed.
As for the acclimatization of species "a joke" I don't think it's even necessary, the climate is pretty mild in most parts of Australia. Look at how many species of finches are introduced in Hawaii and most breed extremely well, to bad we can't import them from Hawaii!

[Myzomela]

Hi Luke,

Everyone has their own way but my attitude is always to give them whatever they need to firstly-stay alive and secondly-breed.

I would try to copy the conditions where the birds were bred, then once their numbers were up I would gradually acclimatise them to our conditions.

I would not just throw them out into open planted aviaries, even in Qld, and leave them to the vagaries of local conditions, at least not initially.

This is exactly what happened to the few bamboo parrot finches here...and they ended up in the bin!!!

They are a tropical bird and this should be borne in mind when they are housed. Even in Europe the successful breeders still give them heat during winter, more than they do for other parrot-finch species, particularly when breeding as the hens don't sit on the chicks after a few days.

Anyway, this is really just shooting the breeze. I don't expect to be able to keep them any time soon!

[elferoz777]

Any smugglers of on the forum? Anyone?! No, not Budgy smugglers, it's Pintailed Parrot Finch smugglers I'm hoping for!

Check out these beauties! Can we have some pleeeaaase? Can we, can we, pleeeeaaase?! http://youtu.be/sekZCRxQNwo

I wish .

Wow that would be a nice finch to keep

Thanks for posting this one

[natamambo]

I haven't fully checked the licensing system here in Qld but in the southern states there are birds on advanced licences that mean that you have to keep on the class 1 licence for 12 months or more first before you can attempt the more difficult species so I can't launch onto the more difficult species immediately. Even if I choose exotics like Pin tails (which I could never afford - or be allowed to afford) much of what I learned was site specific - for instance we never got more that a week with temperature minimums less than 20oC in a year but here even in "tropical" Brisbane it's too cold now to culture insects without a heating, I also had a rice farm to gather green seed from 12 months of the year up there and here in Chapel hill the lawn might need mowing but getting decent quantities of green seed will be more problematic. By the time I work out these things and get a feeding routine going it will be at least 12 months and right now I haven't even go the aviary mesh on. I'm looking foreword to getting going again but I will hasten slowly.

It's easy in Vic. All you gotta do is is pay your money - about $60 for the basic licence, close on $190 for the advanced - oh and fill out a form and wait ages for them to check *something* .