COCKATOO TALK
Notes from a lecture given to Parrot Society
by Klaus Sietas
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The three species covered in this lecture include the Major Mitchell, Red-tailed Black and Gang-Gang Cockatoos. The differences between them are mentioned below:
Major Mitchell Cockatoo
Cacatua leadbeateri
The Major Mitchell is bred the most because it is the easiest to breed. It is the most domesticated and will readily eat most foods, including calcium, when breeding. There are no problems with parent raising.
Red-tailed Black Calyptorhynchus banskii
The Red-tailed Black is becoming easier to obtain, more aviary birds are now available. Be aware, however, that hand-raised birds are in danger of becoming imprinted. Wild caught birds often breed better, though they will breed in a colony. Indeed, 6 - 8 pairs down south bred 12 - 17 chicks, which were then hand-reared). They are harder to feed, as they won’t take calcium.
More on the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
Gang-Gang, Callocephalon finbriatum
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Of these three the Gang-Gang is the the most difficult to breed in Queensland, as the climate is too hot for them. Most stock are of wild origin, and the birds have an "attitude problem", though aviary-bred birds are quieter and better. Aviary-bred birds also will eat a wider variety of food, but not calcium.
Observation:
Most people don't take the observation of their birds serious enough. As well as observing their general health, eyes, tight feathers, toes etc., look at their wants and needs, their favourite foods, what upsets them most - day or night, and where they sleep at night. Do they like their nest where it is? Do the birds get along with their neighbours (this is a big concern with Gang-Gangs). These are the sorts of things owners need to consider.
{Ed: Another Parrot Society member, Steve Groom also wrote an interesting article on breeding his Major Mitchell's after removing neighbouring pairs.}
Dedication:
Birds are creatures of habit, they should be fed the same time 365 days a year, even on Sundays - they must have routine. Take your holidays outside of their breeding season, especially if you are hand-rearing young.
Adapt a different approach to aviculture:
- Aviary visits - should not be allowed during the breeding season.
- Safety halls - at the back or front of the aviary. I prefer mine at the front.
- Crop worming - I believe you should start with most expensive birds. That way you are more careful.
- Artificial incubation - I started with Gang-gangs.
- Women make better aviculturists - they are more dedicated.
Return to Index
My motto is "Feeding is breeding" - but housing runs a close second.
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Different cages are required for different species of parrots. The following are my guidelines for these Cockatoos.
The birds must be happy with their surroundings. They need to feel secure - put them in a quiet corner of the yard. Use larger logs for their nests, and angle them slightly. I have found that the Red-tails like to back in. Provide boredom relief by way of chewing logs. I use large, partly burnt bits of logs. Keep rodents, especially rats, and roaches out of their nests.
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The correct food differs greatly, depending on whether the birds are wild stock or aviary-bred.
Wild stock are very fussy, requiring varying food every day. It can take months or even years to get them onto a good diet. Try to include gum nuts and casuarinas in their everyday diet.
The following is a breakdown of my feeding plate for a pair of Gang-Gang Cockatoos with two chicks in the nest. The chicks are aged about 7 days.
- 2 large swamp bloodwood gum nuts
- 9 cyprus pine nuts (or Book leaf pines)
- 10 casuarina nuts
- 4 almonds (shelled)
- 1 pecan nut
- 12 pine nuts (from Health shop)*
- 1 pandanus nut
- 20 Bangalow Palm nuts (or Wine palm, Queen palm, Sable, or Cabbage Palm)
The above contains 8 varieties of nuts with a total of 59 given.
- Cheese
- Mince (raw)*
- Corned meat (cooked)*
- Grapes or cherries
- Corn on the cob
- Peas in pod
- Sprouted seed (see list below)
- Mealworms
- Passionfruit
- Apple
- Bread crusts
- Vegetable mix (see list below)
The above contains 12 different foods.
* not eaten on this day - 8 different foods are offered. See below.
- Safflower*
- Sunflower
- Wheat seed
- Oats
- Buckwheat
- Mung beans
- Whole corn
- Milo*
The above sprouted seeds contain a total of 8 different seeds.
- Raw beetroot
- Corn
- Carrot*
- Watermelon skin
- Apple
- Sprouted Mung beans
- Chicory leaves
The above mix contains 7 different vegetables and fruits.
A total of 33 different foods is available for the birds.
Other food eaten but not offered on this day includes chicken wings, witchetty grubs, white cedar berries, orange pieces, paw paw, swamp dock, Cotoneaster berries, Thai chillies, Ardisia berries, Lilly pilly berries and Bunya pine nuts.
Protein for Red-tail Black Cockatoos
You have to get them onto chicken meat or mealworms, grubs and mice. Sparrows are also used for protein for the Gang-Gangs
My Dry Seed Mix for Gang-Gangs
- 20% sunflower
- 10% Hulled oats
- 10% white millet
- 50% Plain canary
- 10% other mixed seed
Aviary-bred birds will take more readily to vegetables and green, leafy food such as chicory and silverbeet. Don’t feed silverbeet when the birds are breeding.
The secret is to feed the birds the way you would feed chickens - provide them with a daily plate of what you want them to eat. If they eat too much dry seed, take it out in the morning when putting in their daily plate, and return the seed at night when you take out their daily plate.
The following information was obtained by observing the feeding habits of both parents of Gang-Gangs whilst they raised two clutches of young over two breeding seasons.
Feeding preference for Gang-gang Cockatoos - from Newborn Chicks to Fledgling:
| Days 1-5: | Sprouted sunflower, grapes, raw beetroot pieces, wholegrain bread, cherries and mealworms. |
| Days 5-8: | Corn on the cob, swamp dock heads, chicory leaves, chicken bones and cheese (Unity mild). |
| Days 8-12: | Dry seed now eaten. Also gum nuts and casuarina nuts, almonds, bookleaf pine nuts and beans. |
| Days 12-25: | Large amounts of sunflower seed, Jap millet heads. Also home grown sun-flower and safflower heads. |
| Days 25-35: | At this stage the chicks were producing feathers and required heaps of protein. Therefore one chicken wing, mealworms and grubs were given daily. |
| Days 35-50: | All of the above was eaten in moderation, but they still showed a preference for grapes, corn on the cob, beans, casuarina and gum nuts three times a day. |
Note: A second feeding plate of goodies should be given in the late afternoon and left in their aviary over night. My observations have clearly shown that the heaviest feeding activity is at dusk.
I have tried a few different ways:
- Parent-raised is the ultimate goal.
- Artificial incubation - this trend is now reversing in Europe, as aviculturists are finding it too much work and they fear loosing their birds.
- Hand-raising from ten to twelve days old, before the chicks open their eyes.
- Finally back to parent-raising, which is nearly impossible without some sort of calcium supplement being provided.
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Add OSSOL to their water , changing the water each morning and night. Our climate (sub-tropical Queensland) has a tendency to turn the water bowl slimy if it’s not changed often. I prefer OSSOL over SANDOZ, as OSSOL contains vitamin D. Once a day I also add one crop feed whilst the chicks are feathered and still in the nest. This feed includes a hand-rearing formula with a little calcium added. I mentioned before that silverbeet should not be given during breeding. The reason for this is that the oxalic acid inhibits the calcium intake. Injections of THERA Calcium can be given. Dry dog biscuits - I use Farrell 4"x 2" blocks (these come in a 12kg hessian bag). These biscuits contain no artificial additives. Plaster of Paris - either blocks sitting in their water bowl or hanging on the wire. There are two types available so make sure you use the right one. One type for the building trade contains poison and is obviously not suitable for consumption. The other type is used for moulding shapes, this is the one to use.
SUMMARY OF CALCIUM DEFICIENCY PROBLEMS
Too much calcium is as bad as not enough. One or two weeks after the chicks have left the nest they can be given liquid calcium injections to the chest muscle. The product to use is THERA calcium. You can get it from your vet for around $2 per injection which you then administer. If the bird has no visible signs of calcium deficiency the dosage is 3 injections at 0.5ml, at 3 day intervals. Also give 1 - 2 multi-vitamins at 0.2ml dosage.
If the bird has a noticeable problem with its feet or legs, or can’t fly etc, then give 3 injections at 2 day intervals with 2 multi-vitamin injections on alternate days.
A definite improvement should be noticed after 4 days. Massage the feet and legs with each injection. This is how you will notice the improvement as the strength comes back into their feet. You won’t notice any improvements just by sight of the bird alone. At this stage only 2 injections should have been given, so 3 should be enough and I recommend you stop there. Under extreme cases a fourth may have to be given but definitely do not exceed 4. A fifth injection would cause an overdose.
If you have overdosed a bird it’s condition will instantly go into reverse and revert back to loss of power in the feet and legs - almost to the same extent before beginning the treatment. However, if this happens don’t panic - just wait. The one time this happened to me the bird eventually returned to good health (after three weeks of concern) and today it is totally normal.
FINAL SUMMARY
- Most of these types of birds are in the wrong hands.
- Black Cockatoos will become more available and easier to breed as second and third generation birds are aviary bred.
- Prices are rising, and so they should for the amount of effort needed to successfully breed these birds. This should apply to parent-reared birds.
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