# Hand-reared birds?



## the.badger (Dec 11, 2008)

Hey all,

Went to buy some duck food from the pet shop today and I had a look at all their birds... Yeah, so now I want to keep birds again. I'll probably just start with budgies or cockateels (spelling??) or something. but I also like finches and those small parrot type thingos like lovebirds etc. Never kept those before though.

Anyway, so I was just wondering if anyone knows a good shop/person/breeder to get hand-reared birds from in Victoria? Or even just very young and impressionable birds, haha. I haven't kept birds since I left WA.

Also if anyone's had any experience with other breeds I'd love to hear your ideas on them.

Thanks kids.


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## the.badger (Dec 11, 2008)

Surely someone's kept birds!!


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## bundy_zigg (Dec 11, 2008)

sun conures are great so are Nanday and Green cheek conures, but its a personal choices as some people like certain birds and others don't - I don't like Eckies haha but loads love them. Try and have as much to do with as many breeds and you will find whats right for you - good luck


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## Australis (Dec 11, 2008)

Bourke Parrot


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## AUSGECKO (Dec 11, 2008)

Why dont you check out lorikeets also they are pretty entertaining and have alot more character than any of the birds you mentioned, I work with birds everyday and the lorikeets always make me luagh


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## kakariki (Dec 11, 2008)

IRNs are good to handraise, as are Galah. I am getting some green cheeks soon & I can't wait to raise some Kakariki babies. Princess are another good choice. Lories are good but are sooo messy!


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## Duke (Dec 11, 2008)

Finches aren't a bird to hand-rear 


Budgies / cockatiels are cheap and easy to tame up from birth. Will probably give you the best bang for buck if you're planning on selling the hand-reared babies. You have a better chance of unloading them too, as opposed to the more expensive intelligent birds like eclectus / conures.


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## AUSGECKO (Dec 11, 2008)

kakariki said:


> IRNs are good to handraise, as are Galah. I am getting some green cheeks soon & I can't wait to raise some Kakariki babies. Princess are another good choice. Lories are good but are sooo messy!


 Princess parrots are a good one too but Kakarikis are a pain in the a*s to keep tame!!


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## Miffy (Dec 11, 2008)

Eclectus parrot (male) and you will have one of the best potential talking bird. Or and African Grey if you can afford one. Cheaper good talkers are long billed correllas (noisy), or sulphur crested cockatoos (noisy too)


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## kakariki (Dec 11, 2008)

Geck82 said:


> Princess parrots are a good one too but Kakarikis are a pain in the a*s to keep tame!!



Kakarikis are soo easy to make friends with & once you do, you have a funny, loyal friend for life!


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## Scotty85 (Dec 11, 2008)

I love the birds also, another addiction!!! Here are some baby Blue and Gold Macaws we handreared at the start of the year, Green Winged Macaw, African Grey and of course the clowns of the bird world lorikeets... These are just some local fly ins....


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## Miffy (Dec 11, 2008)

wow what did the macaws and the african grey set you back?

Your a lucky bugger !!!


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## the.badger (Dec 11, 2008)

Haha, OK guys, thanks for all your advice, for the most part I have no idea what you're talking about, so I'm off to google the breeds you mentioned.

Duke, I'm not going to be rearing them, I want one that has been hand reared, hahaha.

And no, finches are not great for taming! But they're cute and light-heared and fun to watch. I guess they're like the goldfish of the bird world.

So what are the general prices of all these breeds you've been talking about? You've all got me worried with comments like "if you can afford one" and "a cheaper alternative" etc etc!

As much as I'd love a galah or a cockatoo, I don't think my other half would appreciate the ear piercing screatching at 5am every morning. Plus they live for a really really long time, which is cool and everything but we'd have to write them into our will, hehe. That's another reason why I won't get big monitors.

Scotty I didn't even know we could keep macaws in Aus! They're awesome mate, those babies are uber cute!


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## the.badger (Dec 11, 2008)

Miffy said:


> wow what did the macaws and the african grey set you back?
> /QUOTE]
> 
> Yeah that's what I'd like to know! Haha.


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## Scotty85 (Dec 11, 2008)

Thanks guy's, there's alot of exotic birds which we can keep here in aus which came through many years ago. these are called NEBRS stock. your not aloud to do it now but, highly illegal although it still happens.
Wouldn't like to say about the price tag!!!!!! The Blue and Golds sell for about 6-7 k handraised but... anyone want one??


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## the.badger (Dec 11, 2008)

Hahaha yeah I'll take 12.


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## Miffy (Dec 11, 2008)

u better make sure your snakes dont get near them hehe could be a very costly mistake !!!

Green winged macaws are more expensive than blue and golds arn't they? Are African Greys around the 5k mark still? been ages since I was into birds. 

Eclectus I are around the $1200 mark


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## Kirby (Dec 11, 2008)

a Macaw or african grey is on my shopping list. when i have the cash.. LOL.. 

the only way to pay off the initial purchase is to breed, or use them as models/actors in advertising..


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## the.badger (Dec 12, 2008)

Ok well my budget's probably more around the $100 mark! Give or take of course.

And I have to get the cage too, so around $300 all up would be my limit I think.

I also don't have heaps of space and don't have room for a large outdoor aviary, which is why I was leaning towards the smaller breeds. I did a bit of research on the kakiriki (sp?) and it said min. cage requirements is a 4 metre long aviary so they're kinda out  Shame coz they sound amazing.


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## Jonno from ERD (Dec 12, 2008)

It's something you really should think hard about. I was always a little ignorant as to just how intensive companion birds are. They are like 5 years olds on a sugar high, constantly into things they should be, crapping on the floor, screaming for attention...granted they are a lot of fun, and they have tons of character, but to do it properly it is life consuming.


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## gregcranston (Dec 12, 2008)

I don't know any breeders personally, but you can usually find hand-reared cockateils and stuff on the tradingpost that should fit your budget.
Like this ad for example: 

http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Pets-Horses/Birds/AdNumber=TP001191998?BackToResult=true

As for cages, that's a different matter, but if you ring that guy (in ad above) he could probably help you out with places to buy a cage.
Good luck.

P.S. Cockatiels are amazing hand-tame companion birds, I used to have one as a kid and he was fantastic! Here is another: http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Pets-Horses/Birds/AdNumber=8402942?BackToResult=true


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## Rache (Dec 12, 2008)

I think the pet shop in Bayswater called Feathers, Fur and Fins (or something like that) specialises in hand reared birds, my friend got a cocketiel from there and it's very tame and is happy to sit on her hand all day.


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## stuartandconnie (Dec 12, 2008)

hi i kept birds for 8 years from cockateails to quakers got realy into lorrikeets at the end to keep them propely it takes 2 to 3 hours in the morning and the same in the avo an those u hand raise as well but in my opinion cockateails r the go [geting more after xmas] but the 1s u like r the best 1s happy bird keeping reps r more adictive lol


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## the.badger (Dec 12, 2008)

Well it turns out one of my clients had some young cockatiels for sale. She brought one in for me tonight 

It's of the white faced variety but it's basically plain grey, it's been in an aviary with others so it's not tame yet. Don't know sex yet either.

I will post some pics when it is settled in and has a name, haha, for those who are interested.


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## -Matt- (Dec 12, 2008)

the.badger said:


> Ok well my budget's probably more around the $100 mark! Give or take of course.
> 
> And I have to get the cage too, so around $300 all up would be my limit I think.
> 
> I also don't have heaps of space and don't have room for a large outdoor aviary, which is why I was leaning towards the smaller breeds. I did a bit of research on the kakiriki (sp?) and it said min. cage requirements is a 4 metre long aviary so they're kinda out  Shame coz they sound amazing.


 
If your budget is around the $100 mark for a hand reared bird your pretty much limited to a cockateil, lovebird or a budgie, but I have also seen kakariki's and green ringnecks for a bit over that price. I keep Green cheeked conures and they make an excellent companion bird but just a bit out of your price range and are also like a 2 year old child always requiring stimulation...

*edit *sorry just read that you had gotten yourself a cockateil. CONGRATULATIONS they are amazing birds and you wont be dissapointed


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## the.badger (Dec 12, 2008)

Thankyou! The dogs are going a bit spastic but hopefully they'll get used to it in no time. Hopefully... 

I wouldn't say this one's been hand reared so I'll have to do a bit of rearing myself, should be fun.

Just have to wait a few days.


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## kakariki (Dec 12, 2008)

the.badger said:


> Ok well my budget's probably more around the $100 mark! Give or take of course.
> 
> And I have to get the cage too, so around $300 all up would be my limit I think.
> 
> I also don't have heaps of space and don't have room for a large outdoor aviary, which is why I was leaning towards the smaller breeds. I did a bit of research on the kakiriki (sp?) and it said min. cage requirements is a 4 metre long aviary so they're kinda out  Shame coz they sound amazing.





the.badger said:


> Thankyou! The dogs are going a bit spastic but hopefully they'll get used to it in no time. Hopefully...
> 
> I wouldn't say this one's been hand reared so I'll have to do a bit of rearing myself, should be fun.
> 
> Just have to wait a few days.



Birds which are kept as house pets have different requirements to aviary birds. A Kak kept in a big parrot cage with lots of toys ( change them every few weeks to keep interest going) would be fine provided you allow time out of the cage to play & interact with you. They are an amazing bird, even aviary birds which have been parent raised can become so friendly they will happily ride on a shoulder while you clean & feed! One of ours got out one day. She obviously didn't like her freedom cos she flew in through an open window & sat on a kitchen chair! After checking things out, she jumped onto my shoulder & stayed there as I walked through the backyard to her aviary. Once inside, she flew to her favourite perch, gave a big fluff of her wings & sat there looking around. I think she was pleased to be home!

And good luck with your Cockatiel. It would already be weaned which means what you now have to do is hand tame it, which, btw is not as easy ( or the same thing ) as hand raising it. Post pics when you have them? The white face female are plain grey while the males have big white cheek patches. They are quite easy to tell apart, unlike some of the other mutations!


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## the.badger (Dec 12, 2008)

In that case I think we have a female!


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## Scotty85 (Dec 16, 2008)

Miffy said:


> u better make sure your snakes dont get near them hehe could be a very costly mistake !!!
> 
> Green winged macaws are more expensive than blue and golds arn't they? Are African Greys around the 5k mark still? been ages since I was into birds.
> 
> Eclectus I are around the $1200 mark


 
Green Wings are alot more expensive than the blue and golds, same as the scarlets. Africans are have actually gone up and are fetching around $7500 and yeah eckies are about $1200 for a young pair.


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## americanidiot (Dec 16, 2008)

Get a red or yellow tail black cockatoo they are great!


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## PhilK (Dec 17, 2008)

We got a Green Cheeked Conure a little while back and the whole family is in love with him - he is just great.

One day I would love an African Grey and/or a macaw..


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## Ristof (Dec 18, 2008)

We got a HT cockerteil a few months for $100. I didn't go in looking for one as we had just lost my other HR cockerteil but they had some so I had a look. I put my hand in to see how tame they were - this little guy jump on my finger then ran up my arm onto my sholder. he stayed on my sholder the whole time I was walking around the petshop and when I went to put him back he didn't wanna go so he came home with us. He sat on my wifes shoulder the whole way home which was an hour trip
Lets hope you got a male because they can mimic a lot better then females. We also had a female and she only had one type of whistle - bloody loud.
Sammy does a good phone impression which can be annoying when you are outside and you hear him, he is also learning the simpson tune. Not quite there yet but has parts of it. 
If you are still after a cage Ebay is a great place to look
We picked up a huge cage for our other 6 for $150, saw it in a petshop a couple of weeks later for $700

Heres Sammy


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## Tetras (Sep 10, 2009)

the.badger said:


> Ok well my budget's probably more around the $100 mark! Give or take of course.
> 
> And I have to get the cage too, so around $300 all up would be my limit I think.
> 
> I also don't have heaps of space and don't have room for a large outdoor aviary, which is why I was leaning towards the smaller breeds. I did a bit of research on the kakiriki (sp?) and it said min. cage requirements is a 4 metre long aviary so they're kinda out  Shame coz they sound amazing.



Hey i know this is probably a little late, but you could try and build yourself a cage, materials wouldnt cost all that much... just wouldnt look as good :/ more money to spend on a bird  i want an african grey, although they are a little expensive...


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## AnthonyJ (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm interested in getting a cockatoo, the sulphur crested kind.

what are these worth hand reared?

Cheers


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## Colin (Sep 11, 2009)

one of these lorys


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## herptrader (Sep 11, 2009)

I love cockies but it is worth remembering that their life expectancy is similar to humans so you are taking on a friend for life.



Dreaddie said:


> I'm interested in getting a cockatoo, the sulphur crested kind.
> 
> what are these worth hand reared?
> 
> Cheers


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## herptrader (Sep 11, 2009)

We have a pair of Zebra finches which we acquired as rejected snake food for a finicky python. We have had them fro 6 years and they bring so much life into our house it is amazing. As I type the male is singing away and bouncing up and down the cage with blades of grass showing off. They respond to every sound in the house. As a caged bird I think they are much underated.

In an outdoor aviary we have a pair of eastern rosellas which are magnificent birds but while captive bred they are far from tame. We just love them but they are not companion animals. Hand reared as an individual pet kept indoors I think they would be a different story. They are quite beautiful and very intelligent.


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