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VersatileJardine's Parrot
jardine's are one of my favorite parrots. I have chosen to focus most of my energy and interest on this species because I feel they are more likely to remain with one family for their lifetime. They have joyous personalities and can fit comfortably in almost any home or apartment.
Rita Shimniok, Jean Patison, and others have provided expert information on jardine's Parrots over the past few years. People are asking for more, so I hope this will fill in some empty spaces and contribute some added perspective.
Breeding
jardine's parrots are easy breeders.
They seem to show an interest between two and three years of age. My pairs lay one to three eggs per clutch, and some would lay clutch after clutch year round if I allowed them to. Some pairs lay the next clutch by the time I have their previous babies just about weaned. After two or three clutches, I remove the box to give them a rest. I love and value my birds too much to wear them out with overproduction.
Some pairs will breed in a small parrot box, 10 inches square by 18 inches deep. Most, though, prefer a deep, dark, 8 X 10 inch square by 28 inch deep L-shaped box because it provides the security that they seek. If the inspection door is placed on the darkest side of the L (that is where the eggs will be laid, incubated, and hatched), the human caretaker will
have easy access to the babies when pulling them from the box.
A deep box requires a ladder so they can get out. The ladders are necessary but can be dangerous. One pair of jardine's unhooked their ladder from the entrance hole and pulled it inside the box. Since they couldn't get out, they became trapped inside. When they didn't consume their favorite soft food, I investigated and noticed the missing ladder. Now I wire the ladders to the boxes so they can't be detached. Another hen, belonging to a friend, got her open leg-band caught on the ladder. She died there.
Management
The diet I feed my jardine's is a standard healthy parrot diet. It consists of pellets that are always available, fresh fruits and veggies, and occasional bean and rice-based soak and cook. My birds also love sprouts. Fresh, clean water is supplied daily.
Eventually I plan to feed my birds the natural diet outlined by Alicia Mcwatters in her book: A Guide To A Naturally Healthy Bird. Depending on time constraints, it can be a difficult diet to feed. If, however, you are able to do a twice-daily feeding, it is one of the healthiest diets that I have investigated.
Even though my jardine's are not crazy about being misted, they do get a light misting a couple of times a week. What they prefer is to get quite wet on their own, in their water dishes. They do not like to bathe in old water though. They wait until I place
fresh water in the cage and then they jump right in.
Full spectrum fluorescent lights are timed to natural outside light to give them a natural cycle. Regardless of this, they breed throughout the year.
Feeding and Weaning Babies
jardine's are a pleasure to raise. enjoy the fact that they eat like pigs. I find them easy to handfeed, but some people seem to have trouble keeping weight on them. I remember one incident where a friend was feeding two of my babies and they would drop weight over a few days. I would bring them back home and get the weight back on them, return them to her and their breastbones would start to protrude again. The scales would say they were gaining growth weight, but still they were losing flesh on their bones. She fed thinner formula than I fed and I think that was the problem. Jardine's require a higher solid-to-liquid ratio than some of the other birds that I feed, so people having problems keeping weight on jardine's should try thickening the formula.
Weaning]ardine's is fairly easy. They usually nibble on fruits, vegetables, and softer pellets while still living in the brooder. They love to eat and will gladly sample warm soak & cook, sprouts, whole wheat bread, and anything you care to feed them. One thing that I've noticed about jardine's is their hearty appetite. They consume more food for their size than any of my other parrots. They especially love squash, pumpkin, broccoli, peaches, carrots - veggies with a high beta-carotene content.
One reason for this may be a requirement for more vitamin A to help them fight off aspergillus. Lately I've been hearing speculation that jardine's are prone to contracting this fungal infection. More research needs to be done to determine whether they are actually predisposed to the disease or whether other factors are involved. Since there is a possibility,
always ensure that nestbox and brooder bedding is maintained clean and dry. Also, avoid corncob bedding, which has been analyzed with higher levels of aspergillus spores than other bedding.
I find jardine's to be fairly agile before they are fully feathered. In the brooder they will already perch on their food crock. They start doing this when they have green feathers on their wings and head but their body is still covered with down.
After they have been moved to a cage and no longer fear their strange new environment, they climb all over the bars like pros. It's almost impossible to keep these little darlings in the cage whenever the cage door is opened. Warm little jardine's bodies will rush out the door and climb up the front of mama's shirt. They love to be held, hugged, kissed .... and fed!