the "King" of Amboina

Abstract

In the spring of 1994 we discovered that the one bonded pair of Amhoina King parrots had laid a clutch of three eggs. These were wild caught birds that had been in this flight (6 ft. wide x 9 ft. high x 20 ft. long) for ahout five years. Their age is unknown and these eggs were the first they had produced while in this flight. All three eggs hatched and we decided to see if the parents would raise them even though the few articles we had read about Amboina Kings advised pulling babies at two weeks of age for handfeeding.

By the third week, all three chicks were dead. We removed the dead chicks, cleaned the box and hoped for hetter results next year. Within three weeks we noticed that the female was not outside the nest box very often so we checked the hox and found two more fertile eggs. When they hatched, we decided to let the parents try once more, rationalizing that the first failure was due to inexperience.

We were afraid to clisturh the hirds too often so checked the box only several times a week. One day shy of the two week period, we found hath chicks dead. Their crops were not full hut did have some food in them. One side of the largest chick looked as though someone had taken a razor and shaved it while the smaller chick

 

had only a bruise on its neck.

In the spring of 1995, the female went to nest and again laid three fertile eggs. By the time the first chick was about 10 days old, we found two of them dead. The largest one had some food in its crop but one of its feet had heen chewed off and the second chick had no feet at all. The third egg (which bad not hatched) contained a perfectly formed embryo with hath feet intact. We came to the conclusion that the parents had abandoned caring for the eggs and chicks and were responsible for their deaths.

In June. 1995 two more eggs were discovered in the nest and by June 30th hath had hatched. During the first week we pulled the chicks every other evening to check them. Each time, they seemed lively and their crops were full. During the second week, we checked them each day. As the two week deadline approached, we noticed that the largest chick's crop was not as full each time and by the 13th day it seemed to he less lively. On July, 14 as we were leaving home to attend the Carolinas/Virginia Pheasant and Waterfowl Society meeting in Richmond, Virginia, we decided to check the chicks again. The larger chick had an empty crop and seemed weaker. The smaller chick had a little food in its crop.

 

While I had both of the chicks in my hand, I decided not to put them back in the nest. Instead, I tucked them under my shirt to keep them warm and ran to the house. After a quick trip to the store to get strained baby food fruit and vegetables, I mixed some baby feeding formula and fed the chicks. We packed the full chicks, formula, feeding tube, and heating pad into the car and headed for Richmond. The chicks were fed only when their crops were empty so we had to stop for a feeding only once while on the road. Their crops seemed to empty every four or five hours, and they adapted easily to handfeeding. They were so easy to care for that I carried them to work with me for several weeks to give them their mid-clay feeding.

By the time the chicks were three weeks old, reel and blue color was starting to show in the tail area and the green wing feathers were emerging. The largest chick, which was now the smaller of the two, had a leg splayed and the foot was pointed out to the side. To correct this, we put a thick rubber hand loosely on its legs to pull the leg hack under its body. We kept this on for a week to 10 days. To tty to straighten out the foot, we placed the chick in a howl with straight sides that measured 2 1h in. deep x 6 in. in diameter. The foot is still not perfect hut we managed to straighten it enough so the hire! has no problem perching or eating.

At this writing, the babies are almost five months old and are housed outside in a 20 ft. flight. We foe! that they are a male and a female even though we have not had them sexed. We hope this is true because we have an extra female who lost her mate a year ago. She lays well and sits tightly. We also acquired a male this spring but he is veiy timid and when we tried to put the two together it just did not work out. Maybe a handraised female would be the perfect mate for this timid male. The bird that we feel is a male is vety aggressive towards its nest mate and might be a good match for our single female.

One thing is for sure-we will never attempt to have parent raised Amboina King Parrots again because the young chicks are so easy to handfeed. It is a pleasure to watch them grow. They are intelligent, affectionate and, in time,' are ahle to talk veiy well.

They are truly "Kings."

 

 

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