Abstract
Fig parrots are among the most colorful of all the parrot family. They originate in New Guinea (which is comprised of Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea), north-eastern Australia and offshore islands including the Western Paupan and Aru Islands of Indonesia. Most of the fig parrot species are sexually dimorphic while immatures resemble the adult female.
There are four types of fig parrots generally kept in the United States, the Desmarest's, Salvadori's, Edwards's and the Double-eyed. Of these the Edwards's is my favorite. It is found in north-eastern New Guinea from the Humboldt Bay in Irian]aya east to the Huron Gulf in Papua New Guinea. Most of my work has been with this species.
The behavior of the Edwards's Fig Parrot resembles that of the Caique (of South America) with its strong jumping capability. The fig parrots are also very strong chewers. This brilliantly colored bird is quiet by nature and has a very pleasant chirp that resembles singing. I have not heard that any fig parrot has the ability to mimic or "talk" hut I believe that one of my wild caught males is beginning to say hello. The males are attentive to their mates and young. When one of my males feels that his female is being threatened, he will flutter around her as if he were giving her a hug. When they eat they will take a bite and sling their food. One must place plastic around the cages or he willing to scrub the walls often. It is, however, unwise to place plastic tightly around the cages as it cuts off air circulation and the birds may eat the plastic.
In the past, fig parrots have not been easy to raise, especially when parent rearing the young. Presently, I know of only about half a dozen aviculturists in the U.S. who are success-
fully raising fig parrots. Diet seems to play an important role in the survival of the young, especially after the age of two weeks. Fig parrot diets can range from a lory nectar to a ve1y complex vitamin mixture. I raise my Edwards's Fig Parrots mainly on kiwi fruit, banana, apple and figs to which is added a simplified vitamin mixture. As a base, I use Prime vitamins to which I add vitamin E, B-complex. Potassium Glutanate and vitamin C. I mix these groups of powdered vitamins thoroughly together in a large zip-lock plastic bag after which I place the mixed compound back into the bottles. I then dispense this mixture of vitamins according to the directions on the Prime label. I want to clarify that there are two forms of K, one being a mineral, the other being a vitamin. I use the mineral K (Potassium Glutanate) in my fig parrot diet. Most fig parrots produced in past years have had a problem of babies hemorrhaging while still in the egg, which was due to a lack of vitamin K. Prime vitamins has enough vitamin K to prevent this from happening. It is important to check your labels to make sure you are adding an additional supplement of Potassium Glutenate, not Potassium
Chloride. ·
Fruit contains a lot of fiber and water which I feel plays an important part in the diet of fig parrots. In the future, I will try removing vitamin C and Potassium Glutenate from my vitamin mixture as I feel there are sufficient amounts of these two ingredients in figs and kiwi fruit. I do not know at this time, but I believe that Prime vitamins mixed with vitamins E and B complex will be sufficient for rearing fig parrots. Many people believe that fig parrots need a high protein diet but this is simply not true. One can see that my diet above is not high in protein.