Sprouting seeds for birds
We asked Tony Silva about sprouting seeds for birds: “Why is it good to feed with sprouted and boiled seeds?” Diet is one of the most important husbandry aspects in maintaining a parrot healthy;...
Category: Aviculture
Common waxbill breeding
Common waxbill (Estrilda astrild) breeding. Indigenous to South Africa and these waxbills need a permit to breed in South Africa. Afrikaans name is Rooibekkie. Distribution of the common waxbill: These waxbills have the largest...
Caring feeding and breeding cockatiels
Caring, feeding, and breeding cockatiels By Tony Silva The worldwide obsession is for a large parrot. Everyone, including a beginner with no experience, wants a large parrot. They are certainly gaudy, intelligent, and can...
MDS avian testing
MDS avian testing. Molecular Diagnostic Services (Pty) Ltd (MDS) is a private, SANAS-accredited laboratory based in Durban, South Africa that has, as its focus, the use of the most advanced technologies to perform molecular...
Bird gender test
We asked Tony about bird gender test for parrots. “What method is best to determine gender?” – by Tony Silva What method is best to determine gender? The answer to this question is based...
Feeding lovebirds
Feeding lovebirds. Lovebirds have their own ideal nutrition and it varies from one period to the other such as during molting, breeding, and resting periods. Here is a great post about masked lovebirds. An...
Obesity in parrots
We asked Tony about obesity in parrots, especially Amazon parrots: By: Tony Silva How to prevent obesity in amazon parrots? Amazon parrots are gluttons. They will sit in front of their food bowl and...
Blue-fronted and Red-lored Amazon mutations
Rare mutations in Blue-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) and Red-lored Amazon (Amazona autumnalis).By: Dr. med. vet. Friedrich Janeczek The World Wide Birds Magazine has featured interesting mutations in various parakeets and conures in several issues....
Parrot breeding age
Parrot breeding age – Content creator: Petrus van Tonder “At what age is a pair of parrots ready to breed?” – by Tony Silva The onset of sexual maturity varies with species and also...
Parrot ring sizes in SA
Parrot ring sizes in SA – Click on the link to download PDF: http://www.wwbirds.co.za/dir/download/preffered-ringsizes-sa/ 4mm (Code A) PARAKEET Blue-winged, Elegant, Splendid, Turquisine, Bourke’s, Aymara, Budgie LOVEBIRD Nyasa, Black-cheeked, Madagascar PARROTLET All, LORY/ LORIKEET Fairy,...
How to breed alexandrines
How to breed alexandrines – By Wouter Dierckx Introduction My name is Wouter Dierckx and I live in a small city in Belgium. I have been bitten by the bird microbe since I was...
Military Macaw breeding
Military Macaw breeding – content creator: Petrus A. van Tonder Breeding and caring of the Military MacawBy Tony Silva Beauty it is said is in the eyes of the beholder. A visitor, who could...
Why quarantine a new bird?
Why quarantine a new bird? By: Jean Pattison This is probably one of the most misunderstood necessities of owning birds. When one is quarantining a bird or birds it is to protect the old...
Cause of parrot infertility
“What’s the cause of parrot infertility?” by Tony Silva Infertility is the vane of the breeder. There is nothing more disheartening than discarding a clutch of eggs because they are infertile. This problem of...
Parrots and temperature
Parrots and temperature – Temperature tolerance in parrots: highs and lowsBy Tony Silva During the current cold snap across the US, I am receiving countless emails, phone calls, and messages. The questions invariably consist...
Endoscopy procedure for birds
Endoscopy procedure for birds – Tarzan or Jane? By Dr. med. vet. Friedrich Janeczek Most parrots and parakeets are monomorphic, so it is not clear from the outside whether the bird is male or...
Breeding parrots husbandry guidelines
Breeding parrots husbandry guidelines: By Tony Silva Commercial breeding operations that supply the pet trade with captive-bred parrots were rare outside the US and South Africa until about twenty-five years ago, when facilities that...
Animal protein parrot diet
“Animal protein as part of parrot diet ?” – by Tony Silva During the mid-1980s I spent considerable time in South America observing parrots in the wild and gathering data on the development of...
Avian documents and downloads
Avian documents and downloads – content creator: Petrus A. van Tonder Apart from the Standard bird magazine that is available to download each month, the following documents are also available to download on our...
Breeding parrots indoors
We asked Tony Silva about breeding parrots indoors. “Can parrots be bred successfully indoors?” By: Tony Silva Can parrots be bred successfully indoors? Many years ago, before moving to South Florida, I kept my...