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10 steps to help your PARROT stop BITING!
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info on each step...
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Derbyan ParakeetDerbyan Parrot Family: Psittacidae
The mature Derbyan Parakeet is a striking bird with beautiful shades of violet blue on the head and breast!Though the Derbyan Parakeet is naturally a bit shy, seeming to prefer the company of birds to that of humans, with good socialization when they are young and ongoing regular handling, they make a wonderful pet. They love to socialize, are generally docile, and tend to live long healthy lives. The Derbyan Parakeet is one of the best talkers among the parakeets. They are extremely intelligent and can learn many words with a clarity in their speech that is similar to that of the amazon parrots. They do have a loud voice and can get be rather noisy though they are said to be less noisy when kept singly and given a lot of attention. To learn more about Parakeets and their needs visit:
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There is currently only one recognized species of the Derbyan Parakeet, Psittacula derbiana. The Chinese Derbyan Parakeet Psittacula derbiana chinensis is officially unknown as a subspecies, but has been suggested in 2001 as being similar to the Derbyan Parakeet but slightly smaller. It is also described as having a duller violet-blue head, a duller red beak, and a more grayish breast and abdomen. Also under the wings and parts of the thighs are described as being a grayish-brown.
Distribution:
The Derbyan Parakeet is found in northeast Assam, southeast
Tibet, and western China in the provinces of Szechwan and Yunnan. They
are mountainous birds living in forests of pine and oak as well as rhododendron
alpine forests. This region is seldom visited by ornithologists so little
is known about their habits.
Description:
The Derbyan Parakeet has a general green plumage that gets
paler on the nape and middle of the wings. They have black on their lores
and lower cheeks, with a bright blue on their forecrown moving into a
blue-violet on the rest of the head. The throat, under parts, and under
the wings are a lavender-purple and the thighs and vent area are green
with touches of blue on some of the feather edges. The central feathers
of the tail are blue tinged with green near the base, and the outer feathers
are green edged with blue. The upper beak on the male is red with a yellowish
tip and the lower mandible is black, while the females beak is all black.
The eye is a yellowish-white and the legs are a greenish-gray. The Derbyan
Parakeet is a pretty large parakeet getting up to about 20" (50 cm).
The female is distinguished not only by the all black beak,
but she does not have the blue on the forecrown. She can also be distinguished
by a brownish-pink band behind the ear coverts.
The young are duller in color and have a green head with
no blues. The beak is an orangish-red and the eyes are dark. They will
reach their adult coloring at maturity, about two years of age.
Care and Feeding:
Fresh food and water must be provided daily.
In the wild the Derbyan Parakeet eats a variety of seeds,
fruits, berries, and leaf buds. They do like to feed on the ground. Their
diet consists of a good seed mixture supplemented with sprouted seed,
various fruits, and green foods. In addition to these foods, you can offer
them vegetables and commercial pellets.
See About Parakeets:
Care and Feeding for more detailed information.
Housing:
A roomy cage is required, and time out of the cage for exercise
and flying is very important for them. They will also do very well in
an aviary.
See About Parakeets:
Housing for more extensive housing information.
Maintenance:
The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water
and food dishes. Weekly you should wash all the perches and dirty toys,
and the floor should be washed about every other week. A total hosing
down and disinfecting of an aviary should be done yearly, replacing anything
that needs to be freshened, such as old dishes, toys and perches.
Social Behaviors:
In the wild, the Derbyan Parakeets live in small flocks of
up to 50 birds and are very social. They do seem to prefer birds as companions
and can seem rather aloof, shying away from human handling. They have
a generally peaceful personality and make excellent aviary birds.
Handling/Training:
They are rather shy with people, but with good socialization
when they are young and regular handling after that, they become very
good pets. They are extremely intelligent and can be excellent talkers.
See About
Parakeets: Handling and Training for detailed information.
Activities:
Parakeets are very energetic birds! Besides flying, which
is important for all parakeets, these birds love to chew! Though considered
more placid than many parakeets, the Derbyan Parakeet is still very active
and can be very destructive. Being a very intelligent bird it needs lots
of stimulation to help prevent boredom. Make sure to give your pet regular
time out of its cage and lots of assorted toys and wood chews, perches
and swings.
Breeding/Reproduction:
The Derbyan Parakeets reach maturity at about two years of
age. They will readily breed in captivity and are excellent parents. In
the wild they build their nests in the holes in trees. The female will
lay an average of four eggs. The young hatch in about 23 days and leave
the nest in about 50 days.
See About Parakeets:
Breeding and Reproduction for more information.
Potential Problems:
Though the Derbyan Parakeet is a healthy and hardy bird,
they do forage for food on the ground. This can make them more susceptible
to intestinal worms and fungal infections. These can be averted by keeping
the cage or aviary well maintained and clean.
Because of their frequent contact with the ground where they
like to pick up seed, you may also want to talk to an avian veterinarian
about a regular de-worming schedule. With a proper environment and a good
balanced diet, they are very hardy and resistant to disease.
See About Parakeets:
Potential Problems for more information.
Availability:
Derbyan Parakeets are occasionally available at pet stores
or from breeders.
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Comments from people who have kept this pet:
Hello Jason. Your bird is not a different species but it is simply a female! The green on her chest is quite special though!
Hi, I need help. I have a bird that looks just like this one, but mine has a black beek, a green chest, and rose cheeks. Does anybody know what kind he is?
I came across a homeless Derbyan parakeet several months ago. I've never had a bird so I was only going to keep him temporarily until I found a home for him. Needless to say, we fell in love with him! Their personalities must differ just like humans because I severly disagree with some of the comments I've read. My Derbyan, Sunny, is the sweetest most affectionate pet. He begs for attention and wants to be on my shoulder constantly! He even loves my 6 year old son. He talks to me and whistles and never makes a peep once I put him in his cage for the night. He doesn't startle easily and doesn't care if his cage is moved. He is so loving and adaptable. I would recommend a Derbyan as a pet to anyone that loves animals.
Hello this is Leanne from Australia again. An update on our derbyan Mac! Bites my boyfriend only sometimes now mainly when people are around. He is letting him pat him loves kisses from both of us. Everytime we give him some food he kissed us twice. Mac cant stand to be left alone when we are out of sight he always flys down after a few minutes and says "HELLO" and always finds us! Hears the shower and flys down and walks into the bathroom and wont stop talking and most of the time has a shower with us too. I now know when mac wants a pat he puts his head down for me. There is so much I could write. Bye for now
I look at Derbyans and other psittacula as having the cat-like personalities of the parrot world. Like many cats, they don't really need you, they just tolerate you and will show affection on occasion...on their terms. I hand-fed my Derbyan from 6 weeks of age to weaning (she was raised in a great environment before that), and she is still quite grumpy at times. She has learned to growl instead of bite when she is mad luckily, and she is not territorial at all, always stepping up even when inside her cage. However, she "tolerates" being pet, pinning her eyes and just sitting there growling, or whatever is close to a growl for a parrot. She hasn't drawn blood with a bite to this day, and on occasion preens my hair (even while typing this). She is a great talker, learning various Star Trek phrases and speaking them like a 5 year old would, VERY loudly and slightly off-key. And she'll destroy anything chewable within reach of her cage. Watch out for that....somehow she survived chewing through a power cable for my cordless phone (she flew to the kitchen counter...) For people like me who live alone and work outside the home for 8 or more hours a day and appreciate companionship with their birds when they get home (every day, out of the cage!), psittacula, including Derbyan Parakeets, are great. I had a TAG that was a GREAT companion, but I didn't like the clinginess of that bird....my ringneck and Derbyan are happy sitting on the back of my office chair, watching me type, and enjoying the occasion petting session.
I have had Anastasia for 23 of her 24 years of life. From what I have read about derbyans, being standoffish is normal for the species, and I would not recommend one for a family looking for cuddly pet. However that does not mean that they don't like company. Annie is very happy perching on a shoulder, and will even preen you when she feels affectionate. However, I am the only person that has ever been able to pet her, and even then not when there is company around.
Author: Clarice Brough, CAS
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