| Donna |
| | 03/25/08 at 10:25 AM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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Alexandrines are sexually dimorphic -- the male has a black ring (going up to the lower corners of the beak) around the neck, salmon pink on the back and black on the front. The ring can show up at 3 months or as late as 3 years. Eyes are cream color. The female does not have the neck ring and their tail is short and eyes are brown.
They have large beaks and can be destructive. You need to provide them with foraging toys and PLENTY OF WOOD TO CHEW ON!! They chew more wood and faster than a large macaw!! Wooden toys, fresh branches, construction wood are some things that work well. They need more wood to chew on than most parrots.
They have a piercing scream.
Their nails are sharp as tiny needles, but please do not trim them too short or too round as they need to be able to perch firmly.
They molt twice a year and will look a bit frumpy. This is normal and should pass in about 3 weeks. During these times, you should give 2 almonds (in the shell) to your Alexandrine to help with molting.
They need alot of activity such as climbing and flying. You need a play gym and to let them out of the cage very often, or else they may start feather plucking themselves. When you let your bird out be sure to monitor his flight and cover up mirrors, make sure fans are off and windows are closed.
You should have 3 sizes of various shapes and textures as perches, ideally 1 inch in diameter, a manzanita perch type and a chewing perch. Because they are active chewers they mostly chew through all types of perches.
Drinking water should be changed twice daily. You should teach them to drink from a water bottle as well as a water bowl since they will always put lots of food in their water bowl. Most are quite messy with their food and water bowls.
They are strong healthy birds that are not easily prone to sickness when treated properly. They are tolerant to cooler temperature since originally they come from places where it sometimes snows.
Dietary requirements: 70% formulated/granulated pellets, 10% seed mix or millet, 15% fruits and veggies, rice, pasta, etc and 5% of nuts such as 1 almond a day or walnut (except when molting you can give 2 or 3 almonds in the shell), occasionally give dry egg food with additional dry insects.
Do not give plain seed mixes as it can lead to obesity as well as deficiencies in calcium and vitamins.
They need at least 4 to 7 hours of full spectrum lighting and of course as much natural lighting as possible.
They need 10 to 12 hours of non interrupted sleep.
Their tails are long so make sure to get a large cage that is spacious to allow movement and activity.
They are gentle and calm when treated properly and can be a little shy and thrive in a peaceful environment. They are not recommended to be around children, since they enjoy quietness and it may be upsetting to them.
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