We thought we would start a blog and share some of the things that are happening within our aviaries eg species that are breeding, how the season is going etc.
Derbyans! Derbyans! Derbyans
Every second call seems to be someone enquiring about or wanting Derbyans .
At the moment their popularity and demand is in overdrive, thankfully so, because without this soaring interest there is a high chance that Derbyans are on the slippery slope to disappearing in Australia.
We have a long history with Derbyans, Craig acquired our original breeding stock from back trades with Taronga Park Zoo in the late 1990's. Taronga had been sent some Derbyans from Broome Zoo but they decided they didn't want them because they were too destructive on the foliage within the exhibit. At the time Plum heads and Eclectus were costly and in demand, the zoo happily traded them for the Derbyans. The only catch being that the zoo would only accept parent raised Eclectus and Plumheads.
We outcrossed these original birds with some we purchased from a friend ( Peter Montague) and over the years added a few more from various sources so we could keep genetic diversity within our breeding stock. We still have some of the original birds within our collection.
We have successfully bred Derbyans as single pairs and in colony situations in both conventional and suspended aviaries.
Derbyans love a cold winter and this year is shaping up to be very exciting season, we currently have 4 hens sitting on chicks/eggs ( all sold for this season)
Stay tuned , we will keep you updated on this gorgeous species.
Tracey - Parrots Australia