Best Xmas Prezzie ever - Part 2 - Parrots

Part 2 of the daily routine involved cleaning out the cages of the parrots which were being kept off show. 18 cages, scrubbing, cleaning, feeding, watering and sluicing down! Some of the birds were nervous, some were gregarious, some didn't really like us! All of them needed feeding. Claire was very reassuring - and explained the characters of each bird - like this one - Houdini, who "escaped" every time but as soon as you put the net up to catch him, he flew straight on to it! A few of the birds were nesting, which was exciting, and the girls are all pretty good at the hand rearing. Claire herself was rearing a baby one of these --->
It's difficult to tell what he's going to be when he grows up, as at the moment he looks like a miniature plucked chicken!!!!
You can really see that birds are descended directly from the dinosaurs! And see the next post for a video of him being fed and squawking alot!




Next part of the afternoon's activities, was washing the dishes and chopping all the fruit and veg for tomorrow's feed. It was very much like being back in the Restaurant! At least my years of chopping skills were able to be usefully applied here! We also laid out the bowls for tomorrow, filling them all with the dry feed. The birds have an amazing diet - honestly, every bowl of food I saw, I'd have been happy to eat from myself - seeds, nuts, sprouted pulses - it was like something from Gillian McKieth! Apparently the slightest of fluctuation in the birds' diet can make a difference in whether they will breed or not. A nutritionist works very closely with the keepers and designs the meals very carefully - half a walnut, a scoop of seed, half a carrot - it all makes a difference. And the birds are all healthy!