EXOTIC BIRD EXPO-----Not to be missed Oct 23rd and 24th

The Rand Avicultural Society (RAS) is proud to announce that we will be hosting an Exotic Bird Expo for the first time at the Hillfox Power Trade Centre on October 23rd and 24th 2010.
If you have any interest in Birds or Bird Keeping, then don’t miss the chance of visiting us . There is no entry fee and we will be combined with Hillfox B&B Markets ( situated Corner Albert and Hendrk Potgieter Sts., Weltevreden Park )
We are a generalist bird club and cover virtually the full spectrum of bird species, ranging from Parrots, finches, softbills and doves to groundbirds.

We will have these categories of birds on display and there will be many
write-ups of the different species to inform would be aviculturists on their care, housing and breeding requirements.
RAS will be combining with other specialist bird clubs who will also be showing birds , such as Zebra Finches and Gouldian Finches.. There might also be a limited number of birds for sale.
In addition, there will be a number of aviaries on show and for sale, sponsored by West Rand Bird Farm, who will also be giving demonstrations of hand rearing baby parrots. They will also have a range of bird accessories, nests and nesting logs and branded bird food for sale not to mention a wide range of DVDs dealing with many subjects of Bird Keeping in the South African environment.

We also hope to have Bird Rings and Candling Inspection lights for sale.
(Not always readily available)
Also Not to be Missed: a new Wonder product for birds, which not only elimimates all parasites but also has a profound effect on vitality, fertility and resultant improved breeding Results.

Rand Avicultural Society has been in existence for more than 35 years and would welcome new members. We hold monthly meetings at the Honeydew Country Club and provide a wonderful opportunity for likeminded members to meet , get to know each other, talk and learn more about their birds. Interesting talks, DVDs on specialised subjects and swopping notes or getting answers to problems are what members can experience on an ongoing basis.
Anyone wanting to join or attend one of our meetings or would like some further information please contact Mike Pidduck 082 452 4261
You can also see us at the Expo and join up there.
We will also be having some interesting prizes to be won!

We Recently Held our Breeders Awards at our last club meeting.
Some of the main awards presented went to :

Parrot Breeder of the year : Hira

Breeder of the Year : Walter  No less than 777 birds bred and increase of 85% over last year!

Nick Boshoff Dove Breeder of the year : Walter
Rare Breeding Award :   Walter for Swee Waxbill
                                      Tinus and Nollie:   for San Blas Jay and
                                                                  Green (Inca ) Jay

Meritorius Breeding  Award: Nollie and Tinus for Green ( Inca ) Jay

Well done guys . Keep it up!

Superb DVD Produced by one of our Members Eelco Meyjes : A real Bird adventure

The Shelly’s Crimsonwing (Cryptospiza shelleyi) is one of the rarest finches in Africa. It inhabits the same dense Albertine Rift highland forest as the threatened Mountain Gorillas of Uganda, Rwanda and DRC of central Africa.
Today, thanks to the early pioneering work done by Dian Fossey in the late 1960’s and the movie Gorillas in the Mist, more is known about the estimated 680 remaining Mountain Gorillas than is known about the elusive Shelley’s Crimsonwing finch. Both keystone species act as ambassadors for the diminishing tropical forests of the word.
This bird is categorized by Birdlife International in the IUCN Red Data list as Vulnerable (likely population 2 500 to 9 999) but lack of data prohibits a more accurate classification. Extensive field research conducted by the Rare Finch Conservation Group (RFCG), which is made up of a group of highly dedicated finch enthusiasts, suggests that the finch is in dire straights and needs urgent attention.
This DVD shows the remarkable story of how the RFCG, with the support of worldwide donors, is overcoming enormous logistical and financial hurdles to save this bird from probable extinction.
(Appropriate running time: 60 minutes)


Review
By David Dennison  (Editor : Avizandum)
I was asked to review this new DVD produced by Birds of a Feather, South Africa. Adele and I watched the DVD right through and we were both most impressed with the quality of the presentation. We expected to see a DVD just about finches and some finches in equatorial rainforests. Instead we were treated to the most fantastic 60 minutes of multidisciplinary conservation effort that one can imagine.
For instance the first ever photograph of a live Shelly’s finch was taken by staff of the gorilla conservation group in the DRC during a netting survey of the bird species present in that park. Although there are only 680 Mountain Gorillas left in the world there is more known about them than about Africa’s rarest finch. The Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation makes accommodation available for visitors to the area. The unique feature of birding in this area is not only are there many endemic species of birds and a total of 350 species to be seen of which 43 species are finches, it is the only national park in Africa where one can see both Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees.
The Bwindi National Park where the search is being conducted thus offers visitors gorilla watching and birding. This park also offers the opportunity to see all four species of seedeaters, a wonderful opportunity for bird watchers with a special interest in finches.
Knowledgeable bird guides and drivers who all speak English are readily available for hire. The bottom line is the more visitors the area has the more chance there is of the survival of the environment and the Bwindi National Park and its rare birds and mammals. This DVD is worth every cent of its purchase price.

Update on Guira Cuckoo

After about two weeks of incubation we noticed egg shells on the floor one morning. When we took a closer look in the nest there was no chick and we realised the egg was discarded from the nest. All the other eggs later proved to be infertile. This is the second time this has happened and we have decided to take the male to a vet for a check-up as it seems that this must be the problem.

A remarkable recovery :Red Faced Crimson Wing

Yesterday Morning, on inspecting my aviaries,I noticed my Red Faced Crimsonwing cock on the floor in an up right position, but looking very dead. On examination it was found to be still alive (but only just) and quite warm.Being late for an appointment, all I could do was give it a few sips of honey water and place it in a double breeder cage which had a lot of sunshine shining into it.(one of the most important items to treat a sick bird with is applying suitable heat to raise its metabolism)
On Arriving back late in the afternoon fully expecting it to have died I was most surprised to see it very actively flying from perch to perch. It was as though nothing had happened.It is now back in its aviary and full of life.I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience

Guira Cuckoos breeding at Boscia

The flock of Guira Cuckoos have started incubating a clutch of 6 eggs last week. These South American birds are communal nesters and several females lay in one nest and will help with the incubation. They resemble African Coucals in the way they run on the ground and scuttle between branches. We feed them on day old chicken meat, mealworms and the occasional pinky. Being part of the Cuckoo family the eggs hatch within 12 days and the chicks flegde five to six days later. These birds are very easy to care for and can become very tame.

New Avairy for Northern Carmine Bee-eaters at Boscia

Building of a special avairy for the pair of Northern Carmine Bee-eaters we acquired in July 2009 has started a week ago and hope to have it finished within the next two weeks. The avairy is just over six meters wide by five meters long and will be 2.4 meters high.

In the one corner of the avairy will be a small dam and above it an artifical sand wall in which pipes with nest boxes will be positioned at various positions to act as nesting sites. The paper written on the nest boxes at Animal Kingdom at Disney in Orlando, Florida, USA, was of great help and we hope to replicate their success with breeding this species.

Bester birds imported five pairs about a year ago and we managed to secure one pair. The other four were allready booked for a collector in Malelane, Mpumalanga. We have spoken to Mike Bester about the possibility of importing more birds and we are hoping to get at least another pair soon.

The Northern Carmine Bee-eaters will share their cage with a pair of Bruce’s Green Pigeons and a pair of Roul-roul Partridges that we got recently.

Updates on the progress on the avairy will be posted regularly.

parrot breeding

1.I feed my parrots a mix of mealies,barley.sorghum which i cook let cool and feed this mix to the birds. Is this healthy as the birds dont have excess to this type of food in the wild.
2.in winter i remove the nest boxes from may to end july, clean them out and add new nesting material.does this effect the birds breeding cycle.
3.can i add wheatgerm oil to the you chicks soft food mix, does this effect them.
4.why do some parrots and parakeets pluck their young in the nest box.
5.prior to the breeding season when is the best timw to feed the following
sprouting seeds, high protein softfood, and adding vitamins and mineral supplements

Representation of groups of birds we keep

Finches

Gouldian Finch

Sexual behaviour of the Gouldian Finch

Click here for video

Soft Bills

Royal Starling

Parrots

African Grey Parrot

Doves

Diamond Dove

Ground-birds

Chinese Painted Quail

This is an experiment to see if there are any passionate birdkeepers out there who would like to make contact with our birdclub and members, by sharing any experiences,comments,queries, prolems encountered, breeding successes,advice etc.

Our birdclub is called Rand Avicultural Society (RAS) and is based in the Johannesburg region of Gauteng, South Africa.We cover a wide spectrum of avicultue eg Its members specialise in South African, African, Australian, Asiatic and South American Finches and Doves, as well as Softbills, Parrots and Parrot-like birds.

Members and non members interactive participation are welcomed and you are invited to post your comments on this blog.

New members are also most welcome, both local and "country" members

We hold monthly birdmeetings where we have interesting talks, informative DVDs, presentations, and much more and its a time when members can get together,
swop notes and learm more about their birds.

Mike Pidduck
Chairman RAS
082 452 4261