And Its Name Shall be "Raja"

  • Thread starter Thread starter Der Alta
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Der Alta

Der Alta

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DerAlta
Yep, hatched in the night between the 27th and 28th, was Raja. Fledgling to Baby and Nellie, and sibling to Zephyr.

Its an Umbrella Cockatoo, and a happy little one as well. Mom and Dad are quite happy with it and very protective. My wife did manage to sneak in and get a quick snapshot of it. You can judge its size based on the newspaper print next to it.

DA_Rajadayone.jpg

You can feet a foot and a wing in that pic. And a pile of newborn feathers.
Yep, its ugly and it'll look like a Dinosaur for a few months.
 
Congrats on the new... acquisition, DA!

I had a German Sheppard named Raja. 'Twas a big larger than this one. :lol:
 
My grandparents raise exotic birds and the babies used to freak me out when I saw them as a kid.

Congrats on the addition.👍
 
Congrats on the new dinosaur, DA!

I had a friend named Raja, once. Bad seed from head to toe. Always got us in trouble until one day the police got involved on a serious matter. That was the end of that friendship.
 
Just a small update. He's a beast. Weighs in more than his father at this time, and his feet are much bigger. Which means he'll be a larger bird than his dad.

Here's a Youtube vid of him last night, playing on the coutner. Keep in mind, he still has not achieved lift off.


BTW, Video was shot with my Blackberry Storm.
 
The feathers on his head are huge, he's going to be a great looking bird!

How much longer till take off, and do you keep all their wings clipped to prevent flight?
 
He's working pretty hard on the Lift off. We suspect that in the next week he should achieve Launch Speed. Its usually a crash landing, so we're quite attentive while he's out.

As for Clipping, we're waiting a while until he gets really good at flying and landing before we do any clipping. His sister was hatched in Feburary and we've not clipped her yet. She's a good pilot, and we could clip her to help control her uplift, but we're waiting so that they can fly together and get used to it. Kinda like a "Here's how you do it" tutoring session.

Most of our birds we do keep clipped. Not to stop them from flying, but to stop them from gaining altitude while flying.
 
So with them so used to humans and their wings clipped, do you ever allow them outside with supervision?

Our budgies love being outside, but even with their wings clipped, they're never allowed out of their cage, and someone is always watching them. Not from fear of them flying away, but thanks to too many cats being in the neighbourhood, but something that size would probably hold its on against a cat wouldn't it? I heard they can bite a finger off, so I'm assuming a cat paw would be no different.
 
We do take them outside quite often. One of the Amazons is loves large gatherings of people and he'll often make a trip to friends parties with us. The Macaws go on local trips and occasionally longer trips.

As for holding their own against cats, our two Himalayans figured out long ago they weren't the top of the food chain.
 
Ground Control to Major Tom "We have Liftoff". Crash landing as expected, but all occupants survived with no damage. The flight pattern in our airspace is now heavily crowded.
 
Heh, very good! I keep imagining what it would be like if our cats could fly. You guys are brave parents.
 
Der Alta
Just a small update. He's a beast. Weighs in more than his father at this time, and his feet are much bigger. Which means he'll be a larger bird than his dad.

Here's a Youtube vid of him last night, playing on the coutner. Keep in mind, he still has not achieved lift off.


BTW, Video was shot with my Blackberry Storm.
Click to expand...


Thats awesome.

Der Alta
Ground Control to Major Tom "We have Liftoff". Crash landing as expected, but all occupants survived with no damage. The flight pattern in our airspace is now heavily crowded.
Click to expand...
After seeing the above video I cant wait to see a lift off video. How long until we see liftoff?
 
I've never had any bird nor known anybody who kept them, so this may seem like a dumb question to you DA. When you let them outside, how do you actually keep them around/call them back? Is it just that they know you guys and don't know anything but living inside the house (no instincts telling them they need to fly somewhere else because they've been domesticated?).
 
Eric.
I've never had any bird nor known anybody who kept them, so this may seem like a dumb question to you DA. When you let them outside, how do you actually keep them around/call them back? Is it just that they know you guys and don't know anything but living inside the house (no instincts telling them they need to fly somewhere else because they've been domesticated?).
Click to expand...
We either have them on a leash or they've been clipped sufficiently to not fly too far. Even then, we have a good hold on their feet.

Much like "Beyond Fail Safe", once they are airborne with wings, they're gone. And fast. I've known too many people that have lost birds that way.

Thanks to all for the kudos. He's initiated a few more flights, but still timid. If I can manage to catch a liftoff and flight video, I'll gladly post it.
 

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