Aviculturalists?.....
- Thread starter phoenix
- Start date
No Peking Robins (Leiothrix lutea)? Which is a popular and common one here. And the red crested finch is indeed a tanager 
And the interesting thing I always notice when talking with Australian aviculturists (or zoofanatics
) is that you re so focussed on exotics while you have such a splendid native ecosystem. Most of the non Australians would love to get their hands on some Australian species (although for Parrot's and waxbills we have most species available here, just if someone could send some psephotus pulcherimmus ... )
And the interesting thing I always notice when talking with Australian aviculturists (or zoofanatics
) is that you re so focussed on exotics while you have such a splendid native ecosystem. Most of the non Australians would love to get their hands on some Australian species (although for Parrot's and waxbills we have most species available here, just if someone could send some psephotus pulcherimmus ... )yes, pekin robins are here (we both mentioned them) and wjilst not common are in secure numbers here (they cost around $1,500 a pair).
australian finches and parrots are very commonly kept here and i'd say its more a case of softbills in general being unpopular than australians preferring exotics.
we have a huge range of exotic finches and parrots here too.
a number of people commented on their surprise regarding the crocodiles. even if there were crocodiles living on this particular cattle station its worth remembering that pygmy hippo share their native habitat with the similarly sized nile crocodile.
this is relevant to your comment, because it shows a simplified example of the sorts of complex factors that come into play regarding what species thrive in foreign environments. sometimes the seemingly most adapted of animals fail to establish themselves in a given environment and the most unsuitable do. just think of the european rabbit and how it has thrived in the australian outback.
Jesse
Well-Known Member
while my family was out camping we found a couple of ferrets. i suspect they were released there by a previous owner because they had a very docile temperament. what factors do you think would make life harder for ferrets in australia than NZ?
many introduced species adapt better to the environment than the native animals they compete with.
Fewer competitors, I presume. Australia has foxes, cats, dingoes, dasyurids, birds of prey, snakes, lizards and crocodiles as major categories of predators.
Most of those are absent from New Zealand.
I have had Emus, Rhea are way out of my price range, of the very few that are available.
Most birds fly
I kept a few raptor species, including Kestrals and Wedgetails. aswell as Barn and Boobook Owls.
I'm just wondering, about how much $ it cost to own a big aviary complex?
well that all depends. how bigs big? what materials etc...my avairy is roughly 4.5 x 5.5 and made mostly from recycled timber and bricks. but it still cost me at least $1000 to build...
ZYBen
Well-Known Member
Are you having a dig at me? just wanting to clarify.
At the most I had about 20 aviaries, all the species I have said I have kept, but not all at once. Working in a Bird Dealers i had many species coming and going, Wrens and Chats dont cope in the shop too well long term, same deal with things like Pelicans and the Larger Waterfowl.
It also depends if you build it yourself - if you do it will be a lot cheaper than a commercially manufactured aviary (and will probably be more sturdy and last longer too.)
I've only got one block (of 6 aviaries) left. At one time I had three blocks of parrot aviaries (18 aviaries in all; each aviary 1.2 metres wide, 4 metres long and 2.4 metres high) and a finch aviary 3 metres x 3 metres x 2 metres high. I built them all about 30 years ago using new pipe and wire and second-hand corrugated iron and timber, at a time when money was really tight. They lasted well.
The smartest thing I did was construct my aviaries so that I could feed the birds without having to enter the aviaries ( using pull-out trays.)
The dumbest thing was not making the aviaries mouse-proof, (but that's easier said than done.)
I've only got one block (of 6 aviaries) left. At one time I had three blocks of parrot aviaries (18 aviaries in all; each aviary 1.2 metres wide, 4 metres long and 2.4 metres high) and a finch aviary 3 metres x 3 metres x 2 metres high. I built them all about 30 years ago using new pipe and wire and second-hand corrugated iron and timber, at a time when money was really tight. They lasted well.
The smartest thing I did was construct my aviaries so that I could feed the birds without having to enter the aviaries ( using pull-out trays.)
The dumbest thing was not making the aviaries mouse-proof, (but that's easier said than done.)