The Amazing Toucan Bill

Father of the baby Galahs

Father of the baby Galahs.

 

The Toucan Beak

When my pair of Galahs were in Southern California, the woman who took care of them found out they weren’t a pair who would set on the eggs and incubate themselves.  In fact they would destroy the egg as soon as it was laid.  The only incubator she owned was for ostrich eggs so she took the fertile, just laid Galah eggs and put them under various pairs of Ringnecks, who were setting at the same time as the Galahs and in the same cycle.  She had very good success with using Ringnecks as foster parents and she raised seven Galahs in the 2010 breeding season, under Ringnecks.  This gave me the idea to use my own Ringnecks here to foster the Galah eggs.

Because I knew the history of the Galah pair and that they laid fertile,  but ruined their eggs, this season I was home and watched closely.  I checked the nest box often for eggs, one time entering the flight in sandals only to have the angry male Galah bloody my toes.  But I was determined.  They destroyed a few eggs before I got wise to them but I got one egg with a tiny hole in it, which I fixed and put under a Cockatiel in cycle with the Galahs.  Second egg was perfect and I put it under my best Ringneck pair, after moving her eggs to another nest.  I did leave one Ringneck egg along with the Galah egg as a heat sync and in case I did get a baby, the baby could use it to prop up on.

>>Next: Foster Birds


 

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Copyright © 2011, Susie Christian