Hello from NZ

[Hayden1987]

Hey everyone, just thought i had better introduce myself, I am a former breeder of conures here in new zealand... I have had to stop all my pairs from breeding due to a lack of interest from buyers. I breed sun, maroon bellies, green cheek and peach fronted conures. Here in NZ the larger and exotic parrots arent available in great numbers here, due to no importations being allowed. But i am one of the lucky ones who has had the chance to work with CAG's, Yellow naped Amazons, Major mitchells cockatoos and eclectus... all of which numbers are definitely increasing around the country. I train animals for film and television and have done for 8 years now. Alot of my work is for the international market.... anyway that is enough about me,
Thanks for reading

[marie83]

Welcome to the forums.

How did you get into the training and what animals do you train.

I notice you have peach fronted conures too, they dont seem too common over here, I did have one at one stage but have never seen one since sadly. What are they like as pets? it would be interesting to have another owners perspective to see if mine fitted into the typical traits for the species as he was unlike other conure species I have come across.

[Hayden1987]

Basically i was very lucky and fell into the job thru friends of mine in the bird world here in wellington. Also working in an animal park in the same town asnthe training facility helped.. and they rang me and asked me if i was interested in working on a sheep commercial for the UK... and of course i couldnt refuse and have been working there since.
I have worked with cats, dogs, sheep, goats pigs, red deer, simmental cattle, fresian cattle, rooks, magpies, owls, blackbirds, thrushes, cockatoos, pigeons, llamas the list goes on! hahaha nothing too exotic but i like it like that.

Oh man peachies are adorable and sweet. My lines are very good. They are quiet birds and very gentle. Both pairs are handraised, I feel this just creates a well mannered bird thatisnt nervous around people even when nesting. Infact with 1 pair i can even check the chicks or eggs while she is brooding them without any problems. I do let her raise her chicks right through because there is no need to handraise.
They are all individuals from what ive found but i have never had any problems with noise aggression or mutilation.... i fully reccomend peachies to anyone that wants a smaller conure with a cuddly nature

[marie83]

Cool, George our PFC was mainly quiet but had very loud moments at dusk and dawn, he never bit once and was the most well mannered bird I've ever had. We didn't even know puberty had happened he sailed through it so well. He wasn't in any way cuddly though, he hated to be touched but he would squawk and warn you rather than bite. He was brilliant with everything else though, stepped up 100% of the time and was a typical conure regarding bathing. He was definitely the calmest, most well balanced bird I had, I just wish now I had put more effort into training him because he would have done brilliantly at it.

How lucky are you with the job opportunity, are you very busy all the time/have multiple animals to train etc? Im currently taking an animal management course (done in approx 3 months), not too sure what direction I'm heading in afterwards, I do like the thought of going in to some sort of training role though as I think I have almost totally ruled out veterinary work.

[Hayden1987]

Unfortunately film in nz is a feast then famine kind of job, sometimes we are flat tack, i was busy from august till february. When its on it really is on.. at one point i was training turkeys to display and gobble on cue on a table indoors while assisting the head trainers with cats for another job.. cats are nervous animal by nature so it was difficult to have 3 large turkeys in the same room while teaching cats to sit, stay and lie down. Definitely rewarding when you get to see the finished product.. makes all the nervous breakdowns worth it!! Haha.
Oh man all the baby PFC i have raised have been very cuddly.. not to the point of cockatoos but while ya watch tele they huddle under your hands or lie on their backs and let ya tickle the belly... i think alot of it comes down to who hand raised them becausemi know of a few breeders who just feed then leave where as i like to play and cuddle as soon as they are mobile. But i do make a point of never raising birds on their own unless im forced to.. just to ensure that they can bond with other conures if necessary

[marie83]

Yea, we dont know Georges background as he arrived with us at 8/9 months old. We think he may have been parent reared as he definitely knew he was a bird unlike the hand reared and co-parented birds I have had.

I imagined training for film is very much full on with dry spells tbh, hopefully you get paid well enough or have alternative work to see you through the dry patches. If i go down that route I will probably do local consultations or something and see where it leads. I'm just concentrating on finishing the course right now, its a struggle as I've so many other commitments atm.

[littleorangeroughey]

Hi Hayden, do you/could you breed a green faced or blue crowned conure? In Auckland and very keen to add one to our family. Thank you

[PokeyBall]

Welcome to the forum! I'm newbie too. Glad to meet you!