You need to feed your Palm Cockatoo only once a day, in the morning. Always keep fresh water for them to drink. Remove fruits and vegetables from the cage at the end of the day. Wild Palm Cockatoos feed on fruits, berries, seeds, palm nuts and leaf-buds. They break open nuts with their sharp-edged bills. As their numbers in the wild are seriously threatened, they only way to ensure the survival of this species is by the controlled breeding in captivity. This has been successful with chicks being reared and nurtured full term by their parents. In captivity Palm Cockatoos can breed all through the year. Palm Cockatoos become sexually mature when they are two years Diet Breeding: Breeding Season Breeding Age Palm Cockatoo old. You can make out immature birds by the non-pigmented central ridge in the maxilla. Bonded Palm Cockatoos build their nest with small, toothpick size chips of wood. It is built so as to prevent flooding during the rainy season. While breeding them in captivity, you should provide them with branches to build their nest with. The bonded pair mates early in the morning. Courtship lasts for a few days prior to this. After the male completes the courtship ritual, he bows several times to the female while whistling before mounting on her. Only one egg is laid and incubation lasts between 28 and 31 days. To keep their numbers rising, the majority of Palm Cockatoo eggs laid in captivity are pulled from the breeding pair. They are then incubated artificially. If the pair has in the past successfully raised a chick, Breeding Nest Copulation Artificial Incubation Palm Cockatoo only then are the eggs left with the parents. O O A temperature of 99.5 F (37.5 C) with 48% humidity should be maintained inside the incubator. Even if the incubator has a rotator, turn the egg by hand at least three times a day for the first two or three weeks. For the remainder of the incubation period, the egg should be turned twice a day. At this point, also reduce the temperature to O O 96.8 F (36 C). Candle the eggs twice a day and make a note of the development. When you notice the embryo in a draw down stage of development, place it on the bottom of the incubator. You shouldn't turn it anymore. The time from internal pip to external pip can take anywhere between 24 and 48 hours. Once the external pip appears, shift the egg to a hatcher. The eggs can take anywhere between 48 and 72 hours to hatch. Hatching Palm Cockatoo Mutations Conservation Status The only known mutation is the Albino Palm Cockatoo. Palm Cockatoos are severely threatened and are listed in Appendix I of the C.I.T.E.S. since 1987. Vendors have to a get a permit from C.I.T.E.S. even to sell Palm Cockatoos or breed it in captivity. Palm Cockatoo Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are endemic to Australia. Their natural habitat extends from the North-Eastern tip of the country running down South until Tasmania. They are also found in small numbers in Western Australia, New Guinea, the Aru Islands, New Zealand and Indonesia. |