Slender-Billed Conures
by Eddie B. Horvath, Director
Castle Country Hookbills Inc.
Updated January 16, 2010
Please click here to read this story about Jasper, a Slender-Bill and Annitta, his mom, who live in Nikolaevsk, Alaska.
Slender-Billed Conures
by Eddie B. Horvath, Director
Castle Country Hookbills Inc.
Updated January 16, 2010
Please click here to read this story about Jasper, a Slender-Bill and Annitta, his mom, who live in Nikolaevsk, Alaska.
This is Liz and Bob, a 2 year old, female Slender-Bill
This is Jamaica (Slender-Bill) and Alcatraz (Quaker)
I developed this site specifically for these extremely rare,
exotic and beautiful birds. In March of 1998 I was very lucky to
to be able to purchase a breeding pair of these interesting
hookbills.
These are my breeders; Spunky (male) and Plucky (female).
Unfortunately I have some bad news. A couple of weeks ago I
noticed that Plucky was fluffed up and her wings where hanging
down her sides. This was about 11:30 p.m. I called my avian
vet and he told me to have her in the office first thing in the
morning. I arrived at his office, 2 hours away from me, about
9:00 a.m. To my horror, she had died on the way there. I
didn't even know she had died in the kennel. I had a nervous
breakdown in the vets office and even the vet tech had to leave
becasue she started crying when she saw how upset I had became.
As stated by my avian vet:
A full necropsy was performed and tissue samples were sent
off for pathological testing. Important gross lesions included
hepatomegally, splenomegally, and air saculitis of the cervico
cephalic air sacs with caseous exudation present. Plucky
appears very well cared for and of good nutritional status. The
exudate in the cervico cephalic air sac is likely caused by
bacterial infection, source of infection is unknown. The
hepatomegally and spenomegally could be from primary disease, or
could be secondary to the infection in the air sacs. Most likely
r/o is that a severe bacterial shower occurred resulting in
septicemia and death. Bacterial culture of Cervicocephalic air
sac was taken. Section of liver tissue was submitted to avian
and exotic pathology service for histopathology.
Before the information I need to thank several people and
business who were instrumental in helping me obtain correct
information on this rare species. These people/business are:
Eb Cravens, Hookbill Behaviorist/Breeder, Writer/Editor
for The Companion Parrot Online Magazine
Sally Blanchard, Hookbill Behaviorist/Breeder, Writer/Editor
for The Companion Parrot Online Magazine
Read what Sally has to say about her slender-bill; Twiggy.
Elaine Webster (mother of Jamaica) [Click to email her!]
P.O. Box 3153
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
Fax: 707-578-3171
Lillian Click to email her!
Diane LeBlanc from Pet Support [Click to email her!]
Feather Farm This is their web site.
The Companion Parrot Online Magazine
Other Owners of Slender-Billed Conures
Mike Farber Click to email him!
Mike is the owner of Billy, a 17 month old (as of 12/1/98)
female Slender-Bill.
Tracy Thomas Click to email her!
She owned Clyde, a male slender-bill for 7 years before she
gave him to a zoo for breeding purposes. She lives in
Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom and is a wonderful
person to speak [email] to.
Dee Bradshaw Click to email him!
He is the owner of Max, a 6 year old (as of 06/11/93) slender-bill.
Lara Click to email her!
She owns a slender-bill named Slim and together they live
in Michigan. Slim used to owned by Carrie but sadly had to
part ways! Slim is 8 years old as of 2004. Here is a pic of
Slim:
A slender-bill in the wild.
Current Correct Information of Wild Birds
Common Name: Slender-Billed Conure
Other Names: Slender-Billed Parrakeet (I don't suggest using)
Scientific Name: Enicognathus leptorhynchus
From: Chile, Chiloe Island north to Aconcagua
Length: Up to 40 cm (15.5 inches)
Plumage/Body: General olive green all over. Their forehead,
crown and neck feathers are edged with brownish
black. The lores and cere (which is feathered)
are crimson red. They have a small grey perioph-
thalmic ring. The center of abdomen is a maroon
reddish color and the tail is brownish red with
a tinge of green. Their legs are grey & Iris is
orange. Bill dark grey; the upper mandible
(beak) is very prolonged and only slightly
curved (as seen below).
A close-up of the bill.
Habitat: Dense to open forestslands. During winter they
are also found on farmlands.
Nutrition: Seeds, fruits and berries, also roots dug from
the ground. They are very fond of Araucaria
nuts.
Natural Breeding:Breeding season is around November to December,
the clutch consists of two to five eggs.
Current Correct Information of Captive Birds
Pet Quality: Elaine Webster, and several others, say that
these birds make one of the most excellent pets.
They are very curious, like to hide under things
such as towels or hide in drawers and play peek-
a-boo. Jamaica also likes to play fetch the
ball. Elaine says Jamaica "lives to please and
get as much attention as possible. These birds
are obviously GGGGRRRRREEEEEEAAAAAAATTTTT!!!!!!!
Diet
(non-breeding): These conures should be given a diet mixture of
25% seed, 10% pelleted (preferably non-colored),
65% fresh vegetables & fruits (avoid store
bought strawberry's), & wheat bread (they
wheat bread and bell pepper). Papya wedges are
also favored as is apple with the seeds left in.
Studies have shown that apple seeds are not
toxic and some birds love them and even require
their nutrients in their diets. A small amount
of daily vitamin powder such as Nekton should be
given sprinkled over the fresh food (not in
water as it becomes toxic). These birds are root
diggers and relish such items as carrot, beet
and spinach greens. They will bite off the
leaves and eat the stem.
Elaine Webster says that Jamaica likes to find
his food under a towel or likes to place a
wooden ladder on top of his food and eat through
the ladder legs (thus simulating the digging
action).
Diet
(breeding): All the above applies, however make sure that
the seed part of the diet contains much more of
buckwheat, safflour and sunflour seeds.
Illnesses: Diane LeBlanc of Pet Support reports that these
birds can be prone to Newcastle Disease. One
avian vet in Napa, California said that these
birds can also be prone to overeaten which in
turn causes obesity and liver problems. I've
researched the obesity and liver problems with
other "experts" and breedres and they have not
heard of any such problem. However, it is good
to know of this in case it is so. Just because
only one bird has been diagnosed with this pro-
blem does not mean that it doesn't or hasn't
happened to others.
Incubation: 23 to 25 days in captivity.
Breeding Tips: DO NOT open the nest box. If you suspect that
the hen has laid and is staying inside the nest
box, mark the day on the calendar and count 23
to 25 days past that for an approximate hatch
date. Around that time, listen for peeping and
chirping sounds from within the nest box. Again,
DON'T open the nest box. Slender-Billed Conures
must feel very secure inside the nest box. If
you open it she may get startled and scared. She
will not feel secure and may stop breeding. Let
her raise the young for 4 weeks (28 days) and
then you may pull some of the young for hand
feeding so they will be tame. I absolutely,
strongly suggest that you allow the hen to fully
raise at least one of her young from each
clutch. It's important for Slender-Bills to
fulfill their biological function of family
raising. In order to help the parent raised
young not to be terrified of humans, open the
nest box every fourth day and handle the
babie(s) for a few minutes and then place it/
them back in the next box and leave the room.
This helps it/them to realize this strange
"thing" grabbing them is no danger to them.
Breeding Cage: The minimum cage space for breeding Slender
Bills are 3'HX4'WX6'D. If possible, an outdoor
aviary built 8' square with a dirt floor and
natural plants is great; these birds like to dig
in the ground and pull up roots to eat.
With that being said it has been my person expe-
rience that a cage size of 5'HX8'WX5'D works the
best.
Nest Box: A all natural nest box (wood trunk) is best as
it allows the hen to chew during incubation and
while raising her young. I has also been found
the hookbills in the wild will chew the wood and
feed it to their young during the night. Since
it is dark outside the parents cannot be out
getting food so this helps calm the hungry,
screaming chicks. Do to the undigestable nature
of wood, the droppings of the chicks turn black
until they actually get nurishing food in them
in the morning.
If you are unable to get a natural wood box, a
modified metal "boot" box will also work well.
In the "boot" part where the hen will lay her
eggs and raise the young, you will need to place
a divider there. As mentioned above, these birds
must feel secure. The divider should be 4" from
the edge. Studies of wild Slender-Bills has
shown that they usually nest in rotting tree
trunks with a diameter of 4". This divider will
also show the male where his boundry ends
within the nest box. He will know that the
border is as far as he can go to feed the hen.
If he goes beyond this point, the hen will
quickly put him in his place.
In the bottom of the nest box you will want to
place 4"-6" of rotting wood chips approximately
1"-2" in length/diameter on top of some eucalip-
tus oil. The oil will help give it a sweet
smell. If you are unable to get rotting wood
pieces you can go to a saw mill and get some
wood chips. I have found that pine shavings
are not good; they contain dust which can get
into the eyes and the nasal cavity which is very
irritating. Most baby hookbills lie with their
down in the wood chips; so why take chances.
Also, if you are using a metal box you will want
to screw a piece of 2X4 on the inside at beak
level for the hen to chew on during incubation
and brooding but make sure it is NOT treated as
most wood now is treated with cyanide!!!
Again, my personal experience with a breeding
pair is that my birds prefer a "Z" nest box that
is typically used for Eclectus.
Hand Feeding: Here's the problem with hand rearing Slender-
Bills. Studies have not been able to provide an
accurate hand feeding formula. The best thing to
do in this case would be to use a very high
quality hand feeding formula such as Harrisons
or other high quality brand name. I would
alternate natural herbs in the formula such as
Spirilina, Wheat Germ and Wheat Grass. Also
alternate some green vegetable baby food such as
spinach, green-beans and peas. Adding green
vegetable baby food to the formula will help
ensure that the baby doesn't grow up
malnurished. This is a visible sign in grown
birds as they have very large heads compared to
their body. This is called "stunted parrot
syndrome". Personally I love Rival hand feeding
formula because it is rice based but in my area
it is VERY difficult to get.
I hope this page has been informative for you. If you have
any further questions or comments, please email me below and I'll
send you a replay back as soon as possible.
Other Pages of Interest and Importance
Online Book of Parrots [Psittaciformes]
Wasatch Avian Education Society
Lexicon of Parrots
All images and materials contained within
this site are the property of Eddie B. Horvath,
unless otherwise noted, and are not to be used
without his express permission.
Copyright © 1997-2010 Eddie Horvath
