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Powermagic Inner circle 1437 Posts |
Can Parakeets get good audience reactions on a stage? How likely when compared to the bigger birds? They are so much smaller, so I wonder how effective they are in larger rooms.
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JNeal Inner circle I used to have 999 posts, now I have 1617 Posts |
Careful lighting and correct handling will eliminate any negatives associated with the smaller birds. They can play in the largest theatres in the world.
Johnny Hart, Jack Kodell and others have proven the appeal of the birds. Most people uninvolved in magic have positive feelings about parakeets and have no experience with doves...they call them pigeons. If I were to do birds, I would choose parakeets over doves without hesitation. They are also inherently cleaner.
visit me @ JNealShow.com
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
For years in Arkansas, we commercially raised parakeets. We had thousands of them. They are colorful, beautiful and good pets. They are not near as hardy as doves and they do not go to sleep in the dark like doves. Thus, on the road they tend to be sickly and die. In the show, they tend to go exploring rather than waiting to be produced. Lucy and I used two doves on stage in three shows at the IBM Convention in Nashville last week that are at least 16 years old. That is very unlikely with parakeets.
Neither the doves magicians use nor parakeets are native to the western world. I'll stick to the doves for magic. Some television magicians have had some really embarrassing moments with parakeets. (They produce themselves at will!) Bob Sanders Magic By Sander PS --- Magicians frequently tell me how my dove harnesses are easily modified for parakeets. Gee! Guess how I know that's true? |
Powermagic Inner circle 1437 Posts |
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the response and forgive my ignorance. Could you explain how or what causes them to get sickly on the road? Do they get car sick? Is it the temp changes from car to outside, the fact they are not sleeping, they get knocked around in a car? Is it the travel that makes them sick, and why would that be? However, maybe it is like fish, some are hardy and some are not. I think that Parakeet bird buy disagrees with how sickly they can get. But it sounds like you have had quite the experience. Did you really have thousands at one time? Wow. How many of those just died without being in a show? That is, what is the % that some just are not from as good stock as others? How can one know they are picking a good one? I hear Males are better for magic. How can you tell you are getting a male vs female when they are young? Thanks |
Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Parakeets have a respiratory system that isn't well suited to being road warriors in the entertainment industry in the USA. Drafts and temperature changes are also a greater problem for parakeets than doves. The comparison is parakeets versus Java Doves. Doves are better suited to the climates of the USA than are parakeets. Neither is native to the USA.
Obviously, most of our parakeets were breeders. But commercially, large numbers die in shipment like some fish. Doves are rarely lost in shipping. Most of the losses in doves are from water frozen or too shallow to drink and being killed by rats in the storage facilities (especially airports and theme parks). When we commercially ship parakeets, we cut up oranges for them and it supplies both water and food. (They are also a sticky mess on arrival but enjoy cleaning up.) That won't work for doves. In terms of gender best suited for magic acts, I have no opinion. From experience, I do believe that the female parakeets are more likely to kill one another than are the males. In large walk-in aviaries, females will select a bird and simply join forces and kill her. Of people I have known who successfully used parakeets, they only kept the bird a few months in the show before replacing it. As I have said before, I'm currently using doves with 16 years experience. I have a friend in Texas who got 23 years on stage out of a male dove. If you will look up Matilda the magic chicken, you will see that in 2006 she received a Broken Perch ceremony after 16 years of jumping out of a dove pan! I think it may also be here on The Magic Café. We never kept a female breeder parakeet beyond three years. Doves are more reliable than parakeets for behaviors. Doves tend to be the same bird every day. Parakeets can be very unpredictable. That is why most successful acts with parakeets NEVER remove them from the cage. Keeping them in a container during the show is just smart. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander PS --- Parakeets will also experiment with diet at times when it is lethal. Think of them as teething puppies. They will chew on the wrong things if they are available. Strained copper wiring (lamp cord) is an attractive hazard for them as are fertilizer and insecticide pellets. LOL! It's like watching a small child putting things in its mouth. It doesn't have to be food. (Sand and grit don't seem to hurt them.) |
Powermagic Inner circle 1437 Posts |
Thanks, Bob. Is there a name for the species type you raised and found in pet stores?
So if I understand you, the death issue is in Shipping the bird. Why would I need to do that in the US INTRAstate? Why wouldn't I be taking them with me? You mentioned draft and temp changes are ALSO as GREATER problem. So I am not sure if you addressed what affects the bird's respiratory if it is not drafts that would make them kick the bucket. I still am not understanding why they can not travel in your car? I had a parakeet or two when I was a boy and took them on a 5 hour trip to Vermont for summer. We never lost one due to travel. One flew out the door during the winter in Vermont. I can not recall how the other one died, but he had a decent life if I recall. So, my only experience is as a pet. Now could you also address what a BREEDER is? Is that a little bird just used to make more birds? I wonder if they weaken from the constant stress of being used to make more? Are their other breeds of parakeet or same size bird that are colorful and trainable? Honestly, I do not want to get into doves. |
Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
The parakeets we raised are called budgies. They are the ones commonly seen in pet shops.
Shipping problems include even riding in a car. It is not a matter of where you travel. All of our parakeets stayed in the USA. Professional magicians travel very frequently. An average week for me is 1000-2000 miles! There are days when I wish I only traveled five hours. Breeders are the healthier, more robust birds held back for breeding purposes. Doves are not the only option for bird magic. My wife uses geese. I have used chickens and ducks. In parts of Europe, you will find that parakeets are more popular for magic than they are in the USA. I don't recommend parakeets for a pro that travels. Infrequent birthday party magic at home would be the best case. (Obviously, I enjoyed them as pets at home.) Frankly, most people who try dove magic quit it. Most of the successful pros who do dove magic have been doing it over 25 years. It is not for everyone. If I were not committed for at least five years of dove magic, it is probably better to never start. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
Powermagic Inner circle 1437 Posts |
Bob,
Maybe I am not understanding or missing in your post where you stated what is the actual lung issue parakeets have that make for poor travel. You have stated separately that drafts and temp are a separate issue than their respiratory system. Now you have stated that it is not the method of shipping that is the issue. That it could be a in box or a car. It is ok if you really do not know but I am looking for clarification of your statements that these birds die in travel due to a weak respiratory system. I am asking for a medical reason that they go belly up due to travel. Is the low O2 in shipping in small boxes? Is that what you mean? IN nature these birds fly in the air and breath air. So I am not sure how riding in a car causes death. I could understand if the reason was they get car sick from all the unsteady moving and over time daily ,this could cause stress and then weaken them, causing them to have an increased risk on infection. However just saying they do not travel well does not satisfy my curioustiy. Like I said, as boy we used to take our parakeet in a 5 hour car ride up to Vermont and then back home in winter and summer. We never lost a bird use to travel. I do see how shipping MASS amounts of boxed birds as you did could cause issues for other reasons. I assume you sent more than one bird in a small box and thus there coudl be more too it than that they are weak. Plus , live or not, I am not sure I really trust all stages of the post system to handle with care. Please do not take my questions as negative. I understand you have allot of experience as a breeder and use doves . I am not clear if you ever traveled with a parakeet in your show. Maybe it is too hot down in Alabama? I asked a vet and he was not really sure why they would not travel in a small cage to shows if the cage was protected from drafts and the vehicle climate controlled. PS when I asked about other bird options you went large. I asked if there are other breeds of small birds that do better and are trainable? I assume thee is more than one breed of parakeet or close to it... |
Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
During the four years I tried using parakeets, I lived in Fayetteville, AR as originally stated. It was an ideal location for raising parakeets. (They were a very common commercial crop there.) The problem was shipping. Parakeets don't tolerate environmental change nearly as well as do java doves. Method of shipment was not an issue. They were usually shipped via commercial airlines or highway via car or enclosed light truck. All air is hardly equal. They did not get bottled oxygen. They got the same air as everyone else. Respiratory infection was the #1 killer for them anywhere. It was years ago, but as I remember we expected an 8% kill rate. Often they went less than 200 miles away. I have never ever lost a dove in shipment. The shipping methods are exactly the same.
The Feds set standards for shipping. Actually there were about half the birds for the space as are normal in pet shops. Since we only got paid for live arrivals 24 hours later, dead birds cost money to ship for nothing. If we had known which birds would die, we could have sold them locally without losses. Simply put, if I still had pet parakeets I cared about, I would not use them in my magic act away from home. Nor would I endanger future bookings based upon having specific parakeets available in the show. They are a contingent liability for a professional magician. They are cheaper than doves. Wholesale parakeets were $3.25 to $3.75 each depending on rareness of color and condition. (Yes, I know that you can pay $25 for the very same bird in a pet shop. Cost isn't value.) I have no interest in doing animal magic with risks or certainty of death or injury for the animal. I don't even use invisible harnesses on doves. I have used birds ranging from finches to geese. Doves, chickens, ducks and geese are still used. I think you are playing with fire. But it is also your decision. Parakeets make fine pets. To me, advising anyone to use them in a professional magic act that travels is irresponsible. The ones used in Hot Springs, never leave the theater. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
Powermagic Inner circle 1437 Posts |
Thanks
I talked to a vet and he felt that for me, traveling with one bird is not an issue. However he said unless you did an exam, how did you know it was respiratory infection? He thought was more to shock. He said where they are most vulnerable is if their heart rate skyrockets. if it goes to 200 beats they will die. It still seems like you deaths were done due to commerical shipping methods. I would say packing a bird to be bounced around as FREIGHT or put in the cold hold of the airplane or even breath the crap air in cabin, well I could see how little lungs can be effected faster. You know Canary in a coal mine. However I can see extreme stress and shock as well. The reason I ask you and maybe seem to be debating it is that if you google traveling with parakeets, you find loving pet owners that actually say the birds love to rid with the window open blowing on their beloved parakeets. You also read many do travel with them and give suggestions on how. Like wet lettuce as a food and water source, no perches, etc. I am sure a parakeet is less stressed if you are checking in on them. But I assume when you ship them, you have them in a dark box of some sort and I am sure they freak out a bit from the noise and if on a plane, I am sure the air pressure might be a factor. So when I get mixed experiences it is hard to make the determination of how risky it is. As I said, I do not want to get into the dander producing doves and the larger mess. As I said there might be other breeds of parakeets or similar sized birds that are hardier. Maybe the kind you breed just have been over bread. I would think the wild ones can take a bit more. Probably meaner too but should be able to take more since they are not raised in a climate controlled environment. |
DaveWomach Elite user Dave Womach 453 Posts |
I've noticed they get the best reactions when they are flight trained. It's easier than you'd think. You can simply just feed the parakeet out of your hand for the first two weeks or so that you have him. There's a bit more to it, but that's a great start. Hope that helps!
Dave
Dave Womach
Orlando, FL - USA http://www.MagicMasterSummit.com http://www.David-DaVinci.com http://www.BirdTricks.com http://www.ParakeetMagic.com |
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