How do you raise a hill myna and when does it molt?
Nowadays many retired grandparents sit at home with nothing to do, so they like to keep small animals. Many retired grandparents like to keep small birds such as parrots and crested mynas. Today what I want to talk about with you is also a kind of bird that people love very much, called the hill myna. Many people have never kept a hill myna, so they do not know how to feed it either. Next I will teach you a few little methods for raising hill mynas.
How to raise a hill myna
1. It can be kept in a large bamboo cage for viewing. Equip the cage with a drum-shaped food cup with a small mouth and a large belly. It has an omnivorous diet and a large appetite. The staple food is fed as fried rice mixed with egg, supplemented with lean meat, insects and fruits such as bananas. Give it a water bath every day. In winter, let it bask in the sun more, and the room temperature must not be lower than 5°C. Hill mynas are lively and love to move, so the cage should be tall and spacious,
2. It is advisable to choose a large crested myna cage. The feed is mainly egg rice, and hill myna powder is added twice a day, with each portion best eaten within 1 hour. In addition, feed an appropriate amount of fruit and insects. Hill mynas have a large appetite and produce a lot of droppings, so the cage must be cleaned frequently and must be washed once a day; in summer and autumn, give a water bath at least every other day. Hill mynas are fairly tolerant of heat but afraid of cold, so pay attention to keeping them warm in winter.
3. Hill mynas are large in size, robust in body, strong and powerful in beak, and lively and active, so the cage must be sturdy. Use a large bamboo cage or metal cage specially made for hill mynas, and it should have a bright bottom with a droppings tray underneath.
When does a hill myna molt
In July it begins to lose feathers sparsely; in August it begins to change its large feathers; in September they gradually grow in fully. This is the yearly molting time pattern of the hill myna. The molting time is also somewhat related to the month in which the hill myna was born. Young birds generally enter the molting period in autumn, but hill mynas also differ in molting by region; hill mynas kept in the north may molt earlier than those kept in the south.
What problems should be noted when raising hill mynas
1. Hill mynas are omnivorous animals, eating various insects, plant seeds and berries, and they are fond of eating wild fruits. During the ripening period of fruits on fruit trees, especially in the ripening season of figs or similar fleshy fruits, they often arrive in large flocks together with other fruit-loving birds. They also eat insects, such as grasshoppers and termites.
2. Bathing. Hill mynas are naturally fond of cleanliness, and bathing once a day is necessary. That way not only is the feather color good, but for young hill mynas it also makes it easier for them to start vocalizing and speaking. Generally, young birds are not very good at bathing. You can try putting the cage into a bathtub. If it jumps around wildly, try spraying water on its body. After some time, it will gradually get into the water and bathe. The best way is to find a bird that knows how to bathe in water, preferably a hill myna, and put the young bird beside it to watch and learn; this way it can learn very quickly.
3. A hill myna should not be kept in a cage all the time. Let it learn to play in people's hands, so that it can develop in the direction of acrobatics, and it can also exercise its ability to move between cages, making it convenient to change it into a bathing cage.
What is the feed for hill mynas
There are two kinds of feed for hill mynas:
1. Granular feed, generally mainly eggs, rice and millet, or feeding the special compound pellet feed for hill mynas sold on the market; feed for chicks or laying hens can also be used.
2. Soft feed, made by mixing minced meat, cooked eggs, rice and flour, and fruit puree. Generally soft feed is fed once a day, and it is best if eaten within 1-2 hours. Hill mynas have a large appetite and produce a lot of loose, soft droppings, so they should be cleaned up every day. The water jar and food jar need to be washed every day, and fresh drinking water should be changed.
Above, I also briefly talked about some little methods for raising hill mynas. Actually, birds like this are fairly easy to raise. Birds like the hill myna generally also need to molt. Generally speaking, they molt 1 to 2 times a year.