[Kate]

Back in 2005 I had the extreme pleasure of meeting a Hy. The club I was a member of held a Grass Parrot and Lorikeet Convention and the President had organized him to be there on display. He was only 6 months old and totally adorable. I never expected to ever see one in the flesh as so few were ever imported into Australia before they shut down the bird imports.

They are so much bigger than you realize. He was at least 3 feet tall from head to tip of tail. I am just over 5 ft so you can just picture how big he was next to me, and the beak is just massive, bigger than my fist. I was one of the few that were allowed in the display aviary with him, the cage was padlocked pretty much the whole time unless topping up his food and water. He was just so sweet. I spent as much time as I could manage away from my stall up there with him. I just fell in love with this giant. He was so gentle taking nuts from my hand.

This guy was not going to be a pet he was going to be a breeder eventually. $10K for a Hy, over here I wish. To obtain a male and female over here at the time you were looking at $60K for the male and $70K for the female, so a mortgage would be needed to obtain a pair.

 

[thekarens]

Spent about 10 minutes giving one scritches at the pet store today. Such a sweetheart!

Sent from Petguide.com Free App

 

[petiteoiseau]

No Hys here. I only take in adoptions or rescues and there are never any Hys in rescues, the few that end up there are usually not adoped out.

 

[Degar247]

The breeder I worked for had a pair. I never got to interact with them much, other then cleaning their food dishes and giving them fresh food and water. They weren't tame, and always sat on their perches near the back of their enclosure when I came to feed them. They had completely chewed through the barrel that was meant to be used as a nest for them. We made them toys sometimes and it usually only took them an hour to destroy them. From what I understand they are difficult to breed in captivity. I'm not sure how long the breeder had them but they have not laid eggs for at least three years now.

There is also a pet store nearby that keeps one. It belongs to someone else, but since they don't have the time for it, they leave it at the shop and visit it occasionally or take it to show off (definitely a trophy bird for this guy). The bird is amazingly sweet though. Spend a few minutes with it and it will regurgitate all over for ya (gross). It loves to be pet and just handled in general. Beautiful birds for sure.

 

[ilovepets]

Hy's have never been my dream bird (i would love a B&G though..) but they are so pretty. i would love to see one in person and see their size! i can't even image the cage size that people keep them in if they don't have an aviary. i did see a video of one bending the bars on its cage. i have also read that they can easily crack a boom stick in half! 1200+ lbs of pressure per square inch…. mg:

 

[carolz]

They are awesome birds and i had the opportunity to baby sit one quiet a few times. I am now on a waiting list waiting for my baby. I want a boy and hoping by the end of this year or early part of next year. Will keep you all posted and will be posting up a storm once he arrives.