Triton Colony Notes

Our Tritons are very confident, assertive, active and loud. They use every square inch of their colony.  The Tritons and Umbrellas are the most destructive Cockatoos. It is a constant challenge to find toys that can last more than one week.

 

We mixed the Galerita with the Tritons into the same habitat. Because, they are both greater Sulphur-crested and we did not have very many Galerita at the time. We quickly realized how different the two are.

 

Our Galeritas are quiet, mellow, slow moving and ground dwellers. They are, not as destructive as the Tritons are. As we experienced with other mixed species colonies, they isolated themselves from the Tritons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We just completed the new Triton colony. The Galerita seem relieved to get rid of the active Tritons. Photos of the new space will be published, this coming spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall Mood: Wow, the Tritons are a handful. They are almost, as busy as the Goffins. They also are extremely confident, smart, wily, stubborn, naughty  birds. This is a fun colony to observe [from the outside!], they are always getting into mischief.

 

Wild Caught Ratio: 30% Wild Caught 70% Domestic.

 

Elbow Room: They need a large space. We can see how they would be easily bored in a pet home. The flock maintains a small distance from each other during the day, and they roost in small groups at night.

 

Noise Level: Earplugs are highly recommended! They usually, fire off to get attention. Also, they enjoy coming up to your face …….and quietly... look you square in the eyes…….and then, scream as loud as they can, to see if you will flinch. They love that game, especially, when we are cleaning out their flight. If we walk away, they will relentlessly follow us around, until they get you! 

 

 

Aggression Issues: There is not much aggression with each other but, they are with us! We have to be on our toes whenever, we are in this colony. They look at us as toys. Safety glasses are recommended.

 

Introduction Into the Colony: The females are accepted more readily than the males. The existing flock is good about accepting new birds.

                                                                                                  

 

 

  

 

We have two Tritons that have not adjusted to the colony. A male and female domestic, she was retired from a breeding facility. They are both shy with other birds, but they are comfortable together. We have tried numerous methods, to introduce them into the main colony, without success.

 

The new Triton colony was a great opportunity to try again. We put the two shy birds into the empty colony first. They loved it. After a month, we introduced two Triton females, from the main flock. Immediately, the shy birds retreated into a back corner. We waited another month and gave up. It was obvious that the shy birds were unhappy and not adjusting. We pulled them out and into an indoor colony for the season. In the spring, we will build them their own, large colony.

 

Occasionally, we will get a bird that does not acclimate to colony life. When that happens, we look for a variety of, creative solutions, to make them comfortable.

 

Every bird has his own, unique personality and life experiences, as do we. We spend a large amount of time observing the birds. We take extra care to insure that new residents are adjusting well. Some birds need more time to adjust, than others. Just like us.