Does any one know where to get african pygmy geese

[aldren90]

And does anyone know anything about them

 

[philter4]

The last ones I know that were in a private collection were sold in 2006. That does not mean there have not been any others, but they were the only ones I have ever seen or even heard of that were kept privately. I have not seen them recently in zoos, although in the 90's they were fairly common in zoos collections. I know there were some in San Diego Zoo and Florida at Bush Gardens last time I was at both of those zoos. Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park has some and I think you used to be able to buy from them many years ago, you could try to contact them, the number is (252) 826-3186. The last ones I know of sold for $3000 per pair, and I have heard they are more common in collections in Europe, especially Germany. These birds are actually ducks not geese, and they are the smallest species of duck in Africa. In the wild they almost never come to land, even perching on branches of fallen trees that stick out of the water rather then coming ashore. They also feed in the water, either on top or under the waters surface, not on shore. The diet consists of mainly seeds and flowers of water lilies and other aquatic plants. I know they breed in holes in trees like many other ducks and as far as I know that is the only time they come ashore if they have a choice.

I would contact Sylvan Heights or some of the breeders in Europe to check their availability. Importing animals can be a complicated thing and it is expensive but it is what I did for a living most of my life. If you find some and are serious about buying them try to contact companies who ship and clear wildlife shipments for a living and they can help with the paperwork for U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Customs. If you can't find any PM me and I will try to find some that do birds regularly. I think they will have to be quarantined but I have not imported a bird for almost 25 years so things may have changed. If they do have to be put in quarantine make sure you research all of your options and pick one that specializes in birds and will let you visit the facility. I know there are places that don't allow visits and I have lost animals that I was not able to check on myself by trusting they knew what they were doing. Sometimes you can get a conditional release, which means you can quarantine them yourself but that is hard unless you are an accredited member of the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and you have to have an approved quarantine facility. In the past I have had approvals for conditional releases on mammals and reptiles but I don't do birds so I don't know what is involved with that or if it is even an option, contact your local F&W offices and they will give you all of the information you need to import a captive bird from Europe.

Good luck and post any information you find out about them including photos if you get a pair.

 

[aldren90]

What about silver swans

 

[philter4]

Quote:
I don't know what a silver swan is, I did a google search and there are no swan species whose common name is "silver" do you have a scientific name?

The six species of swan that I know of are:
Mute
Trumpeter
black
whooper
tundra
black necked

I am not sure if a silver is one of those but you could look at photos and maybe we just use different common names.

 

[chickenzoo]

Silver is a color thrown by some Black Swans. It is very rare and I'm sure if you found one it would be rather $$$$ if anyone would part with it. Do a search on here as there is a thread about them.

 

[philter4]

Quote:
Thanks for the info, I have kept animals all of my life but birds are sort of new (I haven't kept any for about 30 years) so I don't know much about swans or sometimes even common birds with different color variations.

 

[aldren90]

Ok do you know anything about bronze winged ducks and so you think besides a zoo or sylvan i would have to import them

 

[aldren90]

I wonder if randy knows anything about this

 

[philter4]

Quote:
Bronze winged duck, also called a spectacled duck, is an appendix I animal and as such you need permits to keep one. I have had several permits for different animals and they are non transferable between animals so if you have a permit for one species it does not mean you can keep any other species under that permit. They are listed as threatened but they are not common anywhere except the southern end of Chile and they prefer cold water and cool pen temperatures as well as very swift moving water. They eat a variety of vegetation and insects so their captive diet needs to be adapted to fit their needs.

I have to say, you know how to pick some nice ducks, but I don't think you'll be able to find some of these obscure or special need species.

 

[aldren90]

The ones im mainly looking for are the pygmys but just looking for future refrences