Why Breed Parrots ?
Shared by: Jolle Pe - CAS Member
Reference: The Parrot Breeder's Answer Book
The practice of keeping Parrots for pets has been traced back to at least the early Romans. However, only during the last century or so has aviculture, the intentional breeding of nondomestic birds, grown into a recognized specialty. In earlier times, parrots were rare pets, brought back from exotic travels to faraway places. They often signified a certain amount of wealth and social standing. In the late nineteenth century, that all began to change. Mass trapping and unrestricted importation brought parrots into the mainstream, making them a reasonably common and affordable pet. As refinements in transportation grew, so did the numbers and species of Parrots and other exotic fauna making their way across the world's oceans for new homes throughout Europe and the United States.
Where Did All the Parrots Go?
Indeed, by the 1980s, over 500,000 parrots were legally traded each year, according to figures com- piled by TRAFFIC International and the World Wildlife Fund. Actual numbers are difficult to determine. These estimates do not include local trade, birds that died before export, or those that were illegally traded. Therefore, the true number of birds removed from the wild during those haps closer to one million per year. These figures are for parrots only. Various sources quoted by TRAFFIC International estimate that the total number of live birds traded worldwide during the 1970s ranged from seven to ten million per year!
By the late 1970s, it was becoming increasingly apparent that this widespread exploitation of wild populations could not continue without causing irreparable damage. A few exporting countries began initiating trade controls. Another decade passed, however, before global awareness of the problem surfaced. By 1990, nearly one-third of the world's known parrot species were considered endangered and under threat of extinction. Most of the remaining two-thirds had rapidly declining populations and shrinking habitats. Under growing international pressure, the United States passed the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992, effectively banning the importation of parrots and many other birds into this country. Even though many other countries followed suit with trade restrictions of their own, it might be a case of "too little, too late." Noted aviculturist and author Rosemary Low estimates that some species of Indonesian cockatoos, for example, exist in much greater numbers in captivity than in the wild. For species like this, captive breeding might be the only hope for preventing extinction.
The Role of Aviculture
What does all this mean to someone who wants to breed parrots? For starters, it means that you should not take this responsibility lightly. Captive breeding stock is precious and might not be replaceable once it has gone. Even if you want to breed only a few very common species, your level of professionalism and expertise will most likely dictate your level of success. With this in mind, you should begin your journey by taking a hard look at where you want to go.
All too often, people start breeding parrots almost by accident. They pick up a mate for their hormonal pet, hear about a hot deal on a pair of birds at a local club, or make an impulse purchase off the Internet. Soon, they find themselves with a random collection of species, some of which might inhibit the breeding activity of others. Seeing ads offering birds for sale because the breeder is “refocusing the collection" is common. What this usually means is that these individuals are trying to undo the mistakes they made through lack of initial planning.
Defining Your Goals
To avoid these pitfalls, begin by defining your goals and abilities. For example, it's a safe bet that breeding the large macaws isn't a viable option if you're currently living in a studio apartment. However, a pair of lovebirds might happily settle into your limited space. It has been said that you can catch a terrible, often incurable disease from parrots-"acquisitionitis." The symptoms include buying more birds than you have room for, or can properly care for, and going into debt to purchase more birds even while you are cutting corners to afford the ones you already have. The best preventative medicine for this syndrome is careful Planning, self-honesty, and willpower. With this in mind, the time has come to make some decisions.
lmportant Considerations
Before you decide to breed any bird, ask yourself the following questions:
- How much space can I devote to the birds?
- What species would I most enjoy working with?
- Which of these species can be comfortably housed in my available space?
- Do I have extra space available for quarantine and nursery functions?
- What noise level can I live with? Is this consistent with the species I've chosen?
- How much money can I afford to invest in breeding stock, caging, food, nursery supplies, and veterinary bills?
- How much time can I commit to caring for my birds and their offspring?
- What are my expectations?
- Why am I doing this?
How honestly you answer these questions will have a great impact on your success. lf you don't know where you want to end up, then both you and your birds will probably suffer. Far too many birds have been stuffed into too-small cages in garages, spare bedrooms, and even bathrooms only because their owners couldn't resist just one more bar- gain even though the house was already bursting at the seams.
Breeding: A Hobby or a Profession?
A common distinction is made in the bird business between hobby breeding and professional aviculture. Although most people consider it a difference of size and scope, I would argue that it's more a difference of skill and responsibility. Some small breeders keep meticulous records and participate in studbooks (a record-keeping collective designed to help maintain genetic diversity of rare species). Alternatively, a few large "professional" collections were little more than birdie mills. Whether you have two birds or 2,000 birds, you can achieve professionalism. For the point of this question, I'd rather substitute the term commercial aviculture to consider the distinction of size and time commitment. These distinctions are admittedly somewhat arbitrary but are intended to give you a rough idea of the range of possibilities.
A hobby breeder most likely has a relatively small number of birds and cares for them part-time in addition to another job or avocation. The money earned from the birds, although it might be significant, is not a primary source of income. Hobby breeders range from families who have two pairs of producing budgies in their spare bedroom to people who have 200 or more birds in backyard flights and devote a huge chunk of time every day to providing care.
A commercial aviculturist most likely owns or is employed by a large breeding facility with hundreds or even thousands of birds and multiple employees. These facilities are (or should be) income producing and are most likely the primary source of income for the aviculturist. These large breeding farms tend to be most common in Sunbelt states like Texas, Florida, and California but sometimes can be found even in harsh, northern climates.
As you can see, parrot breeding can be done on a very small scale or a very large one. Your available resources, including money, time, and space, will largely help determine the maximum size of your breeding program. Once you're clear about size, the next point to consider is your ultimate focus, or why you're breeding parrots in the first place.
Breeding for Conservation
Once you fall in love with parrots, developing an idealistic nature and deciding you want to devote your energies to conserving rare species is easy. Countless beginners have asked me over the years how to breed their birds for eventual re-release into the wild. Unfortunately, given the current level of knowledge, that goal might be out of reach for individual aviculturists. Conservation is an extremely complicated and multifaceted problem. Even the experts cannot agree on the best way to overcome all the challenges. For an example, look at the plight of the Goffin’s cockatoo. These delightful, small cockatoos have wonderful pet potential. They exist in the wild only on the Tanimbar lslands, a small Indonesian island group with an area of about 2,172 square miles (5,604 m2), just slightly larger than the state of Delaware.
During the Period from 1983 to 1989, more than 73,500 of these little charmers were imported into the United States. At about the same time, Japanese logging companies acquired timber rights for Tanimbar and began clear-cutting the forests' Cockatoos, like most Parrots' are cavity nesters that lay their eggs in hollowed-out trees. Without trees, no habitat exists to support the birds. Their nest sites, food sources, and Protection from Predators are all gone. At this Point in time, Goffin's are common in captivity but extremely endangered in the wild.
As an aviculturist, how would you help-conserve the Goffin's? To begin with, releasing tame birds into the wild is a death sentence. They have no skills for hunting, avoiding predators, or finding nest sites' An early-release Program of thick-billed parrots in Arizona turned into a disaster when hawks rapidly killed off most of the birds. Since then, the Arizona program and others like it have spent much time, money, and research on teaching potential release birds the skills they need to survive. In spite of the best efforts of researchers in the field, re-release programs have had limited success.
Even if suitable release birds were available, they would be of little value if the range habitat has been destroyed. In the example of the Tanimbars, so much of the land has been cleared of forest that it simply could not support the number of cockatoos once living there, even if the birds could magically be returned. Unless Indonesian authorities undertake a program of land reforestation, the future of Goffin's cockatoos is bleak.
Getting lnvolved
The private aviculturist can aid in conservation efforts in a number of ways.
- Begin by learning all you can about the species you wish to breed.
- Keep careful and detailed records, and never inbreed your stock.
- lf your birds are a threatened species, find out if a studbook is being kept and participate.
- lf possible, allow the parent birds to rear some young completely through weaning. Parent-raised chicks learn
proper parrot behaviours and often grow up to be excellent parents themselves.
- Trade or sell these chicks to others who are dedicated to working with that species.
By helping to maintain a healthy, diverse, and productive gene pool, at the very least these parrots can be kept strong in captivity. This might someday be an invaluable aid in preserving endangered parrots in the wild, especially as conservationists and field researchers gain more knowledge about reintroduction strategies.
Breeding for the Pet Trade
Even if you work with common species and have no interest in conservation, most of the suggestions apply to you. With parrots at peak popularity, the demand for tame, hand-raised pets is extremely high. lf your goal is to produce healthy, well-socialized baby parrots for the pet trade, then careful pairing, excellent record keeping, and good husbandry make economic sense in addition to being the ethical course. Unfortunately, some common pet birds have been carelessly inbred in the past, and genetic weaknesses are beginning to surface.
Mutations
These weaknesses appear most often in heavily inbred birds. Mutations are genetic faults that occur randomly in nature. In birds, these faults most commonly show up as changes in feather color due to missing or altered pigmentation. The cockatiel is a perfect example. Normal cockatiels are mostly gray birds and are usually quite hardy. Although color mutations appear occasionally in the wild, these birds do not usually survive since they stand out from their flock and make a perfect target for predators. Even when they do survive, they're unlikely to find a similar mate. Therefore, they tend either to not breed or to breed with a normal-colored mate, thus not perpetuating the mutation.
In captivity, however, that all changed. Over the years, color mutations such as Pure white (albino), solid yellow (lutino), and variegated colors (pied) apeared. Since these birds were unusual and often quite pretty, breeders began to inbreed them intentionally to produce established bloodlines that would pass on these genetic traits. At this point, captive-bred cockatiels are available in over a dozen different color mutations, and normal gray cockatiels are slowly beginning to disappear. Unfortunately, some undesirable traits are also passed along with the color mutations, such as bald spots in feathering, night thrashing (sudden panic attacks after dark), and shortened life spans. New research being done at the University of California in Davis suggests that highly inbred color mutation cockatiels may be suffering from an inherited kidney defect that causes poor kidney function and that will progress to gout and kidney failure when the birds are fed a high-protein diet.
Responsible cockatiel breeders are working hard to eliminate these negative traits. However, careless or inept people are still out there paying little or no attention to strengthening the bloodlines of the birds they keep. In the long run, these people end up hurting themselves economically in addition to the dam- age they cause to the birds. Genetically weak birds produce less, suffer more illnesses, and might display personality defects that make them undesirable as pets or breeding stock. The worst fear is that careless breeding will eventually introduce a lethal gene, which is a genetic flaw that prevents hatching or kills the bird at an early age. Lethal genes have already shown up in the poultry industry. The reports of kidney disease in cockatiels might very well be the tip of that iceberg.
Hybrids
A different sort of problem arises when people breed hybrids. Hybrids are the offspring of parents of different species, subspecies, or races. In dogs, they are called mixed breeds or mongrels. Because the parrot family is so diverse, crossbreeding is not possible except within a genus. (A few exceptions do occur, mostly between closely related genera.) For example, an Amazon could not reproduce with an African grey even though they are of similar size, but two different species of Amazon could crossbreed. Hybridization seems to occur most commonly in the large macaws, which are mostly members of the genus Ara, although plenty of hybrid conures (Aratinga), Amazon s (Amazona), cockatoos (Cacatua), and others occur.
The rationale for breeding hybrids is that they are beautiful and make unusual pets. lf parrot species were as common and easily available as purebred dogs, I wouldn't have a problem with this argument. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, most parrots are endangered, some critically. The scarlet macaw, for example, is often paired with a blue and gold macaw to produce a hybrid known as the catalina. Catalina macaws are beautiful, but so are scarlets, and scarlets are listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as "threatened with extinction." To add to the destruction of this critically scarce gene pool intentionally by crossbreeding it is short- sighted, to say the least. The existing hybrids deserve all the love and respect that one would give to any parrot, but the breeding of more of them must be stopped. Parrot breeders do not deal with domestic animals from common gene pools. These are wild animals, many of which are facing extinction in their range countries. People should not view themselves as owners but as stewards and accept the responsibilities that come with that honor.
Once you've made the commitment to be a responsible bird keeper, your reputation will grow and people will seek you out to purchase your chicks. Your birds will be healthier and more productive. All in all, you'll find that the effort you put in, and the love and dedication you bring to the process, will reward you in many ways-some obvious and some quite unexpected.
Click here to exit.
Where Did All the Parrots Go?
Indeed, by the 1980s, over 500,000 parrots were legally traded each year, according to figures com- piled by TRAFFIC International and the World Wildlife Fund. Actual numbers are difficult to determine. These estimates do not include local trade, birds that died before export, or those that were illegally traded. Therefore, the true number of birds removed from the wild during those haps closer to one million per year. These figures are for parrots only. Various sources quoted by TRAFFIC International estimate that the total number of live birds traded worldwide during the 1970s ranged from seven to ten million per year!
By the late 1970s, it was becoming increasingly apparent that this widespread exploitation of wild populations could not continue without causing irreparable damage. A few exporting countries began initiating trade controls. Another decade passed, however, before global awareness of the problem surfaced. By 1990, nearly one-third of the world's known parrot species were considered endangered and under threat of extinction. Most of the remaining two-thirds had rapidly declining populations and shrinking habitats. Under growing international pressure, the United States passed the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992, effectively banning the importation of parrots and many other birds into this country. Even though many other countries followed suit with trade restrictions of their own, it might be a case of "too little, too late." Noted aviculturist and author Rosemary Low estimates that some species of Indonesian cockatoos, for example, exist in much greater numbers in captivity than in the wild. For species like this, captive breeding might be the only hope for preventing extinction.
The Role of Aviculture
What does all this mean to someone who wants to breed parrots? For starters, it means that you should not take this responsibility lightly. Captive breeding stock is precious and might not be replaceable once it has gone. Even if you want to breed only a few very common species, your level of professionalism and expertise will most likely dictate your level of success. With this in mind, you should begin your journey by taking a hard look at where you want to go.
All too often, people start breeding parrots almost by accident. They pick up a mate for their hormonal pet, hear about a hot deal on a pair of birds at a local club, or make an impulse purchase off the Internet. Soon, they find themselves with a random collection of species, some of which might inhibit the breeding activity of others. Seeing ads offering birds for sale because the breeder is “refocusing the collection" is common. What this usually means is that these individuals are trying to undo the mistakes they made through lack of initial planning.
Defining Your Goals
To avoid these pitfalls, begin by defining your goals and abilities. For example, it's a safe bet that breeding the large macaws isn't a viable option if you're currently living in a studio apartment. However, a pair of lovebirds might happily settle into your limited space. It has been said that you can catch a terrible, often incurable disease from parrots-"acquisitionitis." The symptoms include buying more birds than you have room for, or can properly care for, and going into debt to purchase more birds even while you are cutting corners to afford the ones you already have. The best preventative medicine for this syndrome is careful Planning, self-honesty, and willpower. With this in mind, the time has come to make some decisions.
lmportant Considerations
Before you decide to breed any bird, ask yourself the following questions:
- How much space can I devote to the birds?
- What species would I most enjoy working with?
- Which of these species can be comfortably housed in my available space?
- Do I have extra space available for quarantine and nursery functions?
- What noise level can I live with? Is this consistent with the species I've chosen?
- How much money can I afford to invest in breeding stock, caging, food, nursery supplies, and veterinary bills?
- How much time can I commit to caring for my birds and their offspring?
- What are my expectations?
- Why am I doing this?
How honestly you answer these questions will have a great impact on your success. lf you don't know where you want to end up, then both you and your birds will probably suffer. Far too many birds have been stuffed into too-small cages in garages, spare bedrooms, and even bathrooms only because their owners couldn't resist just one more bar- gain even though the house was already bursting at the seams.
Breeding: A Hobby or a Profession?
A common distinction is made in the bird business between hobby breeding and professional aviculture. Although most people consider it a difference of size and scope, I would argue that it's more a difference of skill and responsibility. Some small breeders keep meticulous records and participate in studbooks (a record-keeping collective designed to help maintain genetic diversity of rare species). Alternatively, a few large "professional" collections were little more than birdie mills. Whether you have two birds or 2,000 birds, you can achieve professionalism. For the point of this question, I'd rather substitute the term commercial aviculture to consider the distinction of size and time commitment. These distinctions are admittedly somewhat arbitrary but are intended to give you a rough idea of the range of possibilities.
A hobby breeder most likely has a relatively small number of birds and cares for them part-time in addition to another job or avocation. The money earned from the birds, although it might be significant, is not a primary source of income. Hobby breeders range from families who have two pairs of producing budgies in their spare bedroom to people who have 200 or more birds in backyard flights and devote a huge chunk of time every day to providing care.
A commercial aviculturist most likely owns or is employed by a large breeding facility with hundreds or even thousands of birds and multiple employees. These facilities are (or should be) income producing and are most likely the primary source of income for the aviculturist. These large breeding farms tend to be most common in Sunbelt states like Texas, Florida, and California but sometimes can be found even in harsh, northern climates.
As you can see, parrot breeding can be done on a very small scale or a very large one. Your available resources, including money, time, and space, will largely help determine the maximum size of your breeding program. Once you're clear about size, the next point to consider is your ultimate focus, or why you're breeding parrots in the first place.
Breeding for Conservation
Once you fall in love with parrots, developing an idealistic nature and deciding you want to devote your energies to conserving rare species is easy. Countless beginners have asked me over the years how to breed their birds for eventual re-release into the wild. Unfortunately, given the current level of knowledge, that goal might be out of reach for individual aviculturists. Conservation is an extremely complicated and multifaceted problem. Even the experts cannot agree on the best way to overcome all the challenges. For an example, look at the plight of the Goffin’s cockatoo. These delightful, small cockatoos have wonderful pet potential. They exist in the wild only on the Tanimbar lslands, a small Indonesian island group with an area of about 2,172 square miles (5,604 m2), just slightly larger than the state of Delaware.
During the Period from 1983 to 1989, more than 73,500 of these little charmers were imported into the United States. At about the same time, Japanese logging companies acquired timber rights for Tanimbar and began clear-cutting the forests' Cockatoos, like most Parrots' are cavity nesters that lay their eggs in hollowed-out trees. Without trees, no habitat exists to support the birds. Their nest sites, food sources, and Protection from Predators are all gone. At this Point in time, Goffin's are common in captivity but extremely endangered in the wild.
As an aviculturist, how would you help-conserve the Goffin's? To begin with, releasing tame birds into the wild is a death sentence. They have no skills for hunting, avoiding predators, or finding nest sites' An early-release Program of thick-billed parrots in Arizona turned into a disaster when hawks rapidly killed off most of the birds. Since then, the Arizona program and others like it have spent much time, money, and research on teaching potential release birds the skills they need to survive. In spite of the best efforts of researchers in the field, re-release programs have had limited success.
Even if suitable release birds were available, they would be of little value if the range habitat has been destroyed. In the example of the Tanimbars, so much of the land has been cleared of forest that it simply could not support the number of cockatoos once living there, even if the birds could magically be returned. Unless Indonesian authorities undertake a program of land reforestation, the future of Goffin's cockatoos is bleak.
Getting lnvolved
The private aviculturist can aid in conservation efforts in a number of ways.
- Begin by learning all you can about the species you wish to breed.
- Keep careful and detailed records, and never inbreed your stock.
- lf your birds are a threatened species, find out if a studbook is being kept and participate.
- lf possible, allow the parent birds to rear some young completely through weaning. Parent-raised chicks learn
proper parrot behaviours and often grow up to be excellent parents themselves.
- Trade or sell these chicks to others who are dedicated to working with that species.
By helping to maintain a healthy, diverse, and productive gene pool, at the very least these parrots can be kept strong in captivity. This might someday be an invaluable aid in preserving endangered parrots in the wild, especially as conservationists and field researchers gain more knowledge about reintroduction strategies.
Breeding for the Pet Trade
Even if you work with common species and have no interest in conservation, most of the suggestions apply to you. With parrots at peak popularity, the demand for tame, hand-raised pets is extremely high. lf your goal is to produce healthy, well-socialized baby parrots for the pet trade, then careful pairing, excellent record keeping, and good husbandry make economic sense in addition to being the ethical course. Unfortunately, some common pet birds have been carelessly inbred in the past, and genetic weaknesses are beginning to surface.
Mutations
These weaknesses appear most often in heavily inbred birds. Mutations are genetic faults that occur randomly in nature. In birds, these faults most commonly show up as changes in feather color due to missing or altered pigmentation. The cockatiel is a perfect example. Normal cockatiels are mostly gray birds and are usually quite hardy. Although color mutations appear occasionally in the wild, these birds do not usually survive since they stand out from their flock and make a perfect target for predators. Even when they do survive, they're unlikely to find a similar mate. Therefore, they tend either to not breed or to breed with a normal-colored mate, thus not perpetuating the mutation.
In captivity, however, that all changed. Over the years, color mutations such as Pure white (albino), solid yellow (lutino), and variegated colors (pied) apeared. Since these birds were unusual and often quite pretty, breeders began to inbreed them intentionally to produce established bloodlines that would pass on these genetic traits. At this point, captive-bred cockatiels are available in over a dozen different color mutations, and normal gray cockatiels are slowly beginning to disappear. Unfortunately, some undesirable traits are also passed along with the color mutations, such as bald spots in feathering, night thrashing (sudden panic attacks after dark), and shortened life spans. New research being done at the University of California in Davis suggests that highly inbred color mutation cockatiels may be suffering from an inherited kidney defect that causes poor kidney function and that will progress to gout and kidney failure when the birds are fed a high-protein diet.
Responsible cockatiel breeders are working hard to eliminate these negative traits. However, careless or inept people are still out there paying little or no attention to strengthening the bloodlines of the birds they keep. In the long run, these people end up hurting themselves economically in addition to the dam- age they cause to the birds. Genetically weak birds produce less, suffer more illnesses, and might display personality defects that make them undesirable as pets or breeding stock. The worst fear is that careless breeding will eventually introduce a lethal gene, which is a genetic flaw that prevents hatching or kills the bird at an early age. Lethal genes have already shown up in the poultry industry. The reports of kidney disease in cockatiels might very well be the tip of that iceberg.
Hybrids
A different sort of problem arises when people breed hybrids. Hybrids are the offspring of parents of different species, subspecies, or races. In dogs, they are called mixed breeds or mongrels. Because the parrot family is so diverse, crossbreeding is not possible except within a genus. (A few exceptions do occur, mostly between closely related genera.) For example, an Amazon could not reproduce with an African grey even though they are of similar size, but two different species of Amazon could crossbreed. Hybridization seems to occur most commonly in the large macaws, which are mostly members of the genus Ara, although plenty of hybrid conures (Aratinga), Amazon s (Amazona), cockatoos (Cacatua), and others occur.
The rationale for breeding hybrids is that they are beautiful and make unusual pets. lf parrot species were as common and easily available as purebred dogs, I wouldn't have a problem with this argument. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, most parrots are endangered, some critically. The scarlet macaw, for example, is often paired with a blue and gold macaw to produce a hybrid known as the catalina. Catalina macaws are beautiful, but so are scarlets, and scarlets are listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as "threatened with extinction." To add to the destruction of this critically scarce gene pool intentionally by crossbreeding it is short- sighted, to say the least. The existing hybrids deserve all the love and respect that one would give to any parrot, but the breeding of more of them must be stopped. Parrot breeders do not deal with domestic animals from common gene pools. These are wild animals, many of which are facing extinction in their range countries. People should not view themselves as owners but as stewards and accept the responsibilities that come with that honor.
Once you've made the commitment to be a responsible bird keeper, your reputation will grow and people will seek you out to purchase your chicks. Your birds will be healthier and more productive. All in all, you'll find that the effort you put in, and the love and dedication you bring to the process, will reward you in many ways-some obvious and some quite unexpected.
Click here to exit.
