That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

In Part I of this article we examined the pros and cons of imprinting  – the process wherein an animal comes to see adults of another species as its natural parents – as regards birds in zoos, the pet trade and conservation programs.  Today I’d like to relate a few more of my experiences with imprinting as it related to the conservation of endangered birds and mammals.

Andean and California Condor Reintroductions

Rare birds raised for use in future release/re-stocking programs present a unique set of challenges.  Many are needed, and so pulling eggs to stimulate a second clutch is desirable.  However, birds raised by hand or under foster parents of another species face poor prospects for survival in the wild.

I have worked with both Andean and California condor chicks that were destined for future release into natural habitats.  These magnificent raptors are quick to imprint upon the people who feed them, so a novel solution was devised.  Keepers assigned to hand-feed condor chicks worked from behind a curtain, and presented food in the beak of hand puppet which closely resembled the head of an adult condor.  I’m happy to report that many hand-reared condors of both species successfully made the transition from captive to free-living existence.

Cows as Surrogate Mothers for Rare Species

Certain endangered mammals with which I’ve worked have presented particularly difficult dilemmas.  Gaur (rare wild cattle native to India and Southeast Asia) for example, breed readily in captivity but produce only 1 calf every 3-4 years.  In order to bolster this species’ numbers, captive female gaurs are sometimes chemically induced to produce several eggs instead of the usual single egg.

The extra eggs are implanted into domestic cows, which then give birth to and successfully raise baby gaurs.  However, cow-raised gaurs are not accepted by parent-raised gaurs.  Gaurs that are raised among domestic cows do not acquire normal gaur behaviors (i.e. appropriate reactions to dominant animals) and are attacked when integrated into gaur herds.  They rarely breed, and hence do not contribute to the species’ survival prospects.

Gorillas

Captive-born female gorillas are often unable to raise their own young, lacking examples and mentors in the form of older females, as would be the case in the wild (some zoos have tried “training films, to no avail!).  Hence many must be hand-raised (please see photo), but these too are often ostracized by other gorillas and rarely reproduce.

Further Reading

You can read more about the California condor reintroduction program at http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/condors.html.

Birds vary greatly in their reactions to car trips. Knowing your pet’s personality, and planning accordingly, will go a long way in ensuring that both of you enjoy a safe, stress-free journey. If at all possible, take your bird on a few short “practice trips” before embarking on long journeys.

Beyond that, there are a few general preparations that might be of some use as well. Spurred by a recent question from That Bird Blog reader Bonnie, I thought I’d cover some in this article.

Carriers

Although your bird’s usual cage might provide suitable quarters for short forays, airline-approved carriers are preferable on car trips of any length. A carrier tends to keep the bird a bit calmer, as the sides are largely opaque, but the ventilation panels allow for outside views as well. Their sturdy construction helps to minimize the effects of bumps and sharp turns…the Kennel Kab Fashion Carrier is even equipped with a seat belt slot for added security (all cages and carriers should be secured with seat belt, bungee cords or otherwise). Carriers must be fit with perches…securing them via screws (in the case of heavy duty carriers) is advisable.

The Take Me Home Travel Cage is a useful option for smaller birds. It has bars on all sides, allowing well-habituated birds to “enjoy the scenery”, and is designed to fit within the Come Along Bird Carrier for those times a dark environment is needed.

Leave only a bit of water in the bowl while moving, and make sure any toys that are in the cage are soft and positioned well away from perches so that they do not swing and hit the birds.

Although some extraordinarily well-habituated parrots sometimes do fine without a cage and will sit quietly on a perch within a car (please see photo), this is not a safe situation for either bird or bird-owner.

Other Supplies

As delays may arise, be sure to carry ample supplies of cage paper…L/M Animal Absorbent Cage Liners are ideal for use on the road. It is also very important to take along an adequate supply of your bird’s usual diet…introducing an unfamiliar food purchased on route will only add to your pet’s distress.

A small oscillating fan and a first aid kit  should be on hand for emergencies. Spray bottles are very useful in cooling birds, as they may not drink normally on route.

Health Checks

Monitor your pets carefully – some birds are very stressed by travelling, and such translates into a depressed immune system. In zoos, birds being moved to a new exhibit are always inoculated against Aspergillosus, as the stress of adjusting to a new environment leaves them open to attack by a fungi that, under normal circumstances, is not problematical.

Motels

Check ahead with motels concerning their pet policy. If you can safely do so, it is a good idea to allow your birds to walk around a bit once you are settled into your room. For birds confined to a single perch all day, the opportunity to flex the toes on other surfaces is very important.

Further Reading

Some of the information contained in the regulations governing the shipment of birds via airline is useful to pet owners travelling by car as well. Read more at http://www.birdmag.com/shipping.htm.

To be christened with the name “peaceful” among a group of birds already well-known for their calm demeanors is quite an accomplishment.  Yet the beautiful little Zebra or peaceful dove (Geopelia striata) lives up to its reputation admirably.  Confiding in humans, the zebra dove gets along very with finches, canaries and button quail, and makes a fine parent if left undisturbed while nesting.

Description and Range

The zebra dove ranks just behind the closely related diamond dove and the ring dove in popularity, and captive bred birds are readily available.  Ranging from Thailand south through Malaysia and Indonesia to Australia, escaped and released zebra doves are also established in Hawaii, Madagascar, California and other places.

At 9 inches long, the zebra is one of the smallest available doves.  This, and its quiet but attractive colors (gray with a red blush about the neck with black and white striped sides) render it ideal for those with limited space.

Keeping Zebra Doves

Although adaptable to a large parrot cage  (where floor space is more important than height), this delightful little bird shows itself to best advantage in an outdoor aviary, at least during the warmer months.  If approached slowly, zebra doves adjust well to people…habituated birds kept indoors should be allowed free flight time if at all possible.

Zebra dove care closely follows that of the diamond dove (please see article below).  They are, however, less cold-tolerant than their smaller relative, and more likely to abandon their nest if disturbed.  Therefore, the zebra dove cage or aviary should always be located in a quiet location.  In a well-planted aviary or spacious cage, however, they often become quite trusting of people and may breed regularly.

Further Reading

Zebra doves can be cared for in much the same manner as diamond doves.  Please see my article, Diamond Dove Care, for further information.

To learn more about the keeping the popular ring dove, please see Aviary Birds: the Ring or Collared Dove.

In 1935 Austrian zoologist Konrad Lorenz published a ground-breaking paper describing how goslings that he raised came to regard him as, in essence, their “parent”.  Further work on this process, soon to be known as imprinting, led to the founding of the science of ethology, the study of animal behavior.

As every bird-keeper knows, chicks taken from the nest and hand-raised make the best pets.  Such birds are said to be imprinted upon people, and they relate very well to us. However, there are some other uses for and sides to imprinting.  Today I’d like to relate some of my experiences with an assortment of imprinted creatures.

I Like Mice, but….

My oddest bird story involves a great horned owl.  Irresistibly cute in its efforts to threaten me, the owlet had been found in a Bronx park and was being harassed by some children (amazingly, these huge owls still survive in NYC, where they dine upon rats, muskrats, roosting pigeons and cats).  I and my coworkers raised the owl, a male, and he became a favorite at classes and on visits to homes for the elderly.

When he matured, however, the owl developed the distressing habit of trying to jam a mouse into the mouth of any passing person, much as he would feed a potential mate under more usual circumstances.  Interestingly, the owl never tried to stuff the mouse into one’s ear…he knew what a mouth was, even though the objects of his affection lacked a hooked beak (or any beak!).

Foster Parents

The owl showed no interest in members of his own species, which brings me to a major problem where imprinted endangered species are concerned.  In zoo based conservation programs, we sometimes pull the eggs of endangered birds so as to stimulate the female to lay a second clutch.  The pulled eggs are often put under a brooding “foster mother” of a related species, and the chicks therefore become imprinted on bird species other than their own.  This has worked well for peregrine falcons fostered beneath prairie falcon hens, and for Mauritius pink pigeons, which are fostered under ring doves.

However, rare finches raised by zebra or society finches often pick up the songs of their foster parents, and prefer the foster species over their own species as mates.  As you can imagine, this seriously hampers efforts to increase the population of the endangered birds.

Further Reading

The future of the magnificent pink pigeon was first championed by conservation legend Gerard Durrell.  Read more at http://www.durrell.org/Animals/Birds/Mauritius-Pink-Pigeon/.

The following blog entry was done by a guest blogger and does not necessarily reflect the views of That Fish Place/That Pet Place. Please welcome Dave Womach, Professional Parrot Trainer at Birdtricks.com

When you first hear the term, “freeflight parrot” you might expect to see a parrot flying through hoops in bird show at a theme park, or perhaps doing some stunt in a washed up Vegas showroom in a dingy hotel located in the wrong part of town, just north of the famous strip. Very few people are fully aware of the “no-limits” potential of what I refer to as, Freestyle Flying™.

Imagine for a moment what it would be like, if you took your clipped parrot outside, let go of his feet and a 25 mph wind gust took him out of your hands never to see him again. For many, that is unfortunately a very common story.

Now imagine going to some exotic location after 90 days of formal training and intentionally letting go of your parrot. Nothing beats the rush of a gust of wind taking your parrot 50 feet up into the air, as you watch that bird maneuver on an invisible wave of wind, as if he were a surfer riding on the great waves of Hawaii. He skillfully hovers in one spot until he gets enough confidence to surf the air and coast back and forth, only to land on your hand a couple of minutes later.

Freestyle Flying™ isn’t for everyone, but it is for every bird. And if you’re the kind of person who is willing to put in a lot of time, energy, and research, this can be the best quality of life that you can offer your parrot.

Over the past year I have been fortunate enough to fly my flock at locations all across the U.S., and watch as they go from freshly weaned baby parrots, to fully skilled pro’s.

My favorite thing to watch them do, is a term called Jinking. (v. jinked, jink•ing, jinks

To make a quick, evasive turn) As your parrots become more and more confident and skilled, they’ll start to experiment with evasive maneuvers that they use in the wild to evade predators such as hawks and eagles. They’ll actually flip upside down, flap, turn right side up, upside down, etc until they have successfully evaded the predator. Although I have seen this used twice to actually evade a hawk (or flock of seagulls), they also love just practicing it on their own.

If you ever have the opportunity to experience the freedom of flight, through Freestyle Flying™, make sure that you don’t miss out on the opportunity.

To see a brief video that will wet your appetite, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7CZsTiPiXw