That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

It appears that one of the world’s strangest and most endangered birds is benefiting by an equally unusual rescue plan.  New Zealand’s kakapo breaks all sorts of “parrot rules”…it is nocturnal, flightless, utilizes a lek mating system (many males display before females in one location), eats leaves and grass and feeds fruit to its young.  It is also the world’s heaviest parrot, and, with a population of only 90 individuals (up from 51 in 1995), the rarest.  With a mean age of 90 years, it is among the longest-lived of all birds.

Kakapo reproduction is tied closely with the flowering of the rimu tree, the fruit of which forms the basis of the chick’s diet.  The tree blooms only every 3^rd year or so, and the kakapos do likewise.  Already decimated by introduced stoats (weasel relatives), rats and habitat loss, the kakapo population cannot rebound under this breeding strategy.

Scientists at Glasgow University have devised a food supplement that increases female egg production in non-fruiting years.  This formula is now fed to wild kakapos and has yielded promising results.  Amazingly, the dedicated researchers working with this bird know every individual (by name!).  They carry supplemented food to scores of feeding stations, and make certain that each bird consumes its share…surely one of the most intense conservation initiatives anywhere!

 You can read more about the remarkable Kakapo Recovery Plan at:

http://www.kakaporecovery.org.nz/

Image referenced from Wikipedia Commons

I first made my acquaintance with Pekin robins while working for a bird importer, but did not really get to know them well until I again met up with them as a Bronx Zoo bird keeper.  Housing them in a large, mixed species aviary there, I was able to appreciate their many interesting behaviors.  They are always on the move…bathing, hunting and exploring, more so than most birds.

These beautiful little “babblers” (Family Sylviidae) have been kept by aviculturists for over 100 years, and it is easy to see why.  Pekin robins are a real delight to watch, especially if one can provide them with an outdoor aviary, and are far hardier than most “exotic softbills”.  Males sing beautifully but softly, and both sexes are attractively colored.

They are excellent starter birds for those looking to expand their bird-keeping horizons, but really should be kept in outdoor aviaries for at least part of the year.  They fly rather than climb about as do parrots, and cannot usually be released for exercise, and so do not adapt readily to confined quarters.

You can read more about the care and natural history of Pekin robins, including a note about an introduced population on Hawaii, at the web site of the Honolulu Zoo:

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/red-billed_leiothrix.htm

Image referenced from Wikipedia.

While looking over some information on Goldenfeast’s Sweet Potatoes Bird Treat it occurred to me just how often I have used these tasty vegetables during my life as a private and professional animal keeper.  I would hazard a guess that, with the possible exception of bananas, yams and sweet potatoes have figure in the captive diets of a greater variety of animals than any other food item.  Animals ranging from African dwarf mice to African elephants, golden pheasants to ostriches, millipedes to land crabs and iguanas to Galapagos tortoises consume them avidly (at an aquarium in Japan, I was astonished to see Australian lungfish gobbling them up as well!).

It turns out that sweet potatoes are an ideal food item – high in fiber and packed with valuable nutrients.  Goldenfeast’s dehydrated sweet potatoes offer a convenient method of providing your birds with their benefits.  Although marketed for parrots, I suggest you offer small bits to your finches and softbills as well.  If you keep shama thrushes, mynas, Pekin robins or similar birds, you might try soaking the potatoes in water for a few minutes to re-hydrate them.

Resources dealing with the nutrient content of sweet potatoes are listed at:

http://sweetpotatousa.org/nutrition1.htm

The golden conure is a bird that demands attention…indeed, a more strikingly-colored parrot can hardly be imagined.  This, coupled with a playful demeanor and rarity in the wild and captivity, renders it one of the most desirable of all cage birds. 

Description

At 15 inches in length and equipped with a massive head and beak, this giant among conures has the bearing of a much larger bird.  Many observers have commented upon this, comparing it to the smaller macaws, and taxonomists have removed the golden conure from the genus into which other conures are classified. 

The body and tail are golden-yellow, and the primary wing feathers are rich emerald green.

Range and Conservation Status

The golden conure is limited in distribution to upland forests in northeastern Brazil, an area that has seen much environmental degradation in recent decades.  It shares its habitat with over 300 bird species, including the harpy eagle and 22 other parrots.  Unfortunately, gold mining, logging and the massive Tucurui Dam have resulted in the flooding or development of millions of acres of primary forest, and place the golden conure and other species at risk.

The golden conure is CITES Appendix I listed and protected by the US Endangered Species Act, but environmental threats have proven difficult to curtail.  Fortunately, it is reasonably well-established in captivity.  Although not common and usually quite expensive, golden conure breeding is well-worth considering if you are interested in both pet-keeping and conservation.  A US Fish and Wildlife Service permit is required…please write in for further details if you are considering keeping golden conures.

Golden Conures as Pets

Golden conures are extremely social as regards both people and other conures.  They are curious and very playful, and make wonderful, long-lived (to 40 years or more) pets.  Despite looking like feathered jewels, they are quite hardy and robust, and tame individuals enjoy nothing more than a good “wrestling match” with their owner’s hand.

In common with many related birds, their voices are quite piercing…please bear that in mind and do not be swept away by their gorgeous colors when deciding if these (or other parrots) are the pets for you.

Breeding in Nature and Captivity

Field reports indicate that golden conures breed colonially, with females sharing feeding responsibilities.  While this is so, later observations revealed that breeding groups were composed largely or entirely of related birds.  Therefore, unrelated captives may not co-exist at breeding time.

Golden conure chicks have a tendency to gnaw at one another’s tail feathers…other than that captive reproduction is fairly straightforward.

Golden conure care basically follows that of related species…please write in if you have questions or would like further details.

You can read about golden conures in the wild, and a project that is seeking to preserve their habitat, at:

http://goldenconure.org/

All too many birds are difficult to breed in captivity, but the opposite problem – chronic egg laying – is common to some popular species as well.  It is most often seen in cockatiels and budgerigars, but is by no means limited to them.

Health Risks

A hen that produces multiple clutches on a regular basis will be prone to a host of medical problems, the most frequent and dangerous of which is calcium depletion.  Without adequate calcium, egg-binding (wherein the bird cannot expel her eggs) and osteoporosis are likely.

Adaptive Value of Rapid Onset Breeding

It’s no coincidence that many of the species prone to chronic egg-laying are native to harsh environments, where weather conditions or food shortages may prevent breeding for periods of a year or more.  These birds must be ready to lay as soon as conditions are favorable, and so come into breeding condition very quickly, and produce multiple clutches whenever possible.

Such species respond more to the presence of certain environmental cues – i.e. rain or sprouting greens, than to gradual seasonal changes (as do most other birds).  Budgerigars and cockatiels are classic examples of opportunistically breeding birds.

Common Factors Influencing Egg-Laying

We must, therefore, keep in mind the effect of environmental conditions that might not, at first glance, seem important to us.  A high fat diet, too much food, or a very long photoperiod (i.e. if the bird is kept in a room that is lit for 16 hours or so) may signal the arrival of “good times” and function as a breeding stimulus. Even daily misting with a water bottle might be at the root of the problem, functioning as a mini “rainy season”, especially if the bird has not been regularly sprayed in the past.

The presence of a possible mate or nest site is an important factor…please bear in mind that an imprinted hen may very well see her owner as a mate, and be stimulated to lay by normal daily contact.  Females isolated from males may also react to birds of other species, or even to toys.  Nesting material or nest sites work very well in inducing reproduction – budgerigars may lay at any time of the year when provided with a cavity or nest box.

Correcting and Treating the Problem

Sometimes, the problem can be resolved by removing the egg-laying stimulus, i.e., shortening the photoperiod.  In some cases, hormonal therapy (i.e. human chorionic gonadotrophin injections) may be necessary.

Chronic egg laying can quite easily lead to your pet’s early demise…if all else fails, removal of the ovaries and uterus (salpingohysterectomy) will prevent ovulation.  This was formerly a quite serious operation, but can now be performed endoscopically on most bird species.

You can read more about avian calcium deficiency at:

http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/avian%20diet%202.htm