Abstract
One of the most significant decisions a psittacine owner can be faced with is whether or not to procure a mate for a pet parrot and give him or her a chance to raise a family.In an era when pet aviculture is beginning to join hands with the entire psittacine conservation movement (i.e., thousands of handfed birds maturing, stopped importation, limited gene pools, hobby breeding, private ownership of endangered species, etc.), the responsibilities engendered by this decision confront the pet owner on levels emotional, ethical and commercial.
Making the step from pet owner to breeding pet owner is not difficult per se; yet it demands a certain level of professionalism not required of those owning single birds.
This paper will consider many of the pros and cons of "pairing" your pet parrot, and discuss various ways to go about it.
Naming a business "The Perfect Parrot" represents for me a lifetime search for just such a psittacine. At present, I have not the experience to name a single species, so when persons ask of me which hookbill is the most perfect one, I tend to reply "the baby par- rot." Indeed, all the joys, heartaches, life lessons and lcve I can envision are wrapped up in these tiny creatures entrusted to our care - and if one is lucky enough to own the parents and watch the process unfold, well ... 'nuff said!
Yes, choosing to breed one's pet parrot offers supreme rewards; it also is more work. So what should be the determining factor? The happiness and welfare of the parrot, of course.
Just a few of our "do nots" when considering this question include:
• Do not enter the breeding arena with profit as your primary motive. Be willing to sustain a loss. Be willing to keep offspring. Be willing to experience exclusion from your pet's private life.
• Never force two reluctant birds to pair.
In the case of cockatoos, king parrots, lories, some hawkheads, lovebirds, Amazons, etc., this can result in zero production at least, competition; mate abuse or death.
• Never mix species or hybridize. (Many professionals will avoid even the cross of subspecies.) Leam to recognize pure birds - a near impossibility where one-eighth and one-sixteenth hybrids abound - or deal only with knowledgeable experts who have references. U.S. aviculture is full of breeders selling impure strains of Nanday Conures, Greenwinged Macaws, Grand Eclectus, and more!
• Do not consider breeding your pet as a way to wash your hands of a bird no longer a favorite. Many imprinted hookbills need human interaction, and placing them with a mate out in the backyard does not absolve the owner from all ties to the bird. As the years pass some of my paired pets distance themselves from me, but that is THEIR choice.
On a more personal note, buying an unrelated, sexed companion for your bird is exciting for you and it; and can be problem solving, too. When puberty arrives, it can bring with it a host of changes within the single parrot household. Most of these difficulties can be coped with by making adjustments in the household routine. Some can be waited out; as breeding season passes or the pet ages a few years past puberty, a new equilibrium is reached and the home becomes stable once again. In some cases "behavior modification" may be undertaken with the aid of counselors. The Natural Choice makes a practice of spending as little effort as possible in modifying instinctual behavior in our psittacine pets or breeders. To do so can cause a chain reaction which only creates another unsavory mannerism down the line.
Common puberty changes are increased chewing and destruction, the seeking of darkness and nesting sites, aggression against strangers or closely bonded humans and birds, masturbations, screaming, feather plucking, despondency, change in appetite, and egglaying.
The need for professionalism becomes apparent when the pet owner tries to balance cause and cures in an effective manner. For example, a change in eating habits may necessitate higher protein or greater amounts of greens and buds in a bird's diet; but providing such may also increase the nesting impulse. Or giving a cardboard playbox to your single pet bird may satisfy chewing and nestseeking urges, but might increase territorial behavior in males or lead to a clutch of eggs in females.
To be sure, natural decisions dictate that male territorial behavior during breeding season is quite alright in our pets; this is a time they need to let their hormones go, and we as owners must give them their space. Egglaying and sitting in a box is also allowable and natural for a hen. But a responsible owner must see to it that this phase does not become a habitual string of laying cycles which deplete a hen's calcium and risks eggbinding hazards.
Goals here are not to shut off instinctual behavior, but to channel them in directions acceptable in the home pet situation. Inexperienced owners should observe well their bird's activities, take notes, mark down dates, etc. and be prepared to seek advice if behavior turns incomprehensible. Most puberty problems do not occur overnight. The pet keeper may be at fault for waiting until things progress to a point where they have to seek help! For example, it was fun to pet your umbrella cockatoo "down under" until she began screaming for such attention, stopped eating well, started to bite, or plucked the feathers raw beneath her wings.
The first female Amazon I kept as a pet coerced me into stroking her cloaca! area in bed in the mornings. As I learned this was non-productive for her welfare and would likely produce a sexually dysfunctional bird, such activity ceased. We no longer recommend any such petting for captive psirtacines. It accelerates the human/parrot relationship toward a dead end and makes it difficult to ascertain how sexually active the pet actually is. Masturbation by a parrot in its own cage with perch or toys is normal and serves as a sign that changes are in store.
Many times the puberty phase of a pet bird can be focused into a newer, more interesting environment. It was for maturing pets that we first began building outdoor play cages in the backyard. These 4x4 ft. enclosures on legs are packed with rotting logs, branches, gravel flats, seeded grasses and flowers. Rain is allowed to wet greenery or an early morning sprinkling was provided. Our single parrots Jove to be put outside during the day to play "wild bird - they come into the house for the evening. We see grown Amazons fluffing and posturing threats at the sparrows eating spilled seed on the grass beneath the cage!
A rule of thumb for owners with pets in the midst of parrot puberty is: do not panic, go slowly, and try the simplest changes first. The challenges of puberty provide a period of training for owner and bird alike.