Abstract
Question and Answer Segment Question # 1: A macaw breeder made the statement that in her experience the first clutch of the season is noticeably stronger, healthier and larger. She suggested that one should hold back the first clutch for the parents to raise. Because it would take that pair out of the breeding season, the breeder might select an individual pair or an individual year to do this for the future of aviculture.
Answer: (DALE THOMPSON) At Aviculture Institute in the 1980s we had several hundred pairs of Cockatiels. We always held back the first clutch for future breeders as this clutch proved to be the biggest and best.
Your question is very interesting.
This possibility had not crossed my mind until you stated it. I think we were saying to wait till the last clutch to get some babies. But if one is that progressively minded, I feel holding back first clutch babies is a fabulous idea. You may, however, lose out on a second clutch, depending upon the species and the time span it takes to rear their young in the nest.
Question# 2: If you have a pair of birds that were not parent-raised, will they ever be able to raise babies and will they be responsible parents? Or is that instinct lost from that generation on?
Answer: (ROSEMARY Low) There are so many instances of handraised birds
that make perfect parents and their young likewise. A lot does depend on the species because some imprint more easily than others.
Answer: (DALE THOMPSON) I agree.
It really does depend upon the species. Pionus, and Aratinga conures and many Amazons, even from day one, often never have a problem parent-rearing. It is their temperament in captivity. We are having 3rd generation Pionus, handfed all the way down the line, that are now parent-rearing. If you have a handfed parent bird and you are not having problems, take the risk. Let them take a try at feeding the babies. If you botch it at three weeks, you can regret it, but you haven't lost the gold mine, meaning the parent birds. They will learn from their mistakes. We did this with a pair of Sun Conures that probably were third generation handfeds, maybe even from day-one. They did not know how to feed well. We allowed them to learn. Even if it is with juvenile or first time breeders, they are not going to be as good as my 12 year old pair that simply pumps out the babies. They have to learn. Give them that chance and they will become some of the best feeders you have in your parrot collection.
Question # 3: If you have a pair of birds which for many years have had their babies removed after two to three weeks of feeding, and you decide to leave the babies with the parents, will
they raise them?
Answer: (ROSEMARY Low) I would suggest that if they are good feeders up to two to three weeks, there is absolutely no reason why they shouldn't feed them to fledging. You can always pull them later if there is a problem. Just monitor it closely.
Answer: (DAIE THOMPSON) They will generally feed all the way. The only problem I have had is with birds that repeatedly feather pick their young. You can work with this problem by placing more material in the nest such as chewable twigs to keep them occupied so they won't pluck. The fledging stage is also a critical time for parent-reared birds. There should be plenty of perches in place at the time the babies exit the hole. Without them, the babies have a chance of banging into the walls and even breaking their necks.
Question# 4: I have Senegals who lay fertile eggs but don't hatch them out. I've lost many eggs so I started pulling them for artificial incubation and they hatch. Can we take the babies now and put them back with their parents?
Answer: (RosEMARY Low) What I have done on quite a few occasions is to replace the fertile eggs with plastic eggs or even with infertile eggs that you have filled with some hard substance. Meanwhile the fertile eggs are either in an incubator or temporarily under some other species. When they pip, you return them to the first nest. With Blue-throated Conures, which are notorious for egg breaking, I used this system very successfully. When the pipping eggs were returned to the nest they were reared. That was the only way we got the Blue-throated Conures to hatch.