Abstract
L inda and I bought our first pairs of parrots in January 1994. Now, we have about 50 pairs, mostly Africans and Eclectus with a few cockatoos and Hawk-headeds. We have learned so much the hard way that we feel it would be helpful to relate some of our experiences. Much of the information in this article will be old news to experienced aviculturists, but we hope that those who are just getting started in aviculture may learn from this article and not repeat some of our mistakes. We are not trying to discourage you if you want to breed birds. However, we do feel that you should go into aviculture with your eyes open.
Understand Your Commitment
First and foremost, understand your commitment. The decision to breed birds should not be considered lightly. The only reason to breed birds is love of the birds. There are many easier ways to make a living. Aviculture is one of the most demanding professions I can think of. The commitments, both personal and financial, are serious.
Consider the personal commitment.
Although it may not involve that many hours each day, breeding birds is a 7- day /week, 365-day /year job. If you don't feel well, the birds have to eat. If you would like to get away for a weekend, the birds have to eat. If it's Christmas day, the birds have to eat. There really are only two ways that you can take time off. Either stay small
enough that a friend can takeover for a day or two or get large enough so that you can afford employees.
When you have babies, which is the whole idea, your time is even more restricted. If you have good parents and can pull babies at two or three weeks, the babies will need to be on four or five feedings a day when they enter the nursery. An afternoon or evening off is problematic. If you have babies that must be fed from day one because the parents won't sit the eggs or feed the new hatches, expect to feed every two hours from 6 A.M. until midnight for the first few days. Going to a movie is not an option unless it is a short film and you live close to the theater.
The good news is that if you are like me, you will find nothing more rewarding than watching a baby parrot grow under your care. The long hours are more than rewarded by the growing babies. The bad news is that the last time I took a day off was to attend an AFA convention in July, 1997.
Consider the emotional commitment. If you are like me, it is impossible to breed birds and not get attached to the birds and their babies. But, if you keep birds, you will have to deal with heartbreaking situations. Once when I was mourning the loss of a pair of Great-billed Parrots, a good friend told me that, "He who has a collection of living birds also has a collection of dead birds." This is true. If you have many pairs of birds, you will lose breeders. If you feed many babies, you will Jose babies. I have had both mature birds and babies die in my hands while I was trying to save them. And, it really doesn't get easier. You love them, and occasionally you will lose them.
Consider the financial commitment.
Any commitment to breeding takes money. If you plan to try to breed birds as a profession, it takes a lot of money. Birds are expensive; flights are expensive; brooders, incubators, and nursery equipment are expensive. After setup costs, there are always food and vet bills to consider. We have a small fortune invested in our aviary. We showed a little profit for the first time in 1998 if depreciation is not taken into consideration. I may make minimum wage in 1999. So far, we could have received a
much better return on investment in the stock market. But, somehow, stock certificates are not nearly as rewarding as baby birds.
Buying Birds
When we started buying birds we believed whatever we were told. How could people who deal in something as wonderful as parrots be less than honest and upright? Boy, was that a mistake. The first birds we bought were two pairs of Eclectus, a pair of Galahs, and a pair of Goffin's Cockatoos. We also had two pet Greys. Our vet came over to see our dogs and threw a fit over the fact that we had bought pairs of breeder birds and had not quarantined or done any testing. We didn't know that we were supposed to.
The first thing she did was draw blood for PBFD testing. Two weeks later, we found out that four of the eight breeder birds we had bought were positive for PBFD along with one of the pet Greys. We got rid of the suspected carrier, the male Goffin's, and 90 days later all the other birds tested negative. But, these were the longest 90 days of our lives. And, my pet Grey, who tested negative initially, was given to a relative for safe-keeping during the 90-day wait. Bogie spent at least eight hours a day on my shoulder and had a 200+ word vocabulary. He got cooked in a car as a result of negligence on the part of the relative who was keeping him.
When we received the positive test results, we wanted to know where the disease came from and felt that the breeders from whom we bought the birds should know that they had a potential problem. We called the breeder from whom we bought the Eclectus and Galahs. He went into a near panic. He believed that he didn't have a PBFD problem, but immediately tested the pairs he had that hadn't been tested. We called the breeder from whom we had bought the Goffin's. When we bought these birds we were told that they were proven and that the breeder had had them for quite some time.