1
Q
What is the general characteristics of parrots?
A
- Good climbers
- Intelligent – behavioural problems common, training beneficial, develop complex behaviours, learn by mimicking
- Altricial young and require high level of parental care and long developmental stage
- Most come from warm/tropical regions – vary from rainforest to arid grasslands
- Social – live in flocks – breeding pairs and family groups
- Prey species – need to feel secure
- Vocal – very noisy
2
Q
What is important to remember when owning parrots?
A
- Body language
- Inappropriate pair bonding with owner should be discouraged and is common in hand reared parrots
- Avoid feeding mouth to mouth, stroking lower back, belly or inner leg area
- Average lifespans in captivity are very short as a result of poor husbandry, particularly diet
- Good at masking signs of illness
- Psittacosis common zoonotic disease – chlamydia psittaci
3
Q
Name 8 commonly kept parrot species.
A
Budgerigars
Cockatiels
Lovebirds
African grey/timneh grey
Eclectus
Amazons
Cockatoos
Macaws
4
Q
Describe budgies.
A
- Sexual maturity at 6 months
- Maximum lifespan is 18 years but average is 5-6 years
- Male blue cere
- Female pink/brown cere
- 30-60g
- Exhibition birds are bigger and less hardy
- Variety of colours/mutations
5
Q
Describe keeping budgies.
A
- Make good pets
- Often kept in large groups so need sufficient water, food, perches and nest boxes
- Wild diet predominantly seeds
- Prone to obesity in captivity
- Cnemidocoptes mites
- Neoplasia common
6
Q
Describe cockatiels.
A
- Sexual maturity at 6-12 months
- Maximum lifespan at 30 years but average captive lifespan is 6-7 years
- Male brighter cheek patches
- Female bars underneath tail and flight feathers
- Body weight 80-125g
7
Q
Describe keeping cockatiels.
A
- Make good pets – friendly, sociable, easy to train
- Makes better singer/talkers
- Various colour mutations
8
Q
Describe lovebirds and keeping them.
A
- 9 species
- Sexual maturity at 8-12 months
- Maximum lifespan is 12 years but average captive lifespan is 4 years
- Body weight 25-55g
- Noisy and can be aggressive
9
Q
Describe African greys and keeping them.
A
- Sexual maturity at 3-5 years
- Young birds have dark iris – yellow in adult
- Maximum lifespan is 50 years but average captive lifespan is 15-20 years
- Body weight is 450-500g
- Timneh sub-species smaller (330-350g) – maroon tail
- Popular pets; good talkers
- Intelligence of 3-5 year old child
10
Q
Describe eclectus and keeping them.
A
- Sexual maturity at 3-6 years
- Maximum lifespan is 20 years but average captive lifespan is 8-10 years
- Male green
- Female red
- Body weight is 400-450g
- Females can be aggressive
11
Q
Describe amazon parrots.
A
- Around 30 species of green parrot
- Sexual maturity at 4-6 years
- Maximum lifespan is 60 years but average captive lifespan is 15-20 years
- Body weight is 350-600g
12
Q
Describe keeping amazon parrots.
A
- Excellent talkers
- Very destructive, for example to furniture
- Prone to obesity
13
Q
Describe cockatoos.
A
- Around 20 species
- Sexual maturity at 1-6 years
- Maximum lifespan is 60 years but average captive lifespan is 15-20 years
- Male black iris
- Female red / brown iris
- Body weight is 350-1100g
14
Q
Describe keeping cockatoos.
A
- Loud and destructive, produce lots of powder down. Feathers break down and they preen the feathers***. Can be allergic to this powder
- Hand-reared birds often presented for severe behavioural problems
- Most not good pets
- Mate aggression common
15
Q
Describe macaws.
A
- Sexual maturity at 3-7 years
- Maximum lifespan is 50 years but average captive lifespan is 15-20 years
- Body weight is 200-1700g
- Featherless facial patch, long tails
- Larger species make demanding pets
16
Q
List some sexual dimorphisms of parrot species.
A
- Budgies: male blue cere, female brown
- Eclectus: male green, female red
- White cockatoos: male black iris, female red/brown iris
- Cockatiels: male brighter cheek patches, female bars underneath tail and flight feathers (but not all colour mutations)
- Ringneck parakeets: male has ring
17
Q
How are sexually monomorphic species of parrot sexed?
A
DNA sexing from blood or feather pulp
Endoscopic sexing
18
Q
Describe parrot identification.
A
Rings on tarsometatarsus may be:
- Closed – applied when chick
- Open/split – applied any time
- Female left, male right
- No central register for parrots
- Ring constriction injuries are common
- Microchips are placed in left pectoral muscle and caudal third
19
Q
Describe how to handle parrots.
A
- Make sure windows and doors are closed before removing from cage.
- Beak much more dangerous than the feet so restrain head.
- Handle in towel/cloth with one hand round neck and other hand controlling wings and feet in towel.
- Don’t restrict sternal movements, as birds have no diaphragm and could suffocate.
- Avoid prolonged dorsal recumbency.
- In budgies can use one-handed ‘ringers grip’ with head held between first 2 fingers.
- Good restraint essential for blood sampling & crop tubing.
20
Q
Describe indoor cages avian housing.
A
- Cages: as large as possible
- Minimum: must allow bird to extend and stretch wings (W&C Act 1981)
- Stainless steel/powder coated finished – not galvanised wire (zinc toxicity)
- Horizontal bars for climbing
- Easily cleaned
- Place in a corner for security
- Separate activity/foraging centre/gym
21
Q
Describe aviary housing.
A
- May be kept in aviaries year round or just when weather is good for exercise
- Mesh should be zinc free and small enough to prevent head going through, ideally double wired
- Shelter important, some tropical species will require heating
- Adjacent flights for breeding pairs should be double wired or separated by non-toxic vegetation
- Budgie/cockatiel breeders – aviaries with multiple nest boxes for groups or rows of breeding cages for individual pairs
- Suspended aviaries allow droppings to fall out of reach of the birds
- Parakeets like to forage on ground but soil substrate increases risk of worms
- Solid paving or concrete floors prevent rodents burrowing in - pest control important
22
Q
Why are perches of variable diameter important?
A
Variable diameters, enjoy chewing them. If same diameter, they are putting pressure on the same part of the foot all the time.
23
Q
What enrichment is required for birds?
A
- Bathing or misting is essential
- Foraging is important as wild parrots spend 50-80% of time foraging for food
- Provide food in a form that requires work to find and consume it
- Non-toxic tree branches
24
Q
Describe the lighting for captive birds.
A
- 12 hours day/night cycle
- Bright lighting but not direct sunlight
- UV light important for synthesis of vitamin D especially African greys. Natural sunlight best to allow outside regularly in summer
- Indoor birds need full spectrum tube to provide UVA (315-400nm) and UVB (285-315nm)
25
Name the different diets of parrots.
Granivores: budgies and cockatiels
Frugivores: orange-winged amazon
Florivores – varied plant based diet: seeds, fruit, flowers, nuts. African grey
Omnivores – seeds, plant roots, fruit, insects. Sulphur-crested cockatoo
Nectarivores: lories, lorikeets
26
Why are all sunflower seed/peanut diets insufficient?
- High in fat and calories
- Deficient in vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, calcium, iodine
- Poor calcium : phosphorus ratio
- Deficient in methionine and lysine
- Often poor quality and contaminated with fungal spores, such as Aspergillus species, especially if stored at higher than 16% humidity
- If stored improperly, can also be contaminated with aflatoxins
- Encourage selective feeding and difficult to supplement
- Coating the seeds of little value as are de-husked when consumed
27
What must be provided in the diet of egg laying females?
Calcium supplement important for egg-laying females, such as calcium borogluconate or oyster shells.
28
What do seed based diets lead to?
- Respiratory/oral disease: squamous metaplasia from hypovitaminosis A, rhinoliths (material builds up in nostril and distorts the shape)
- Poor feather/skin quality
- Chronic infections
- Obesity, hepatic lipidosis, atherosclerosis
- Metabolic bone disease and seizures in African greys
- Poor reproductive performance/egg binding
- Goitre (voice change) – iodine deficiency – budgies
29
Describe the recommended pelleted diet.
- Prevent selective feeding
- Species-specific variants
- Fruit and veg for enrichment
- Ideally wean parrots onto pellets
30
Describe the difficult process of converting from seed to pellet diets.
- Mix pellets with seeds and gradually reduce percentage of seeds
- Limit time seeds offered such as 15 mins 2 x day
- Place pellets on mirror (budgies, cockatiels)
- Disguise pellets such as peanut butter
- Offer from owner’s plate
- Hospitalise bird
31
List the possible household threats to pet birds.
- Teflon fumes (non-stick pans)
- Cigarette smoke
- Heavy metal objects – lead curtain weights, plaster, lead paint, jewellery, batteries
- Fans
- Salt, chocolate, avocado (certain types are toxic), milk, alcohol.
32
What are raptors, passerines, waterfowl and ratites?
Raptors - birds of prey
Passerines - perching birds
Waterfowl - ducks, swans, geese, flamingos
Ratites - ostrich, emu, rhea, cassowary
33
Name some species of raptors.
- Falcons: peregrine, gyr, lanner falcons, kestrels, merlins
- Hawks: sparrowhawk, goshawk, red-tailed hawk
- Buzzards: Harris hawk, common buzzard
- Eagles
- Owls: barn owl, tawny owl, little owl
- Vultures
34
What must be considered when treating raptors?
- Weight strictly controlled
- Flying weight – weight below which bird keen to hunt
- Need tail guards to protect tail feathers if hospitalised
35
Describe the characteristics of Harris hawks.
- 550-880g male and 825-1200g female
- Sexual maturity at 2-3 years
- 20 year lifespan
- Considered a good beginners falconry bird
- Very intelligent – easily socialised and trained
- Behavioural problems common: feather plucking, aggression
36
Define some falconry terms.
- Tiercel – male falcon
- Mews - housing
- Aylmeri – anklet – a loop of leather round tarsometatarsus with brass eyelet for jess
- Jesses – leather straps passed through aylmeri to restrain bird on glove
- Mutes – droppings (faeces/urates)
- Bate – to fly off the glove in panic when tethered
- To cast – restrain bird round shoulders/regurgitate indigestible fur/feathers
37
How are raptors handled?
- Restrain feet first - except vultures
- Glove
- Equipment individually fitted, with jesses through anklets on tarsometatarsus and attached by swivel to leash
- Hoods for falcons
- Cast in towel to minimise feather damage
- Owls, eagles, vultures may try to bite
- Vultures often regurgitate
- 2 handlers needed for large raptors
38
How can raptors be sexed?
- Monomorphic but female usually larger than male
- Some, such as sparrowhawk, dimorphic
- DNA sexing/endoscopy
- Identification: closed rings/microchip left pectoral region
39
Describe the diet of raptors.
- Whole prey best
- Day old chicks staple diet for most captive raptors but some variety advised
- If yolk sac removed from DOC removes main source of calcium and fat soluble vitamins
- Casting – regurgitated indigestible fur and feathers (bones in owls) should be produced within 12 hours of feeding. Don’t feed until this has come up.
- Water should be provided for drinking and bathing
40
What diseases are raptors susceptible to?
- Metabolic bone disease/nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism common when muscle meat fed
- Disease risk from wild-caught food, or hunted food with lead bullets leading to lead poisoning
- Trichomoniasis, avian TB, lead ingestion
- Fatty liver-kidney syndromes in merlins (insectivorous) when fed day old chicks.
41
Describe the housing necessary for raptors.
- Free-lofting best for most species
- But falconry birds may be tethered on perch during day in flying season (Aug-Feb) and moved to shelter at night.
- Block perches for falcons and cover perches with astroturf
- During closed season left undisturbed to moult +/or breed in aviary (mews)
- Skylight seclusion aviary for nervous birds/breeding pairs – 4 solid sides
- Substrate – gravel, sand, soil (risk of endoparasites)
- Swivel feeders, shallow water tray for bathing in moult/breeding season
42
Why must falcons kept on tethers be on short leads?
Fracture of tibiotarsus when there is a long lead and bate off a perch and can build up lots of momentum by the end of the lead and be yanked back.
43
How are pigeons handled?
- Support body and keep wings under control
- Do not restrict sternal movements – birds have no diaphragm and could suffocate
- Horizontal hold / Racing pigeon hold – rest in hand with feet held between 1st and 2nd fingers and wings kept under control with thumb and 1st finger
44
How can pigeons be sexed?
- Monomorphic but males slightly larger
- Pigeon fanciers distinguish different behaviours, like males fanning tail and strutting more.
- Many breeds of domestic pigeon
- DNA sexing/endoscopy
- Pigeons have closed rings placed before 5 days of age.
45
Distinguish domestic and wild pigeon diets.
Domestic pigeons usually fed mixed cereals & pulses/pellets, often with vitamin and mineral supplements.
Wild pigeons/doves often eat fruit, vegetation and small invertebrates as well as grains/seeds
46
Describe pigeon housing.
- Racing pigeons kept in lofts
- Separate lofts for young, breeding and racing birds
- Need good ventilation and dry, absorbent dust free substrate
- Separate perching area for each bird.
- Large, outdoor flights, with covered shelters
- Nest boxes for breeding.
47
How are passerines handled?
- Stressed by handling – should be minimised
- Dimming lights before capture useful
- Ringers grip
- Hold in cloth – avoid restricting sternal movements
- Many have sharp pointed beaks: crows, magpies
48
How are passerines sexed?
- Many passerines dimorphic, like finches – males more colourful
- Canaries monomorphic – males sing well, females chirp & whistle
- Male passerines often perform courtship displays
- DNA sexing
49
Describe passerine diets.
Diverse dietary requirements – granivores, nectarivores, frugivores, insectivores, carnivores, omnivores.
Grit not essential. Some require greens, live food (gut-load) and/or egg food especially during breeding season (increased protein).
50
Describe granivore passerine diet.
Canaries, finches – seed only diets nutritionally inadequate – may see poor feather quality, soft shelled eggs, egg binding, obesity. Need vitamin and mineral supplementation.
51
Describe softbill passerine diets.
Softbills (non-seed eaters) often fed live food, fruit and/or pellets. Some prone to iron-storage disease. Too much iron in the liver causes pathology and liver failure.
52
Describe passerine housing.
- Mixed aviaries – provide more nests/sites than number of pairs
- Pairs of different species can be kept together
- Outdoor aviaries – must be protected from elements with a covered roof. Place feeders and water containers in night-room to encourage birds to roost indoors
- Fanciers keep pairs in small boxes during breeding season
53
What is pinioning?
- Ornamental waterfowl often pinioned - pinioning of birds up to 10 days of age can be carried out conscious
- ‘Permitted mutilation’- vets only
- After 10 days requires an anaesthetic
54
What are the species compatibilities in waterfowl?
Some, such as swans, shelducks, comb ducks, Egyptian geese, are best kept as single pairs due to interspecies aggression.
55
How are waterfowl handled?
- Can be aggressive
- Large swans/geese – grasp neck below head and place other arm around body to restrain wings
- Swan bags useful
- Flamingos – must take care to prevent leg damage. Keep one finger between hocks to prevent abrasions
56
How are waterfowl sexed?
- Many sexually dimorphic
- Male has erectile phallus – can be seen if cloaca everted
- DNA sexing/endoscopy
57
How are waterfowl identified?
- Rings on tarsometatarsus
- Microchip left pectoral region
58
Describe waterfowl diet.
- Proprietary diets best – floating pellets useful
- Unsupplemented grains: wheat, maize nutritionally inadequate
- Grit important especially if grains are fed
- Provide water with dry feed to prevent impaction
- Supplemental greens can be given to ducks and geese; geese should be allowed to graze
59
Describe waterfowl housing.
- Generally best kept outdoors. Ducks and swans need access to a pool
- Perching ducks: muscovy/whistling (tree) ducks require perches
- Flooring important – prone to pododermatitis (bumblefoot) if kept on rough surfaces
- Tropical species of duck may need to be housed in winter
- Predator proof
Animal Management Y2
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