Parent-rearing the Blue-throated Macaw

Abstract

Does it Matter?

Many prominent aviculturists feel all domestic macaw breeding is solely a function of the pet market. Others believe they are making a distinct conservation effort to offset declining wild populations. As in all conflicting philosophies, there are key points of dissent. One of the latest conflicts concerns artificial incubation/hand rearing vs. parent rearing.

Simply put, this avicultural argument currently is being force-fed raw emotion. While anecdotal information abounds, there is no definitive body of work on the question--on either side.

At The Bird Endowment, a 50lc(3)pending organization specializing in breeding Blue-throated and Buffon's Macaws, we asked "Does it matter?" Our decision was not unlike an agnostic praying to God; "I don't know if there is a god, but just to be safe ... "

With that thought, and many unanswered questions, we put our program on the altar of nature. We decided on natural parent-rearing with only lifesaving human intervention (although there have been the inevitable departures). There may or may not be wild releases of captive-bred birds; day-one handfed domestics may or may not prove capable of continuing the species ad infinitum ... "hut just to be safe."

In our Blue-throated program, we have an established wild-caught pair

and have put together domestic pairs of parent-raised female/incubated handfed male and partially parentraised female/incubated handfed male. We will also establish a pairing of incubated handfed female/parent raised male. Once other wild-caught pairs are added, we intend to establish parentraised pairs. All of these will be allowed the opportunity for parentrearing as well as contributing to nextgeneration perpetuation of original pairing categories.

The program is designed to track results of these pairings for comparison to results provided by cooperating owners of incubated handfed pairs. Projected duration is open-ended.

Following are the results of the parent-rearing efforts of one wild caught pair of Blue-throated (Caninde) Am glaucogularis Macaws.

The Blue-throateds were acquired in September, 1992, as a surgically sexed but unproven pair. Being wildcaught, they were of indeterminate age. For the previous three years they had been in a 3 x 3 x 5 ft. cage, the top of which was less than four feet from the ground. The cage was in an active pedestrian area. They were surrounded hy, and could see, Hyacinths, Green-wingeds, cockatoos and other parrots. They were extremely nervous and high-strung. The male paced, upside down, in the top of the cage. From one end to the other and back. The female hung from the top like a hat. There was little association or recognition between the two.

The Aviary

After a comprehensive vet check and quarantine period, we moved the Blue-throateds into an aviary of their own at our facility in I Jouston. Solid walls, half of the roof open to the elements. No pedestrian traffic except for the keeper. A larger cage (4 x 4 x 8 ft.), suspended four feet above ground to give them a superior position above the keeper. And, with some optimism, a nest box ('/, inch plywood, 16 in. deep, 17 in. high, 48 in. wide, with a centered entrance 3 in. from bottom and 4 in. in diameter).

Jn this more secure environment, they gradually cairned and began to use perches. They started preening

each other, Five months later they were observed sticking their heads into the nest box and coming out with beaks full of pine shavings. A month later they started enlarging the entrance hole. Then came courtship feeding and copulation. Next they were in the nestbox together and displaying aggression toward the keeper.

Nine months after acquiring the pair, the hen laid her first egg. Albeit, a perch drop that cracked up at landing. The next two eggs (hath infertile) she delivered in the nest box and incubated until we pulled them 30 days later.

Eleven days later, she laid another clutch. Two hatched at 26 days, third was infertile. One was pulled in the seventh week due to an injury and the other was pulled in the eighth week as we prepared to move to rural acreage.