Breeding Hand Reared African Cape Parrots

Abstract

M any of us have read the interesting articles published over the past several years concerning the intriguing members of the genus Poicephalus. The Cape Parrot, being one of the rarest psittacines in aviculture, as well as declining in its wild habitat (Wirminghaus 1994), is in need of a dedicated captive breeding program.

As with many parrot species, the Cape Parrot is one in which handreared offspring, especially males, often lack the social and reproductive skills necessary to effectively reproduce once they have matured. I am aware of several pairs of hand-reared Capes which have not bred successfully.

Fortunately there are a couple of hand-reared pairs which have proven to be exceptions to this lack of breeding success. I own a hand-reared pair of P. r. fuscicollis that have bred successfully and reared their young. I also know of another hand-reared Cape pair, P. r. suabelicus, which has done the same. These are the only two handreared male Cape Parrots, that I know of, to have successfully bred in captivity, although there are a handful of hand-reared females that have successfully bred when paired with wild caught males.

It has become clear that hand-rearing and human imprinting is interfering with the breeding future of this species. This article will review the information gathered from the reproductive success of the hand-reared fuscicollis pair.

Identification

The Cape Parrot subspecies can be difficult to identify if you have not seen the two perched side by side. My male Capes, fuscicollis and suahelicus subspecies, show ve1y obvious color difference on the head and neck. The head and neck of the fuscicollis is less silvery gray and is suffused with burgundy from the cheeks through the throat. A size difference also exists between the males with suahelicus being larger. In my collection suabelicus subspecies have weighed · 330- 400g, and f uscicollis 320-340g. I have not found as clear of a difference in size and color to exist between females of the subspecies.

Pair History

The complete history of my .fuscicollis pair is not known, therefore critical information with regards to the techniques used to hand-feed them, the methods in which they were housed after weaning, and other parameters that may influence the level of human imprinting are unavailable. The birds were purchased from a pet store in Ohio in early 1995 by Florida Cape breeder Kathy Millikin. They were then placed in an outdoor aviary measuring three feet square by six feet long. Kathy described the pair as having a strong pair bond, having occasional noisy battles, and frequently squabbling through the wire with the Cape pair in the adjoining aviary,

I have found most of these behaviors to be typical of the members of the Poicepbalus genus regardless of

the way they were raised. A notable difference between hand-reared Poicepbalus and wild caught birds is that hand-reared pairs rarely enter their nestboxes outside of the breeding season whereas wild caught birds often hide inside of theirs.

While in Kathy's care, when they were four years old, the pair began to show interest in a metal nestbox. At this time they were housed outdoors alongside an older, nonbreeding, hand-reared pair of Capes. By the end of 1996 they had laid two infertile clutches of eggs. The following year the pair laid two successive clutches of fertile eggs (when they were five years old). The chicks were pulled for handrearing at two weeks of age.

I purchased this pair several months after the chicks from their second clutch had been pulled for hand-rearing, when they were just over six years old. My intention was to take on the challenge of parent-rearing Capes in order to exchange parent-reared young for the same produced by California breeder Ben Cooper. At the time, I was successfully breeding jardine's Parrots Poicepbalus fantsiensus and was prepared to foster the Cape Parrot eggs, or chicks, to the jardine's should the Capes have difficulty incubating or rearing their chicks.

Until recently my Potcepbalus collection had been housed indoors. At that time all five species of Poicepbalus that I had kept, including this breeding occurrence with the Capes, had bred successfully in flight cages measuring four feet long by two feet wide hy three feet high. Each of these cages is placed on steel conduit legs which raises the cage floor to four feet above the ground. Nest boxes are fastened to the outside of the cages allowing for easy inspection.

The staple diet fed to the birds, year round, is 500/o Cockatiel seed and 500/o Pretty Bird African Parrot Select pellets. Added to this mix daily are fresh fruits and vegetables including: Corn (fed on the cob), apple, carrots, and an additional seasonal item. During the cooler weather additional sunflower seeds and whole dried corn are added to the dry seed mix. Leafy branches of eucalyptus, acacia, willow, citrus, and Japanese

bluebeny Eleocarpus decipens are rotated throughout the week and offered every other day.

The lighting provided for the birds was full spectrum fluorescent shop lights cycling for 14 hours on and then 10 hours off. The lights come on just after daybreak allowing the birds the earliest morning light through windows. I always provide four-watt night lights in my bird room allowing the birds to quickly recover from any "night frights."

Although I prefer wooden nestboxes, on this breeding occasion I was given an all metal nestbox in the shape of a flattened "Z." Since the birds had previously bred in metal nestboxes I decided to stay with what had proven to be successful. The box contained a built-in inspection door. in the lower portion of the "Z" which opened directly over the nesting chamber.