Abstract
On November 19, 1980, Professor C.R.
Grau invited me to speak to a new avian science class at the University of California, Davis, to discuss breeding management and my own experiences in breeding and rearing cage and aviary birds.
Since the class was to meet early in the day, I new up the evening before. 1 was greeted at the Sacramento airport by Torn Roudybush. We drove to Davis to the home of Prof. and Mrs. Grau, where I enjoyed an informal dinner with them and some of the students.
The next day was a busy one. The Avian Science class, being new, was an eager group of twelve students. After speaking with the class, l was given a tour of the university, both by car and on foot. It was truly a wonderful experience. For the first time, we have an avian science class at U.C. Davis.
The Department is chaired by Dr. F.H.
Kratzer. Primarily the Department is known for its work on chickens, turkeys, quail, pheasants, and partridge, though they are now funded by an Experiment Station Project on Cockat iel Management. They hope to continue the project as long as facilities and funds are available.
The following is a brief outline of some of the cockatiel research which is planned or in progress. The scope and rapid completion of this work is limited by a lack of space and birds. The flock of cockatiels preseruly consists of about 120birds. They
expect to double or triple that number when they get going better. They also have a small flock of Zebra finches w hich the; are allowing to breed until their numbers are large enough to take a fe\\ for experimentation. No specific experiments have been planned for them as yet.
Dr. C.R. Grau is the main mover behind the exotic bird project. He started the exotic bird class along with some enthusiastic students and played a major role in obtaining space and funding for the research project.
Tom Roudybush is Dr. Grau's Ph.D. student. He is in a substantial way responsible for the day to day work which helped establish the project. He has begun a
research project aimed at comparing the nutrient composition of cockatiel crop milk to the nutrient requirements of cockatiel chicks. He has succeeded in hatching cockatiels in an incubator and has raised one chick from hatching to weaning on a diet of defined nutrient composition. This is the first step in determining the nutrient requirements of cockatiel chicks. He was also involved in starting and teaching the exotic bird class.
Ron Hoogenboorn is a senior student working with Tom Roudybush. He has begun a project to determine the values of individual seeds in the nutrition of irnmature cockatiels. This project is in its early stages.
Lisa McDaniel is a graduate student of Dr. Pran Yohra and a student in the exotic bird class. For her Master's research she has gathered data on the nutrient composition of various seeds commonly fed to exotic birds. She is building a cage in which cockatiels can be observed while making food choices among the seeds presented to them. She hopes to relate the seeds which cockatiels choose to eat to the nutrient composition of the seeds. As a class project she is working with Dr. Michael Fry using chromosome identification techniques to sex some of her own birds.
Steve Watase is also a student in the exotic bird class who is working with Dr. Fry. Steve is measuring normal levels of thyroxine, a thyroid hormone, in cockatiels using radioimmunoassay.
Keith Long is also a student in the exotic bird class. He is working with Dr. Grau and Tom Roudybush on a project aimed at determining the time required for food to pass through cockatiels after ingestion of the food.
Mr. Allen Woodard and his students Lea Morrissey and Jim Hermes have been experimenting with various cage sizes, temperatures and amounts of light on breeding in cockatiels.
One other person who deserves some credit for his basic role in helping to establish the project and the class is a former student in the Department, Brent Cutler. Without his knowledge and assistance, the program certainly would not have proceeded this far so rapidly. He has been a primary source of information.
I know that the Department of Avian Sciences would value the support of the bird breeders and the bird industry in this country. If we support them, in time we will have many of our questions answered pertaining to the health and care of our birds.