Handraising Turacos on the Run

Abstract

All softbills are uncommon in aviculture and generally unknown to the public outside of zoo settings, but turacos have been raised in captivity by private aviculturists for decades. These mediumsized, fruit eating, natives to Africa can be grouped into the greens, purples, greys, and the Great Blue species. Most zoological institutions have at least one turaco on display, and several breed them. Many of the turaco species have disappeared from U.S. aviculture, and the remaining ones are losing ground due to difficulties with small numbers of bloodlines, in pairing up birds, getting them to breed, and finding aviculturists who have the space and time to work with them. Thus, every egg laid and every chick hatched is important to the future of turacos.

The turacos are one of my favorite softbill families: large, colorful, active, hardy, and curious birds. I have been raising turacos for almost 20 years and have had many occasions to hatch eggs and handfeed chicks. These birds are much too active to make good house pets so my choice to handfeed is to save chicks, not to ensure tameness, although handfed turacos do make great tame aviary occupants.

My problem, though, is that handraising while working full-time out of the house is a big chore. Being able to be mobile while successfully handfeeding any chick is tricky. For two weeks or so, the handfeeder has to be on the bird's schedule and is usually tied to the house. Luckily, turacos take to handfeeding on the run in stride, and having now figured out a successful technique, I have the freedom to leave the house and still raise healthy turacos.

Once a turaco egg hatches, I leave the chick in the incubator for the first 24 hours, in which he doesn't need to be fed anyway. The next day he is moved to my mobile brooder set up. I have never been able to find a commercial one so I make my own. I use a medium-sized, see-thru, plastic critter-keeper container that has a ventilated top with a handle. A layer of cloth is placed on the bottom and loosely rolled washcloths are arranged around a plastic cup in the center. The rolled cloth holds the heat in well. Humidity is not a problem but if higher humidity is needed, some of the cloth can be dampened.

The chick is placed in a second cup layered with a paper towel and some alfalfa hay so that it can grip with his feet and not become splay legged. This second cup fits into the first, and the chick is covered loosely with a small cloth, which simulates being brooded and reduces stress on the chick. I cover the whole container with a hand towel or place it inside a large carrying bag. This way I can carry the brooder, and no one can see what I am actually carrying, and the heat is retained while on the move.

To heat the brooder, I place it on a heating pad. I can regulate the heat easily by switching from low to high and by changing the amount of container covered with the cloth. Younger birds require more heat than older chicks, usually around 95 degrees F. Monitor behavior. If the chick is panting, reduce heat; if the chick is huddled down tightly and not gaping actively, increase heat. Regulating the heat is the trickiest part of mobile handfeeding but gets easier with experience. I do not recommend the chemical hand warmer packets as the heat is not constant and often gets too hot. Hot water bottles are heavy, hard to regulate, and cool off too quickly.

 

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