Abstract
Parent Hatched:
Eggs left under the hen should be
checked for signs of pipping daily
and candled simultaneously. Parents
should be evaluated prior to hatch
for behavioral patterns, such as sitting
the nest tightly and anxiety
levels, as problem parents may not
accept chicks readily. Once the first
chick is hatched, close monitoring of
parenting is required to assure that
chicks are being brooded and fed
during the first 12 hours. An empty
crop at the end of 12 hours is reason
to pull chicks for artificial brooding.
Subsequent chicks should be checked
just as closely for good parenting.
Any problems that are noted, such as
abandonment, cannibalism, mutilation
or stunting, dictate that a review
of the environment and management
be undertaken. Reasons that may
have elicited poor chick care by pairs
are often manmade. The following
items should be reviewed by the
ranch manager:
• boxes too hot (i.e., unprotected
from direct sun, poor ventilation,
etc.)
• chicks too cold (i.e., shallow
shavings, poorly ventilated nest box)
• irregular feeding of pairs by crew
• disturbance of pairs by workers
or other birds
• nest box too shallow
• (threat level unacceptable to
pair)
•low ambient humidity (rare)
Chick development under the hen
should exceed that of hand raised
babies for at least the first seven days
up to two weeks of age. Growth rates
should be comparable from then on
and any evidence of stunting or
trauma should be regarded as a seri-
ous threat to the chicks and those
surviving should be pulled until a
diagnosis can be achieved. Parents
should constantly groom chicks and
healthy babies should be completely
free of feces and dried food. Any
presence of debris should spark
further investigation.
Those parents that persist in abandoning
chicks or mutilating them
despite changes in management may
be poor parents and culling must be
evaluated as a legitimate solution if all
other factors have been stabilized. Be
aware that chicks that refuse to eat
due to chilling or illness may be
attacked by the parents out of frustration.
Species most often noted to
traumatize chicks include macaws,
Amazons and cockatoos. This prevalence
may represent temperament or
a heavily represented portion of birds
being captive bred.
The previous assumptions that
wild chicks grow and fledge more
slowly has been disproven by two
field surveys where Yellow-naped
Amazons and Orange-front Conures
had growth curves similar to chicks
in captivity. Wild Yellow-naped Amazons
were observed to be fed only
twice a day (9:30 to 10:00 a.m. and
6:00 to 6:30p.m.) and parent contact
was extremely limited during the first
several weeks of life, presumably to
decrease the risk of predation. Other
observations of wild hatched chicks
include the presence of occasional
stress bars, slight dehydration and
one incidence of fly strike in feather
follicles. These observations should
disperse some of the myths concerning
the retarded or accelerated
growth potential some aviculturists
feel has been artificially altered in
captive breeding programs.
Average daily weight gain in
handfed psittacines should be around
15% for the first three to four weeks
of life. However, this is an average
and higher weight gains may be
noted in early weeks and lower
weight gains recorded later. Weight
loss will be noted at the onset of the
weaning phase (during the last two
to four weeks of hand feeding).
Weight loss should average 10% to
15% of the total body weight, but
20% may be normal for some large
species, particularly noted in
macaws. Particular caution should be
exercised during the weaning process
as it is physiologically stressful
to the baby.
Hand Raised Offspring:
Record keeping is of prime importance
for accurate hand care of psittacine
offspring. The rate of development
is substantially greater during
the neonatal period than mammals or
even precocial birds due to their high
level of dependency and relatively
under developed state at hatch.
Daily records should include the
ease or difficulty of hatching, final
hatch date and embryonic age,
weight (prefeeding), crop empty
rate, food volume accepted each
feeding and day, diet used and a complete
physical examination and work
up.
The physical examination should
be conducted with clean, warm
hands on an insulated surface, such
as a towel, as altricial chicks chill easily
due to their high metabolic rate,
lack of feathering and small body
mass. Sick babies chill even more
quickly as their thermostasis may be
disrupted. The physical examination
should include such environmental
factors as the brooder, bedding material,
ambient humidity, thermometer
placement and quality, sanitation
protocol and all clutchmates.
The attitude should be carefully
noted for a vigorous vocal response
to tactile stimulation, including a
rapid and sustained pumping reflex
when a finger is introduced into the
oral cavity. Weak or cold chicks have
a reduced pump reflex. However,
species variation must -be considered
as well as the hatching order in a
clutch. Some babies, such as Eclectus
parrots, may have a generally more
subdued attitude than a macaw or
conure of a similar age. Younger
chicks will be less vigorous than that
of clutchmates hatched even one or
two days earlier.