Abstract
INTRODUCTION
When I was approached by Tim Dahle with the request to present papers at this Convention, my suggestion for one topic was 'Peach-faced Lovebirds and their Colour Mutations' - thinking that here was a subject in which I was well versed and had already written about extensively. With this in mind I thought it would be very easy for me to encompass the whole topic within the time allotted. How wrong I was. The amount of material I had already written should have been the very evidence with which to demonstrate to myself the width, breadth and depth of proportions which colour peach-faceds now filled. There would .be no chance to cover the whole of the subject and it would be very easy to become bogged down with intricacies which could shroud the very essence of the topic. I decided that it was this "essence" which I must try to impart.
Colour in our lives is a great source of aesthetic enjoyment - even more so when it is reflected in the raiments of vibrant living creatures. For a number of people this enjoyment of colour pertaining to peachfaceds is marred, because for them it is enveloped in mystery. I would like to try to dispel this mystery and replace it with an imagination, a realisation that you don't need to be an advanced student of genetics, a code breaker, nor possess a degree in mathematics in order to appreciate coloured lovebirds. Therefore I shall not be using any of those terms loved by the geneticist, any coded abbreviations, nor shall I quote percentages. Instead I shall describe the effects which the various factors produce, and how they can be used. But firstly I would like to sketch in, very briefly, the methods we use at Carterton to produce these birds.
GENERAL
The peach-faced is without question the hardiest and most prolific of its genus. Although it is true to say that peach-faceds will breed all the year round, and we do have a few pairs breeding in every month of the year, they are more inclined to nest during our spring and late summer/early autumn, the latter period being the time of year when most success is assured. Breeding peters out with the onset of harsh winter conditions, but only because of the
high incidence of dead in shell experienced at that time of year.
I should explain that instead of keeping our birds inside, as I believe many European and American breeders are obliged to do, our stock is kept in unheated outside short flights, the aim being - and one which has been successful - to instill a hardy and robust constitution. It doesn't do to be too dependent upon services which are outside our personal control. This has been driven home to us in winters past. Winter is the miners' and power workers' favourite time to strike, and such disruption, as well as havoc caused by winter storms, has left us without electricity for days on end.
Last winter's weather was the worst ever recorded in our area, and at its coldest was quite equal to Arctic conditions. As a result on the severest days many of the lovebirds, although bodily able to withstand these temperatures, were unable to perch because freezing fog had encased their feet with a thin layer of ice, making them completely stiff. Many of the peach-faceds lost nails and toes due to self-mutilation. The dangerous consequences are that the low temperatures prevent the blood coagulating and cause a lack of sensation. The bird will drink its own blood and continue to gnaw away its feet, allowing other birds to treat it in the same manner. When any were found damaged in this way they were placed in the warm and had their wounds dressed with an antibiotic powder to prevent infection. Even with constant round-the-clock attention, in these atrocious conditions we did lose a minimum number of specimens, yet paradoxically a few late nests hatched, and not only survived but thrived, providing the stamina that these birds can possess.
HOUSING
Although peach-faceds are bred in cages and single pairs, or in large flights as a colony, more consistent and recordable results are obtained by keeping them one pair to a small flight. This is imperative for the serious colour breeder pursuing an ideal. Our flights are four feet long, two feet wide and six feet high. I believe that the height is even more important than a longer flight, as much more effort is required for the birds to rise vertically from the floor, where they are often to be seen, than horizontally from perch to perch, and this strenuous exercise helps to keep them very fit.
germinated seed as conditions allow. On this diet the birds thrive and are as prolific as we would wish. Water pots are hung high, because if they are situated on the floor they are quickly filled with stones, food, earth, nest material, etc., which foul the contents. Even so water pots must be cleaned daily.
RINGING
Four to six eggs make up the clutch.
These are incubated for twenty-two days; the young are closed rung about ten days old. This I consider a necessary evil and have been forced into using this form of identification by circumstances. Even so I do it reluctantly. Hen peach-faceds particularly, by gnawing at their rings, soon obliterate the incised numbers and letters, and even the anodised colour.
SEXING
Fledglings leave the nest just before six weeks old, and can be weaned between a fortnight and three weeks after. About this time they are surgically sexed; results are recorded together with their percentage, hidden factors and any other relevant information.
It may be hard to believe that birds of such a tender age can be sexed by laparoscopy, but this is a fact. The hen's ovaries are of course at a rudimentary stage of development, but the testes of a number of very young cocks have been found to be as fully developed in appearance as adult birds. The closing of the incision by a small stitch helps minimize the occurrence of subcutaneous emphysema, a condition which we have had occur rarely - whereby air seeps in between the outer layer of skin and the inner layer of tissue. The bird 'blown up' to be almost as round as a tennis ball in extreme cases, but if left I have found that the trapped air will dissipate over a number of days, with no apparent detrimental effect. The majority of our young lovebirds are now surgically sexed as a matter of course before being sold, and this proves to be of great benefit to both ourselves and our customers.
DE-WORMING
As a precaution all our birds are given a dose of de-worming agent straight into the crop, before being sold. The breeding stock is de-wormed at spring and autumn by the same method - that is via a catheter tube introduced down the throat into the crop the dose of diluted Nemicide being ejected from a hypodermic syringe.