|
|
|
Going From Pet
Owner to Breeder Considerations Before Getting Started "Parrot Fever" was once described to me as
a human condition where one could not refrain from keeping parrots. I would have
to say the extreme form of "parrot fever" is breeding. People that
truly love their pets often want to make the jump from pet owner to breeder but
may not know how to do this. Yes, most pet owners have the skills to pick out
birds and can find books on the mechanics of hand-feeding but making the
transition is much more complicated than buying a pair of birds and sticking up
a nest box. It is important to understand the responsibilities
and commitment involved before you buy your first pair of birds. If you are a
single person, you will have different priorities and obligations that someone
who has a family, especially a family with children. There will be strains on
your time, space and finances. These things must be considered and discussed.
This does not matter if you intend to breed parrotlets or macaws, have one pair
or a hundred. You will need the support of your family and they will need to
understand your new responsibilities. Also, breeding birds can be hard on a
marriage especially if your spouse does not share your love of birds. This is a
very serious point to consider. If you work at a job 10 hours a day, 7 days a week,
you will not have the time to devote to the care and feeding of your birds and
babies. Even if you work a 40-hour week, if you plan on hand-feeding babies, you
need to discuss this and make arrangements with your employer. You also need to
think about things like vacations - who will care for your birds and what to do
with babies you are hand-feeding? You can see things are getting more and more
complicated and you have yet to buy a cage! Speaking of buying things - finances are also very
important. Many bird breeders have had to give up their birds because of lack of
financial planning. A budget is an absolute necessity and needs to be drawn up
with the help of your family. Remember that breeding birds is not a way to get
rich. At most, you can hope to break even. Most people lose money but this is
not a commercial venture, it is a hobby. And it can be a very rewarding hobby if
you are prepared and able to take on the responsibilities.
You need to consider your immediate environment. If
you live in a condominium, you will need to check with your homeowner or other
association guidelines. No matter where you live, you will also need to check
with your local zoning and health department for any restrictions. Some states
require permits if you breed exotic birds so you will also need to check with
your state for any laws that might apply. If you are not going to breed
commercially, you will probably not need a tax payer identification number or a
business license. A Seller's Permit will allow you to obtain cages, food, etc.,
at wholesale cost so you might wish to obtain this from your state. You will
then be required to charge sales tax that will have to be given back to the
state. Finally, you will need to consider your location
including your neighbors. Most people who have had to get rid of their birds
have done so because of complaints by neighbors. Make sure you have a good
relationship with them and do everything possible to minimize conflict -
especially noise. Getting Started - Which Birds? The most tantalizing question is what birds should I
breed? Many people naturally want to breed the type of birds they kept as pets.
When I got started, I wanted to breed cockatoos more than anything. However,
once I figured out how much room they required, how much money they cost and how
loud they could be in a residential neighborhood, I learned to set my sights on
something more practical. If you live in an apartment, you will probably need
to keep something small and quiet. This does not mean it has to be common or
boring. Australian grass parakeets are beautiful, quiet and do not take a lot of
space. If noise is not a problem, love birds or birds from the Brotogerius
species such as gray cheeks are wonderful. My favorites, of course, are
parrotlets and they make excellent birds for apartments or condominiums or huge
ranches. If you have a house or live in the suburbs, perhaps
you might consider keeping your birds outside. In that case, the weather and
disturbance of neighbors are going to be considerations. Same with predators
such as raccoons or cats - you will need to protect your birds. Price and ease of breeding should also be
considerations. You do not want to buy birds that are so expensive you cannot
afford to feed or give proper veterinary care for them. Also, you do not want to
start with birds that are so difficult that you become discouraged or even lose
birds. Finally, you need to consider the marketability of
your birds. Are you going to sell to pet shops? Have people come to your home?
Both have advantages and disadvantages. With pet shops, you will not have to
have strangers come to your home nor take phone calls all day. However, you may
have to take less money for your birds and you have no control over who buys
them. Will you be shipping? If so, you need to learn all you can and be aware of
conditions such as weather and labor disputes that can affect your ability to
ship birds. How will you advertise - locally, nationally or on the Internet?
These are all questions that must be answered before you set up your first pair.
Organizing Your
Space Requirements Now that you have talked with your family and
your employer, you have checked the laws, found the money to finance your new
hobby and decided what birds to breed, its time to get set up. Before you buy
your first pair, you will need to organize your space into four areas:
Breeding pairs need privacy and as little disturbance
as possible. Everyone hears about birds that breed in the living room with the
television going and the children running around but believe me, this is the
exception rather than the rule. It is best to have a separate room for your
birds but a corner of a quite room such as an office will also work well. Some
people use their basements or garage after they have been climatized and
weatherproofed. A nursery may be a quiet corner in a busy room. You
want babies to be able to rest in comfort but seclusion often leads to babies
that are afraid and easily frightened. I keep mine in the living room where they
can hear the television and are around people, other pets and household
equipment such as the vacuum cleaner. The quarantine and hospital area may be in the same
location. You want a private, isolated area that birds can be kept completely
away from the rest of your birds. It should be easily cleaned and disinfected -
an unused bathroom often works well. It should also be able to be completely
serviced independently of the other areas of the operation. Always clean and
feed your quarantined or sick birds after you have done the others. Remember to think about security as well. This is
especially important if your birds are housed out of doors. Dogs are often good
enough to keep most people away but if you are going to invest in large
quantities or especially rare birds, you will want to invest more in security.
Many breeders have alarm and video camera systems to protect their flocks as
incidents of thefts are increasing. Necessary
Equipment and Supplies Most people know how to buy cages and to make sure
they are safe and secure. Be sure and buy the proper size cage for the species
with which you are working. Same with nest boxes. Also, decide how many cages
you need and buy or make them all the same size, design and nest box placement.
This will allow much quicker cleaning and feeding. Make sure all the cups and
waters are uniform. Again, a little planning and you can save time and energy.
You will not only need breeding cages but weaning, holding, transporting,
quarantine and hospital cages as well. You do not need all of this at once but
it is something to keep in mind and add as you can afford it. Incubators are different from brooders because they
incubate the eggs not brood the babies. Incubators need to keep exact
temperatures and humidity and must have very little vibration in order to
properly incubate the eggs. Incubation of eggs is a very exacting science and
one must be thoroughly educated on properly incubating the eggs for their
species of birds. There are some excellent books on incubation techniques
available and they are good to read even if you do not intend to incubate. The most important investment will be your brooder. A
brooder keeps the babies warm and comfortable while you are hand feeding. It is
a very necessary piece of equipment and care should be taken when choosing one.
There are many companies that manufacture brooders at reasonable prices and they
will usually last a lifetime if properly maintained. Do not try and scrimp by
using a heating pad or jerry-rig something you read about on the Internet.
Babies need to be properly brooded in order to digest their food, keep them warm
and keep them healthy and growing properly. You will also need a good quality scale to weigh your
babies. Babies should be weighed every morning prior to their first feeding.
This will make sure the birds are being properly fed by gaining weight. Also,
the first sign of problems is usually weight loss. By weighing the babies daily,
you will immediately be made aware of any potential problems. Also, buy a proper egg candler. I often see notes
about using a pen light but handling eggs is a delicate matter and dealing with
enraged hens requires the proper equipment. Egg candlers are easy to find and
are very inexpensive. Also, make sure you get an extra light - that way you will
always be prepared and ready to go. Feeding utensils such as syringes or spoons, gavage
needles/tubes (if needed), bowls and mixing spoons are necessary. So will a
stove or microwave to heat water and a good quality instant thermometer to make
sure the formula is not too hot. Feeding supplies consist of hand-feeding
formula, supplements (optional), shavings or other substrate and baskets or
other small containers for babies to sit in. A high quality disinfectant is also necessary to keep
babies' equipment as sterile as possible. Many people use bleach but I prefer
Wavecide™ which can be purchased at a medical supply store. Dentagene™ by
Oxyfresh™ is non-toxic and
biodegradable disinfectant unlike Wavecide™ that is very toxic. You will need
to keep your syringes in the disinfectant prior to use and anything that comes
in contact with babies should be disinfected after a thorough scrubbing with
soap and hot water. No disinfectant in the world will work if the item is not
clean prior to disinfecting. Emergency supplies are also very important to have on
hand. Pedialyte™, vet wrap, bandages, cotton and cotton swabs, Quik Stop™ or
other coagulant, hydrogen peroxide, tweezers and/or hemostats and bird nail
clippers should be kept readily available. An emergency veterinarian and/or
clinic as well as a pet poison control hot line numbers should be within easy
access. Record Keeping Even if you only have one pair of birds that produces
once a year, you need to keep records. As more and more birds are produced in
captivity and less and less are in the wild, it is vital that all breeders keep
good records on their babies. This does not mean you need to go out and buy a
new computer system; paper records work just as well. However, if you do have a
computer, there are some excellent programs out there designed specifically for
bird breeders. These records should contain the identification
information such as band code, date of hatch and parental information of the
babies. Parents should also have this information as well as from whom the pair
was purchased, date of purchase and band color (if applicable) of the babies.
Any health or veterinary information should be included as well. All babies should be banded or microchipped. Ideally
with a closed band that is slipped over the baby's leg when it is only a few
days old. Many societies such as AFA sell bands to their members and register
the babies in a database. However, it is also possible to obtain bands from
companies such as L & M. Each band should contain initials of the breeder or
aviary and a numbered code to identify the birds. Some people include the state
and year as well as using different colors to denote different bloodlines.
A microchip can also be used to identify the larger birds. Breeders should also keep track of the people who
purchase their birds. This should include the bird information including
bloodline and band number. This will allow the breeder to be able to trace the
bird if it becomes lost and to provide unrelated birds should the buyer wish to
purchase more birds in the future. All bird buyers should be given a receipt and
paperwork denoting the bird's age. Many breeders stand behind the health of
their birds and offer written health guarantees outlining the responsibilities
and limits of the breeder. Other breeders include care instructions,
applications to bird clubs, "pedigrees" and references for other
information. Furthering Your
Education Breeding birds is more of an art than a
science. There is always some new discovery or interesting insight coming along;
even seasoned breeders of 20 years can learn something. It is important to
utilize a wide variety of sources in order to get the best and most accurate
information. Join a Specialty organization, local bird club or national
organization. Specialty organizations specialize in the type of bird that you
breed and often sell bands and have classified advertising for their members.
National organizations can keep you informed about pending legislation,
conservation activities and disease outbreaks. Attend a convention or symposium. They are being held
all over the United States and Canada as well as Europe so they are easy to
find. Whether it is large or small, it is very important to attend one at least
once a year. Things change so fast in aviculture, especially with regard to
disease prevention and control as well as nutritional developments, usually once
you read it in print, it is obsolete. The Internet is both the best place and worst place
to find information. Anyone with an opinion and a keyboard can dispense advice
and it can be impossible, especially for the novice, to discern fact from
fiction. Some things are simply silly and others can be down right dangerous.
Always double-check anything that can be potentially risky to your birds and do
not be afraid to ask tough questions. Breeding birds is hard work and a lot of
responsibility. It can bring great joy or great heartbreak. It is a noble and
rewarding endeavor that should make us proud. It is difficult to describe the
feeling of looking in a nest of babies and knowing that you helped bring them
into the world. Or looking into the surprised, delightful eyes of a child when
you place the baby into their hands. You know that you have come full circle and
that you have made a difference. It’s a fabulous feeling. |
|
