Page 593 - Hand rearing birds second

594 Hand-Rearing Birds

­ Length­of Rehabilitation

Most rehabilitators are amazed at the time invested in getting a former captive parrot or even a
hand‐raised chick ready for release. Any chick that has spent time with a member of the public will
be imprinted, habituated, likely vocalizing human sounds, and have poor feather condition.
Hopefully there will be no permanent metabolic, physiological, or deformity issues. Adding
together the multiple issues of habituation, dependency on the parents and the flock, a seasonal
and extensive wild foraging range, poor feather condition, lack of communication and social skills,
and poor developmental diet, chicks are never ready to release under 12 months of age. Under
optimum hand‐rearing conditions, 14 months in care would be the minimum, and for hand‐reared
ex‐captives with clipped wings, be prepared to invest 20–24 months or more. Birds under 14 months
old are not released unless there are special circumstances (e.g. the youngster has been adopted by
a releasable adult). The worst cases are the species most renowned for mimicry that have been
long‐term captives with poor diet and husbandry. So far, our longest rehab that has resulted in
release was for a flock of 26 Yellow‐headed Amazons, many of which had spent 9 years in the pro-
gram before being released successfully.

­ Fostering

Fostering chicks to unrelated adults is always tricky. Although inherently altruistic, some species
and some individuals can be aggressive toward the unrelated offspring, and a parrot attack on a
chick can be rapid and devastating and often come without warning. In a captive situation, a grad-
ual introduction is best, with the chicks protected by double mesh initially. Watch carefully for any
signs of aggressive behavior. Typical signs are eye‐pinning, tail splaying, growling, lunging, and
stereotypical head movements. Some species have a gentler and more maternal temperament than
others, making some introductions easier and others riskier. It is recommended to gather informa-
tion on previous experience with the species under consideration for fostering. Fostering into wild
nests is the riskiest situation, as it is almost impossible to monitor continually or intervene should
aggression be recognized. It takes only a few moments for an aggressive adult to permanently
maim or even kill a chick. The risks have to be carefully weighed up against the benefits and the
success potential of other less risky alternatives.

Introducing­Chicks­to Adult­Flocks
Over the years BBR has accumulated nonreleasable birds that are receptive to new birds. These
older birds live in larger aviaries and adjacent or connecting aviaries are used to acclimatize babies
to their new adult flockmates. The connecting aviaries allow for the smoothest introductions, as
once the connecting hatch is opened, each group remains in their familiar space until they are
ready to explore. Because eating is an important part of the social structure of parrots, feeding
platforms in the hatch area make for faster integration of groups. In the early stages, watch for any
immediate signs of aggression or any subtle and prolonged bullying that may prevent a bird from
eating well or drive them to exhaustion. Introductions are not advisable during breeding season as
adult birds become much more aggressive and territorial. By the same token, be aware of dynamic
shifts and aggression in existing groups as breeding season approaches.
Some ex‐captive adult birds may be poor role models for fledglings and should not be used to
model wild normal social behaviors due to aberrant vocalizations or behaviors. This is a problem
seen with Yellow‐headed Amazons at BBR.