Adelaide Zoo
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Adelaide Zoo Bird Breeding Success 2015

One of our biggest successes this breeding season was with the Swift Parrots. We have fledged nine chicks with still another two young ones sitting in nest boxes. These birds have also been a part of a very interesting ‘cross-fostering’ or what you could also call ‘cross-nesting’. These birds are heavily monitored so we can react to any potential problems that may arise with the chicks. In this instance it was spotted that a particular pair was having some problems hatching birds out of their eggs so the last egg was placed into the incubator. When it hatched it was then placed into a different nest box with a slightly older chick. Luckily the mother took it under her wing straight away and started to feed it, and it has just recently fledged the nest and is doing well.

SwiftParrot
Swift Parrot 

Recently we did this again but ‘cross-nested’ a different bird species into the nest box of a Swift Parrot. We regularly have issues with some birds not always raising their chicks well, despite all their good intentions they might not have the right experience. This was the case for a pair of Dusky Lory’s, so I made the decision to take the two eggs they had that were not far off of hatching and placing them into the incubator to let them hatch. Once hatched, I placed them into the Swift Parrot’s nest box that also had chicks just hatching. My hope was that the Swift Parrot mother would think they were one of her own hatching and start feeding them! Luckily this was the case and these birds got the vital food they require in the first couple of days of life. It’s essential baby birds get the right type of bacteria into their systems to ensure they get a good head start at life, something that people hand rearing birds quite often find hard to get right.

DuskyLory
Dusky Lory

Then it’s simply a matter of time till the two species of birds in that nest become very different in looks and requirements. That’s when the Dusky Lory chicks can be removed and hand reared by a member of the bird team to get them to a point where they can fend for themselves. This will not always work for every bird, but in this case was done because the two species have very similar feeding requirements.

We also have another Dusky Lory currently being hand reared. This bird came from a different pair, which got half way through raising the chick when it got very cold overnight and was close to passing away. Fortunately it was found in time to warm it back up again in the hand rearing equipment and get some warm fluids into it, where it then picked up straight away and the decision was made to continue hand rearing it.  It’s doing well and almost weaned, and in a few more weeks could look at joining some other birds in an aviary.

Some other breeding success this year includes:

  • Two Regent Honeyeaters chicks born;
  • Five Elegant Parrots chicks fledged;
  • Two Mandarin Ducklings hatched;
  • Pigeons in the Australian Rainforest Walkthrough Aviary continue to breed well;
  • Two Plum-headed Parakeets chicks fledged;
  • Five Regents Parrot chicks fledged.

Across the Zoo other birds are showing similar breeding behaviour, but are yet to share their successes with us.

Loren Ellis
Bird Keeper, Adelaide Zoo