Ltygress
New member
- Jan 6, 2015
- 49
- 0
- Parrots
- Blue and Gold Macaw named Stewie, Blue and Gold Macaw named Bazinga, Male Eclectus named Nicholas, Unknown Severe Macaw named Zander
I know many users on these forums support rescues more than breeding, so this may be touchy. But I understand both sides. And one good example is the Hyacinth Macaw. They are worth about $10,000 each, in part because they are so rare. They are considered hard to breed, difficult to raise, and not easy to adjust to handfeeding at all.
But in the wild, they are just as bad. Destruction of habitat and over-farming for pets is causing numbers to fall, and fast. So I personally feel they are going to follow the dog and cat into pet-only status. Sure there arevwild cousins to the dog and cat, and the Hyacinth would have that too. But I think eventually the Hyacinth will only be available as a pet.
Yet my Scarlet Macaw made me think a lot about the "purity" of many pet macaws. He's a 12-year-old Scarlet with perfect feathering, except that he really has a lot of mixed colors on his head. I actually feel like he may be a descendant of a hybrid. Perhaps a third or fourth generation of a catalina, bred back to Scarlets.
And that makes me wonder about bird breeder clubs intended to keep pure lines of the original macaw species. I think it's especially important with larger parrots because they bond for life. Imagine if every Hyacinth Macaw left in captivity was paired with another species. We would lose the Hyacinth in just one generation because all of the offspring would be hybrids!
A bird breeder club would do record-keeping to ensure that both parents were purebred Hyacinth. And then there could be shows hosted where breeders have to strive to produce birds that meet a standard of perfection. Then things like my Scarlet's multi-colored neck could count against him, and people would have incentive to breed that trait out. It would also create an incentive to breed pure and not constantly outcross them making "impure" purebreds like my scarlet.
The interest in purebreds also makes it LESS interesting to just throw two birds together because you happen to have a male and female that get along. If you could offer "papers" with a purebred, you probably wouldn't RISK a bird bonding with a different type. You'd be more likely to wait and research how to obtain another of the same type, and proper bonding techniques (and thus, proper care). So "rescues" would be less likely to try making side money, since it's not THAT common to get a bondable pair of the same type.
That's pretty much what the purpose of the American Kennel Club is, although they do occasionally register new breeds. There is also one for cats, rabbits, and even farm animals - chickens, geese, cows, goats, etc. But what about parrots?
Do we have one of these that I don't know about? Or do you think it would be a good idea to create one?
But in the wild, they are just as bad. Destruction of habitat and over-farming for pets is causing numbers to fall, and fast. So I personally feel they are going to follow the dog and cat into pet-only status. Sure there arevwild cousins to the dog and cat, and the Hyacinth would have that too. But I think eventually the Hyacinth will only be available as a pet.
Yet my Scarlet Macaw made me think a lot about the "purity" of many pet macaws. He's a 12-year-old Scarlet with perfect feathering, except that he really has a lot of mixed colors on his head. I actually feel like he may be a descendant of a hybrid. Perhaps a third or fourth generation of a catalina, bred back to Scarlets.
And that makes me wonder about bird breeder clubs intended to keep pure lines of the original macaw species. I think it's especially important with larger parrots because they bond for life. Imagine if every Hyacinth Macaw left in captivity was paired with another species. We would lose the Hyacinth in just one generation because all of the offspring would be hybrids!
A bird breeder club would do record-keeping to ensure that both parents were purebred Hyacinth. And then there could be shows hosted where breeders have to strive to produce birds that meet a standard of perfection. Then things like my Scarlet's multi-colored neck could count against him, and people would have incentive to breed that trait out. It would also create an incentive to breed pure and not constantly outcross them making "impure" purebreds like my scarlet.
The interest in purebreds also makes it LESS interesting to just throw two birds together because you happen to have a male and female that get along. If you could offer "papers" with a purebred, you probably wouldn't RISK a bird bonding with a different type. You'd be more likely to wait and research how to obtain another of the same type, and proper bonding techniques (and thus, proper care). So "rescues" would be less likely to try making side money, since it's not THAT common to get a bondable pair of the same type.
That's pretty much what the purpose of the American Kennel Club is, although they do occasionally register new breeds. There is also one for cats, rabbits, and even farm animals - chickens, geese, cows, goats, etc. But what about parrots?
Do we have one of these that I don't know about? Or do you think it would be a good idea to create one?
