Help Baby eclectus feeding

[LadyE]

All I could read here is that this poor bird is dead because it was separated from it's mother too early. And please stop trapping birds. Not just parrots, any kind! They are not toys, they are living beings and they belong in nature. Yes there is an irony here because we all have 1 or more in cage but difference is those birds were born in cage and stayed in one but you're trapping those beautiful creatures and stealing them from their natural environment. Where I live you can't for example set parrot free even if you want to. There are no parrots outside and it's too cold for them, if you'd let them fly free they would die so their only option here is to live in a home but in countries like yours it's a perfect place for them to live wild and free so just stop doing what you're doing

 

[Anansi]

I'm not really sure what to think here. It sounds like what you are describing is a bird that was far to young to be separated from it's mother, that was taken from its nest and you purchased from a trapper, who are comming to your house with any bird they can trap as you have expressed interest. You have either trapped or purchased other birds (you mention having several other eclectus parrots in the past), yet as you say you are at school, at the very least, I am somewhat concerned as to what has happened to all these birds you once owned and why you would feel the need to take more from the wild.

I'm going to assume you are just trolling, but if not, I hope I am misunderstanding what you have described.

All I could read here is that this poor bird is dead because it was separated from it's mother too early. And please stop trapping birds. Not just parrots, any kind! They are not toys, they are living beings and they belong in nature. Yes there is an irony here because we all have 1 or more in cage but difference is those birds were born in cage and stayed in one but you're trapping those beautiful creatures and stealing them from their natural environment. Where I live you can't for example set parrot free even if you want to. There are no parrots outside and it's too cold for them, if you'd let them fly free they would die so their only option here is to live in a home but in countries like yours it's a perfect place for them to live wild and free so just stop doing what you're doing

Amen! And so well said!

I will take your word, Newguineahawker, that there aren't any pet stores and such in your area, but understand that there is a reason why trapping wild birds for the purposes of either selling them in the pet trade or keeping them for yourself is illegal in so many countries. It is a cruel practice, both psychologically and, in many cases, physically. Adult birds used to living in the wild are caught and made to drastically change all that they have been used to and be confined to a cage. Baby birds are torn from their nests and their parents far too soon, and often succumb to health complications as a result. Many die in the process of trapping. Others die in transport. And most all who survive wind up consigned to a life of misery completely unlike that from whence they came.

It's just not right.

By your own admission, you are complicit in this activity. Not only are you supporting this type of trade, but trappers in your area are aware of your desire for birds and actually go about trapping them especially for you. I understand that you enjoy bird keeping, but you are contributing to an unconscionable practice that has absolutely no upside for the poor birds involved.

Consider the birds you have already taken in. You may not realize this, but eclectus parrots have a life expectancy of over 60 years. For years, people thought otherwise because they didn't understand the complexity of their dietary needs. To this day, there are still lifespan estimates that place them at closer to 15-25 years! When we (humans) in our ignorance rob them of what they need to survive, they die. That's on us.

So as Cameron asked earlier, what happened to the other parrots that you mention having taken in in the past?

I'm not saying this to be harsh. In fact, I'm going out of my way to go with the assumption that you are not attempting to troll, here. That perhaps you really haven't considered things from the parrots' point of view. I'm hoping that, in reading some of this, you might move away from the practice of trapping wild birds and instead learn to appreciate them in nature.

Wild caught birds do not belong in our homes. Let them live.

 

[Newguineahawker]

The other eclectus parrots I raised I successfully banded and released them back to the wild.i never keep a bird for more than a year and then I rehabilitate it back to the wild. The reason I buy from the locals is they live in extreme poverty. Little tin houses with no walls. I buy from them and they get some money to buy there next meal. And most of the birds they catch are sick that's why it was easy for them to catch. Then I fix the bird and once they recover I let them go. So the wild population is growing and the locals aren't starving.

 

[Newguineahawker]

I've been doing this for 8 years and have only ever lost 1 eclectus and a goshawk.
The eclectus was the one that past recently and the goshawk was one we pulled out of a power line.

 

[Newguineahawker]

I've only ever trapped two eclectus parrots from the wild but that was for a banding project. The ones I trap are birds of prey I trap a juvenile bird train it hunt with it for a season and let it go before the breeding season. And after the breeding season I trap another. And this is known to increase the population because I teaches juvenile birds to hunt better. The mortality rate of juvenile birds of prey in the wild is 70% die in there first year.

 

[Newguineahawker]

The stuff that I said I was feeding the baby parrot is not what I normally feed my birds. It was sick and would only take really soft food. I do understand all about nutritional needs in parrots. I've been doing research on the wild ones and I try get the diet of the captive one the same. I would have the electricity to run a incubator but it would cost a fortune to bring one in to the country. One of the things we've successfully done with young birds is use a chicken that has chicks. The mother chicken will gladly take the baby parrots right after hers hatch then you leave the incubating to the hen and focus on the feeding and ones there big enough to eat you introduce them to other eclectus parrots and they can be released in a month. all of my projects I've been doing have been with the help of the wildlife park near my house the people who run are
from the Sydney zoo. I don't want to be rude or anything but I do know what I'm doing. Lots of people think the stuff we do are crazy but if you've never lived in New Guinea you can't under stand the madness that goes on here. The mane reason for the trappings is to record the amount of birds in the wild. The government here is really corrupt and we've been trying to put a proposal forth that protects the birds and rainforests. We have heaps of illegal logging companies who jus destroy the forest. But the government is getting money from the illegal loggers so they do nothing last year my uncle chased loggers of his own land with a gun the loggers just had the police stick him in jail for the week. And it's legal to defend your land with any weapons if someone is trespassing. Then they paid of the judge and my uncle has a restraining order so he can't even walk to the back of his own property.
I have found someone who wants to help by building a bird park/ breeding center. So we would trap birds and breed them so we can release them back to the wild. It would be like the same thing there doing with pandas in China.

 

[Newguineahawker]

We do get a weekly power cut. For about two hours once a week.

 

[camo]

OK, now that you have clarified your situation, I am going to give some advice, hope you take it on board and then I am going to disengage (as if you are trolling, I believe trolls should be left to live in the wild, and so I try not to feed trolls). Assuming you are not trolling:

This eclectus may have passed away in a nest with it's mother doing it's best, or it may have gone on to live in the wild for a very long time, we will never know what would have happened, sadly we only know what did happen. The person who captured this bird (as you say) was simply looking to feed his family, and I can't blame him for that. If this is the case he is clearly going to be unprepared to have what is needed to give this young eclectus the essential basics for survival at such a young age, even you admit to not having the necessary equipment to look after this bird. Based on your description of how this bird was in the first week, and the lack of treatment and care you were able to provide, he would have had a far better chance of survival in the wild. You said yourself others you have raised were 9-10 weeks old and this one was much younger, even 9-10 weeks if far too young to raise with your lack of equipment and experience. So I am sorry to say that the capture and captivity may not have been the cause of death, but was probably the underlying cause of death.

By purchasing these birds, you are encouraging this person to pursue wild bird capture as a possible source of income, and at best he will stick to birds that are not endangered, but as he learns his trade and sees the profits to be made in the capture of endangered species such as the Birds of Paradise, who could honestly blame a man who is trying to feed his family and as you say "lives in extreme poverty". If you are in a position to help, and want to offer support, buying birds off them is not the right way to do it, at best you are encouraging them to move away from other possible ways to make a living, at worst you are driving them into the illegal trade sector.

I've been doing this for 8 years and have only ever lost 1 eclectus and a goshawk.

And I've only ever lost two birds a barn owl and goshawk and they had a terrible case of aspergillosis when I trapped them and they died the next week.

and the goshawk was one we pulled out of a power line.

It's 3 now isn't it, not 2, or is it 4? As you can see, you also mentioned loosing a Barn Owl (which would make 3), but was the Goshawk that you pulled out of a power line the same one that you trapped, or have 2 Goshawks passed away.....I'm a bit confused?? Perhaps your trap is made of power lines.

I've only ever trapped two eclectus parrots from the wild but that was for a banding project. The ones I trap are birds of prey I trap a juvenile bird train it hunt with it for a season and let it go before the breeding season. And after the breeding season I trap another. And this is known to increase the population because I teaches juvenile birds to hunt better. The mortality rate of juvenile birds of prey in the wild is 70% die in there first year.

If you have only ever trapped two eclectus, then based on your previous statements you have bought a few, capture or bought, it doesn't matter.

Your approach is not helping these birds overall chance of survival. The advantage a 2 year old bird of prey has over a 1 year old is life experience. Yes the first year is a hard road for these birds and mortality is high, but the reason the mortality rate drops in the second year is not something you are going to be able to achieve with captivity. I don't think it matters how good a trainer you are, you just can't match this year of experience they are missing out on in the wild, so please don't kid yourself with this 70% mortality statistic.

Most agree that within 4 weeks a bird of pray will loose almost 70% of it's fitness in captivity, as these birds do not have much of a down time in the wild, it's hunt, miss, hunt, miss.....hunt capture..... You simply can not simulate this environment in a year of captivity. Sure you can increase it's fitness before release, but you have stunted it's development, and now you are releasing it into the wild when it has spent most of it's life in captivity. This is not even taking into account the risk of mortality associated with capture, and captivity.

The reality is you can't know how many of these birds that you have captured or bought and then later released have later passed away due to their inability to now survive in the wild (a successful release of a bird of pray means you are unlikely to ever see that bird again). Captivity of a wild animal for later release is a last resort approach, and you have no reason for what you are doing. If the bird of pray you trap was one of the lucky ones that would have made it through the year in the wild, then you have drastically dropped it's survival chances for the coming year.

My suggestion would be if you truly want to have a relationship with native birds in Papua New Guinea, get involved in conservation and education. You are in a perfect place for this, were the country has over 5% of the world's biodiversity in less than 1% of the world's total land area.

Edit: I was writing my post when you were writing post #26. Your post #26 does not change my opinion in what I have written. I am just updating to clarify, as your context has changed a lot in post #26.

I don't want to be rude or anything but I do know what I'm doing.

I am sorry, but you do not, at least in as far as raising eclectus parrots. I am no expert on eclectus parrots, but your approach shows your ignorance even to me. As for birds of pray, I don't see the Sydney Zoo recommending the removal of a native bird from the wild, keeping it in captivity for a year and then releasing it.

 

[camo]

I've been doing have been with the help of the wildlife park near my house the people who run are
from the Sydney zoo. I don't want to be rude or anything but I do know what I'm doing.

Firstly Toronga Zoo would have nothing to do with what you are doing, they don't condone the capture of wild birds for short term captivity. Lastly no you don't know what your doing, I am not an expert on Eclectus Parrots, but even I can see from what you have said, that you don't know what you are doing.

I wasn't going to engage, but I was typing my post when you were typing post 26 and I don't think it's fair to bring Toronga Zoo into what you are doing.

 

[Newguineahawker]

I'm sick of this I'm quitting this forum. I started this thread to learn and all I've got is criticized for what you don't know. And you can't criticize the sport of falconry you know nothing about it the reason peregrines didn't go extinct in America is because some falconers.

 

[Terry57]

I'm sick of this I'm quitting this forum. I started this thread to learn and all I've got is criticized for what you don't know. And you can't criticize the sport of falconry you know nothing about it the reason peregrines didn't go extinct in America is because some falconers.

What I would have hoped you could have learned from the forum is that trapping wild birds is ethically and morally wrong. I wish you would think about it from the parrots point of view. You are ripping them from their homes, and have very little knowledge or experience to keep them alive. Please leave them in the wild where they belong.
For anyone stumbling across this thread, please know that we do NOT condone trapping parrots or buying ones who have been trapped.
I am closing this thread now.