FEATURE


During this time I had the luck I could


work at home frequently. Therefore I had the opportunity to observe the birds more frequently than usual. So I’m pretty sure which males mated with the hens. Of course I am not sure for 100% which particular male should have fertilized the eggs. I just separated these males with those hens from the flock to be sure that the hens would not mate with my captive bred males, in order to prevent all offspring being related. At the end all eggs in both two nest boxes seemed to be infertile. Three weeks after the last egg had been laid I removed the eggs, although the hens were breeding still.


A couple of years ago Loro Parque’s


curator of birds Matthias Reinschmidt told me that he got best results by keeping the birds in a flock the entire year, and


separating pairs into large cages in the same aviary during the breeding season. At about the same time, and without previously have been talking over we proceeded to the same strategy by chance. With me thus with varying success. Although it appears from Jonathan


Ekstrom’s research that Vasa Parrots are polygynandric, I have noticed that hens still have a preference for one particular male. The hens that have been laying eggs previously, mate with the same male every year. That’s not to say they do not allow other males, but they look for the same male again every time. Sometimes breeding with a trio is successful, two males with one hen. However, in my case when I put the birds separately, space is limited. For me this has never led to any result. A better result may be achieved with a trio in a slightly larger


BIRD SCENE 21


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